How to learn b boying dance

How To Bboy: The Complete Beginner Guide | by BreakDance Decoded

You are confused right?

You watched a few videos of those athletic guys busting out moves after moves on YouTube — and you’re all fired up now.

You really, really want to pick up this dance known as bboying. You want to learn how to bboy.

The problem?

You don’t even know where to start.

A quick search on YouTube gave you hundreds of tutorials and playlists.

But you’re a complete beginner.

Where should you begin? What should you start with? What do you need to prepare before you begin learning?

Are you even strong enough?

Questions, questions, questions.

You see…

I have received questions like these countless of times. And despite being asked so many times, there was no definitive resource I could point someone to to kickstart their bboy journey.

Until now.

I’ve put together a complete beginner’s guide (broken down into multiple sections) that will guide you EXACTLY on how to start.

It is what I call the “Ultimate List of Bboying Tutorials”. It contains every resource or tutorial that I think is good enough to teach you the basics of breaking.

After going through all these tutorials, you can pat your back, start practicing, start creating and becoming good.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Before we even begin on what to learn in bboying, you need to be part of the culture.

Do you know what is the easiest way to be part of a culture?

Learning the terms and vocabulary.

Being able to identify yourself as a bboy, and use the correct language at the right time welcomes you to the family of hip hop. After going through the resources below, you’ll be able to hi-5 any bboy and communicate with them in bboy lingo.

Bboy Sign Language: A Guide to Battle Gestures

Guide to the 25 Most Popular Powermoves And Their Names

Break Terminology 101

It’s Breakin, not Bboying/Bgirling

List of All Hip Hop Terms

Concept of Biting

PoeOne Explains Importance of Sweep

What’s next after you’ve learnt the language of the dance? You have to immerse yourself into the culture.

Not the moves, not the terminology, not the fashion.

But the knowledge that is deep inside your head.

Only by understanding the culture and attaining the knowledge of hip hop will make you a true bboy.

What is Bboying?

The Roots of Bboying

History of Breakdance

History

You’re already impatient, aren’t you?

3 chapters in and I haven’t even touched on a single move.

Yet.

That’s because the fundamentals of breaking isn’t the moves.

The fundamentals of bboying is the music. And that’s true for any dance.

Without music, there can be no dance. No physical expression. No artistry.

To learn the dance, you need to learn the music. Learn what is old, what is classic and what is new and modern.

And enjoy your time grooving and jiving to it.

157 Bboy Tracks You Must Listen To Before You Die

This Playlist of Bboy Songs Will Make You Move Your Feet

Strife Mixtapes

Stance Mixtapes

DJ Lean Rock

DJ B Ryan

DJ Nobunaga

DJ Four Eyez

DJ Fleg

DJ Jebel

We’ve finally reached the first lesson, the first movement of the dance.

The Toprock.

The Toprock is the upright portion of the dance. It’s where you step to the beat, play with your hands and just enjoy being groovy and cool.

The Rock

Cross Step

Indian Step

Salsa Step

6 Point Toprock

B.yu Video Series on Toprock Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Toprock Tips

Ynot’s Toprock Workshop

Before you can get into your footwork, you have to do what we call a transition.

A transition is some move or movement you do to change from levels to levels (e.g from toprock to footwork).

A get down (also known as a go down or a drop) is a method of transiting from your top rocks to your footwork.

Here are a few examples of the commonly used get downs you must know to change from the top level to the footwork level.

Coffee Grinder Get Down Tutorial

Knee Drop Tutorial

Cork Screw Tutorial

Indian Step Get Down

30 Drops in 60 Seconds

Powermove Entrances

The footwork is mainly what differentiates us from other dances and sports.

Let’s be honest.

We are quite possibly the only dance in the world to have developed such sophisticated movements at this level.

The footwork is what it describes — doing moves using your legs and arms and creating patterns of movements that are unique to yourself and breaking.

Watch to see what I mean here:

How to Choose Your First Footwork Direction

Basic Footwork Mechanics

Keebz — Steps 1–6

How to Coffee Grinder

How to 2 Step

How to 3 Step

How to 6-Step

7 Conditioning Exercises To Improve Your Footwork

How to Instantly Improve Your Footwork

What is a freeze? A freeze is what it implies — you act like you are frozen.

It serves like a punctuation in your dance. Imagine the various moves and movements like the words in a sentence and the freeze a full stop.

That’s how a freeze is.

Sharp, and locked tight to (usually) signify the end of something.

How to Baby Freeze

How to Turtle Freeze

How to Chair Freeze

How to Shoulder Freeze

8 Freeze Conditioning Exercises

How to Make Your Freeze Sharp

This is the part you’re probably most excited about.

It is the most physically challenging — and rewarding part of the dance. Many of the moves here require you to practice harder than you thought you ever would, as well as get the particular technique right.

It is not surprising to see people take a few months to learn any one of these moves.

But do not be disheartened — because the rewards will be well worth it.

How to Swipe

3 Swipe Mistakes

How to Windmill

3 Windmill Mistakes

How to Flare

How to Backspin

How to Cricket

How to Halo

Remember I mentioned that transitions are ways for you to get from one level to the other? They are also ways to get from one move to another.

In fact, you can count them as moves on their own.

And here are some common transitions used by bboys (some bordering on difficult) to get from moves to moves.

How to Kip Up

How to Valdez

How to Grub

How to Backspin Kick Up

How to Coin Drop

You’ve finally reached the last chapter of the complete beginner guide to bboying.

By now, you should have a clear idea of what the fundamentals of bboying are — and where you should start.

And if you’ve been diligent, you would have already been practicing the moves listed above.

Once you get your fundamentals down pat, you are ready to develop it a step further — and create your own moves.

You do this by employing creativity.

Employing what we call concepts or mental models that you can apply to change up your dance and to switch up your moves.

And where can you get these concepts?

You can either 1) think of it yourself or 2) use concepts that have already been used by other bboys.

And here, you can choose from a variety of videos where some bboys have willingly shared their most ingenious concepts with you.

Concepts for Breaking

How to Flip a Dance Move and Not Bite

3 Original Ways to Create Moves and Movements

Roxrite’s Bboy Concepts

Leveraging Concepts

How’s that for a guide?

Now, you no longer have any excuse to not know where to start. Just follow through the Chapters, consume the knowledge and practice everything inside.

And you’ll be well on your way to learn how to bboy.

Peace,
Erin

Liked it? Take a second to support bddecoded on Patreon!

Originally published at breakdancedecoded.com on November 30, 2016.

How to breakdance step by step

The following 3 videos will teach you how to breakdance step by step. We recommend that you watch these lessons in order as they are arranged from easiest to hardest. These moves come directly from our breakdancing courses which you should check out if you want to learn more. A word of caution, you must be careful when you attempt these moves. Be sure to study the movements very carefully and slowly and then ease into them. For other online dance classes click here.

Free mini video course for break dance:
Beginner break dance moves

Breakdancing move #1: 3 Step
The 3 step is one of the most popular beginner break dance moves. It consist of 3 steps that are done in a circle. In this move you will start with one leg extended in front of you and then will switch the legs as fast as you can so that the other leg is extended, from there you bring the leg side where you end up in a kind of push up position. Learn how to sync the arm switches with your leg switches.

Want More?
The Complete Breakdancing Course For beginners (No experience needed)
Learn simple but impressive moves step by step! You will learn footwork moves, ground moves as well as freezes. This video course has 3 modules with +3 hours of video instruction. Delivered through instant online access.
Learn more & Buy it here (Click here)

Breakdance move #2: Corkscrew Up:
This is another cool bboy move. The corkscrew up is perfect for when you need to get up from the ground in a “cool” and smooth way. You can do this move on it’s own or from any other combination of moves.Here you will develop strength and balance as you push off the floor to spin upwards and around.

One more to go below!

Break dance move #3: The baby freeze
Learn how to do a baby freeze move in this video. Freezes in Breakdancing are meant to draw attention to the dancer and are usually put in at the end of some footwork combination like the 3-step above! The baby freeze is great to start out with since its small. It still requires lots of coordination and practice so take it slowly and make sure you don’t skip anything.

Get Barry’s full course now:
The Complete Breakdancing Course For beginners (No experience needed)
Learn simple but impressive moves step by step! You will learn footwork moves, ground moves as well as freezes. This video course has 3 modules with +3 hours of video instruction. Delivered through instant online access.
Learn more & Buy it here (Click here)

History of Breakdancing:

Breakdancing was founded by the black community and Puerto Rican kids in the 1970s. And it really became popular after James brown’s single “Get On The Good Foot” where his busted out his high energy footwork dancing. After that, the kids in New york started to copy his moves and eventually it evolved to be called b-boy or break dancing. At that time most of the style was ground footwork combinations without any of the fancy stuff you see today like windmills or back spins that are popular today. There were also breakdancing battles between gangs or clicks.

Another dance called “uprock” influenced the b-boy dancers. In this dance style, the dancers mimic fighting moves into rhythmic dance moves that opponents would use to ‘battle’ against one another.

The music is not restricted to Hip Hop anymore. These days dancers choose Techno, Jazz, electronic, pop and an other types of music that suites their style.

Other styles:
Back to free Hip Hop dance videos page
How to Ballroom dance
How to dance at clubs and parties
Online dance classes

How to learn to dance breakdance at home.

Breakdance

Breakdance is a spectacular street dance that came to us from New York in the 60s. In Russia, this direction includes 2 different concepts: the upper break dance and the lower break dance.

Break dancers are in excellent physical shape, as the performance of complex acrobatic movements requires special training. B-boys (as dancers call themselves) develop the strength and flexibility of the body, a sense of balance and endurance.

History of origin

The history of break dancing began in the late 60s in New York, in one of the poorest areas - the Bronx. At this time, electronic music was gaining popularity among young dancers who used the elements of rotation on the ground and called this direction Good Foot. The name B-boys and B-boying appeared thanks to the DJ Kool Herc, B-boys - an abbreviated name for Break boys - broken beat dancers.

Fundamentals of Choreography / Dance Technique

The base of breakdance includes many basic elements:

Fly / Flare

Fly is the rotation of the legs in a circle, alternately changing hands.

Gelik / Windmill

Rotation on the floor with legs wide apart due to leg swings. There are varieties in setting the position of the hands behind the back - this is one of the basic movements.

Headspin

Headspin - rotation on the head with the help of hands. The position of the legs can be with the legs apart and bent into an obtuse or right angle. One of the brightest movements want to learn breakdance beginners.

Candle / Ninety Nine

Rotation of the body on a straight arm.

Candle / TWo thousand

Rotation of the body on two hands.

Swipe

Rotation of the body 180 degrees and repulsion from the floor with a change of supporting hand.

Turtle

Horizontal rotation of the body on bent arms, which rest with the elbow on the press.

Air Flare

A 180 degree rotation of the body in which the legs constantly make circles in the air.

Cricket

Horizontal rotation of the body on bent arms, but only one arm acts as the center of gravity, the second is the guide.

Six steps

Six leg movements with the arms as support. It looks like a circular run with your feet on the floor.

All these movements you can learn from our

Break dance is a spectacular dance that combines amazing plasticity and the complexity of acrobatic stunts. Its main properties are improvisation, originality and incendiary

Breakdancing represents the dance direction of hip-hop culture and includes many styles. Its execution requires good coordination, physical endurance, a sense of rhythm and flexibility. In movements that include improvisational transitions from original plastique to acrobatic elements with spins on the head, jumps on the arms and turns around his body, the dancer not only demonstrates mastery, but also splashes out his emotions and energy.

The history of the origin of dance

There is an interesting legend telling that in the early 70s in America, people from the poor neighborhoods of New York, who were accustomed to sort things out with weapons in their hands, decided to demonstrate their strength and dexterity in a more original way. The opponents went out in turn against each other and showed their skills and intentions in the language of movements.

Any legend is based on real facts, so we can definitely say that breakdancing originated as a street dance and only in the process of its development became a performing art. Break dancers rarely use this name, preferring "breaking" or "b-boying". The term "breakdancing" was created artificially and was used in the media. It was necessary to separate the different directions included in the concept of breaking.

Breakdancing is predominantly performed by males, as it is difficult for girls to learn it due to their physical characteristics, although many b-girls (girls who dance breakdancing) also achieve amazing success.

In its progress, breakdance went through several stages, including both borrowing from other dances that included their elements in breakdance, and the development of b-boying itself. So we can mention the Good Foot style, in which broken movements and elements of rotation on the ground first appeared. Do not forget about the influence of Puerto Ricans, who developed and implemented many acrobatic tricks. "Participated" in the formation of breakdance and elements of kung fu, and rhythmic components that came from African immigrants, etc.

Of course, the development of breakdance was facilitated by battles - competitions of breakers, in which it was very important to impress the enemy with the greatest possible sophistication of combinations of movements and tricks. The dancers began to unite in teams, developing their own styles and original movements.

Currently, breakdance is spread all over the world, there are numerous breakdance schools, championships and festivals are held.

Styles

Conventionally, breakdance is divided into upper and lower. The division is formal because the dance includes combinations of elements from both levels.

Upper breakdance elements require more plastique and improvisational moves, while lower breakdance requires more physical training and acrobatic skills.

Top breakdance includes many directions, but the main ones are:

Animation - a style in which dancers imitate the intermittent movements of animated dolls.
Waving - body movements that visually resemble waves.
King tut - a dance in which the movements of the limbs must be carried out at right angles.
Slowmo - A style similar to slow motion video playback.

In turn, the lower breakdance includes the following main styles:

Fly (flare / delasal) - is the movement of the legs in a circle with a change of hands.
Head spins (headspin, drill)
Rotations on the back or shoulder blades (backspin, windmill)

There are many styles of breakdance, and the more of them a dancer has, the more opportunities he has for successful battle performances.

Breakdancing Features

Break dance is danced to fast music with strong percussion, the most commonly used musical genres are:

Despite the distribution of educational videos, it is better to learn break dance at school under the guidance of an experienced coach.

Break dance

Break dance or b-boying ) - street dance, one of the currents of hip-hop culture. All dance breaking came from New York from the south Bronx, except for pop locking, which came from California. Breakdance originated in the late 60s, but it is generally accepted that it was formed as a separate dance by 1973. For the first time, the dance was introduced to the general public by James Brown, as breakdance dancers participated in his show.

Origin of the term

This is a dance that belongs to the hip-hop culture, and inside it is called "breaking" (breaking, English breaking ). As such, it was conceived by the creators of this movement (Afrika Bambaataa).

To distinguish between male and female dancers, the MCs announced "B-boys" (Eng. B-boys) ) and B-girls (eng. B-girls ). The word "B-Boying" gained popularity in the 1980s when it became public knowledge. David Toop describes breakdancing as an adaptation of Breaka (Eng. Break) ), a dance that was popular before being taken out by Freak , but once again risen to prominence thanks to the likes of the Nigga Twins, Spy and Zulu Kings. However, one of the founders of hip-hop, Dj Kool Herc claims that the word breaking comes from the slang word break , (literally "pause") since, initially, the best dancers went into musical losses during the song - pause. For the first time, the word "b-boy" was used by Dj Kool Herc, who called people who performed breakdancing that way.

Types of breaking

Breakdance, in fact, as a dance is represented by only one form - breaking (or b-boying). In our country, for a long time it was customary to divide breakdance into “lower” and “upper”. Such a division was born back in the mid-80s of the last century, when only fragmentary information about breakdancing got into our country through the iron curtain. Largely due to the lack of truthful information in the CIS for a long time, the “upper break” developed, which did not exist anywhere else in the world, so Western dance culture has gone far ahead.

Actually, what we called the "top break" is a different form of street dance, originating not on the East Coast of the USA, but on the West. These dances are based on West Coast funk culture and are popping, locking and electric boogaloo (not to be confused with electric boogie!). The locking style was invented by a man named Don "Campbellock" Campbell, and gained popularity and popularity with the help of The Lockers, which he created. The Electric Boogaloo and Popping styles were created by Sem "Boogaloo Sam" Salomon and developed by his Electric Boogaloos team.

Funkstyles

Strobing - Imitation of movements in the light of a stroboscope. It consists of many small phases, stops, with sharp transitions between them. The important thing is that for easy and correct execution of the style, the muscles must be relaxed. It is necessary to work out the gesture first smoothly and relaxing, then also smoothly, but with full muscle tension.
Dimestop - Dimestop is both a style and a way of stopping, fixing. The name comes from the American "dime" - a coin of ten cents, and "stop" - stop. This is explained by the fact that when a person studied this direction, he scattered coins around him. Stepping on a coin while moving, the dancer froze for a moment. Thus, dimestop is a quick stop of the whole body or part of it, but without any impulse or push.
Floating/Gliding - Sliding is also a separate style from other funk styles, and a separate movement. In total, there are more than 40 of its variations. The most popular are glide - sliding to the left, right or along a geometric figure (circle, square), moonwalk. This, of course, not counting all kinds of knee glides - sliding on your knees. Here it is necessary to make a digression and draw a clear line between gliding and floating. All of the above are glides. Floats should be understood as nothing more than elementary heel-toe walking.
Waving - waves. It is the waves, combined with fixation, that are called “electric boogie” in Russia. Although, of course, this is not “boogie”, but wavering is one of the funk styles. Its main idea is to imitate the fact that a wave or a bunch of energy moves through the dancer's body. Rather, it is a visual effect, not an idea. There are a huge number of sub-styles in waving.
3D - Information on this style is very scarce. We can only say that 3D is a combination of wave and strobing, when the wave traveling through the body breaks into more points.
Bopping - the secret style of the dancer Boppin "Dre (Andre), and the LA Bopping crew. Boppin Dre's students founded a team that mainly practices this direction. The shortest definition says that bopping is a dancing robot.
King tut (tutting) - primitive slang king tut - short for "king", was originally an imitation of ancient Egyptian drawings depicting people in various poses. It was characteristic that in all movements right angles were observed between the body and arms, shoulder and forearm, forearm and wrist. The palms are even (or “boat”), fingers together, legs either together or at certain angles to the body.
Spiderman is a style that has not yet been mastered in Russia. What is it, all these "digits" and "spidermen"? Once upon a time, Poppin "Pete, the brother of Boogaloo Sam, the founder of The Electric Boogaloos team, created the spiderman style, the essence of which was to work with the fingers. Subsequently, a wave of rave culture swept America, then two styles of dance appeared that did not have nothing to do with funk - one was called "liquid", and the other "digits". Digits is a dance exclusively with fingers. That is, palms and fingers perform certain sequences of movements to the music. Qualitatively performed, this dance is simply mesmerizing. Unfortunately, today day, you can see it only by searching the Internet for video clips.At one time there were entire sections dedicated to video liquid and digits.However, now it is not so easy to find them.Finger waving speaks for itself - waves with fingers, in various sequences and combinations. Attention of the viewer always involuntarily embraces not the dancer as a whole, but only separate parts of his body... A very important role here is played by the hands and feet.0096
Robot (botting) - it was this style that, at one time, made a name for breakdance in the Soviet Union (however, this is debatable). One of the founders of botting (robotting) is the American mime Robert Shields. In the seventies, there was a show on television where two talented artists demonstrated the art of pantomime in various subjects. The show was called Shields & Yarnell (Yarnell - that was the name of Shields' partner). Perhaps this TV show is not the only one that served as an impetus for the creation of a dance direction, but, in any case, it had a huge impact on dancing youth. Perhaps that is why Robert Shields is considered almost a living legend and enjoys great respect among people who know the history of funk styles. He himself, being already an elderly man, is the owner of a design company, but sometimes he chooses the time to show up at major events, like the Freestyle Session and Bboy Summit. "Robot" Shields is a classic, and he uses just the dimestop technique, although this is not necessary in modern times. The secret of botting as a style lies in two things. In technology, this is, of course, isolation. All movements should be as isolated from each other as possible. "Isolation" is a pantomime term, and you can read more about it in the relevant sources. The second secret lies in attitude. There are some other important details. The viewer's attention is fixed not on the body as a whole, but on such things as hands, fingers and, of course, the face (in particular, the eyes). Therefore, the above parts of the body and facial expressions must be given special attention.
Hitting/Ticking - both of these terms have a double meaning. On the one hand, they imply what is called "fixation", that is, a sharp contraction of the muscles and, as a result, a strong, or not very noticeable push. On the other hand, “ticking” can also be called your own direction in dance. The dancer uses sharp muscle contractions not at the beginning or end of the movement, but during it. In other words, “ticking” is like strobing, only smooth and with fixation.
Strutting - Stratting - as a style, it implies characteristic movements, that is, leg movements. The essence of the movements is that the full step is divided into several small steps. For example, the dancer is standing, the right leg is in front, the left is behind, the body is in the middle. In a normal walk, the weight of the body is transferred to the right foot and the left step is full length, so that it is in front and the right is behind. The simplest stratting will imply that you first need to put your left foot to the right, and only then step forward. Thus, your step is divided into two parts. You can, of course, divide it into smaller segments. You can add ticking here (fixing the body) or dimestop for every small step.
Saccin" (Sacramento style) - The style originated somewhere in Sacramento. Sekkin implies characteristic movements of the legs, along with fixation. Pose "A": right leg behind, left leg in front, body in the middle, body weight on two legs. Pose "B": everything is the same, only the legs have changed places - the right one in front, the left one in the back, the body remained in the same place. During the step, the leg that is in front moves first. She stands back, and then the other leg steps forward. The body remains in place, that is, the steps are performed without direct movement.
Filmore - Fillmore as a direction also takes its name from Filmore street. There is practically no exact description of this style anywhere. Fillmore, performed in the process of popping, involves movements of the hands, observing clear angles. Fillmore has nothing to do with Egypt. The arms are either straight or bent at a right angle. An analogy was given to soldiers marching with rifles in a parade.
Popping - popping is both a separate dance style, and at the same time the so-called umbrella term, that is, a general term for all funk styles. Although it is still incorrect to use it as a general term. Popping, as one of the funk styles, involves the rhythmic contraction of all the major muscle groups of the body to the music, creating a wince effect. Free movement on the dance floor, the body takes various poses and positions in space. The process of popping comes down to changing various positions to the rhythm along with pop fixation. The main music for popping is funk. Popping has a set of basic moves, such as "fresno", etc. By itself, in its purest form, it is not at all like what is used to be understood as "top breakdancing" in the former Soviet Union. However, popping is the most common funk style. Its creator is Sam Solomon (Sam Solomon, founder of The Electric Boogaloos).
Boog (boogaloo) - Boogaloo is extremely difficult to describe, but this style is very interesting. In Russia, this style in battles was combined into electrickboogie, popping. His father is also Sam Solomon (Boogaloo Sam). Boogaloo is a very fluid style, characterized by the fact that the body assumes unnatural poses, making smooth transitions between them. One of the basic movements are the so-called boogaloo rolls, literally “rolls”. Rolls mean the rotation of various parts of the body - legs (leg rolls), hips (hip rolls), chest (chest rolls), etc.
Snaking - A style that includes several sub-styles. Snaking was created during the dawn of funk culture by members of the Mysterious Poppers. The dancers in this group each had their own version of snaking in their arsenal. The most common of them, and, perhaps, the hallmark of the whole style, was the "cobra". This is a complex, multicomponent wave. The meaning of the cobra is in the simultaneous rotation of the head, shoulders (in different directions, one clockwise, the other against), rotation of the chest (in the direction opposite to the head), hips, as well as certain leg work (when the right shoulder is below during rotation, it bends the right leg, thus, the knee is brought forward, and when the left shoulder is below, vice versa).
Slowmo - Slowmo (short for slow motion - slow motion) is an imitation of slow motion video or film. Slowmo looks very impressive, subject to high-quality performance. For example, at some point in the dance, you can sharply slow down to the rhythm of the music and repeat the movements already performed, but only slowly, and then accelerate sharply, or vice versa, slow down slowly and stop completely.

More about locking, electric boogaloo and popping

Types of breaking elements

As such, the bottom break does not exist. Breaking is a combination of a complete set of elements, as well as a change of levels. Footwork

- footwork performed on the floor. It includes elements of Sixsteps, Scramble, Fivesteps, Babylove, Zulu Spin, Pretzels, CC, Swing, etc.
Toprock - the level of breaking, which the townsfolk call the top. In fact, Top rock, along with footwork, is one of the most obvious indicators of the level of B'boy'ya or B'girl. Top Rock is made up of many elements. Below is an example of just a few and the main ones: Cross Step, indian step, outlaw step, salsa step, front step, march step, etc.
Freeze - fading for a couple of seconds in one position. This type includes Baby freeze, Headstand freeze, Chair, Halo freeze, etc.
Power move (Power Elements) - Also called "Air Moves" - power spin moves like Windmill, Flares, Head Spin, Air Twist (Air Tracks), Elbow Twist (Elbow Tracks), Flare (Fly), Elbow Flare (Elbow Fly ), 1990 (Spine), 1999 (Revers), 2000, Elbow Spine (1990), Elbow Revers Spine (1999), Halo (Tracks), Windmills, Muchmills, Swipes, Airplane mills, Headspin, Turtle, Cricket, Jackhummer, Ufo , Alligator, Wolf etc.

Lower breakdance elements

Flare/Delasal - in Russian: fly - rotation of the legs in a circle, placing them in a corner, alternately changing hands.

Windmill - in Russian: gelik (from Helicopter) - Rotation on the floor with legs wide apart. Rotation occurs due to the swing movements of the legs. The transition across the back should be through the area of the shoulder blades to reduce the chance of injury to the spine. After the transition from the shoulder blades, the head rests on the floor, the hand rests on the press to be able to make the next run. There are varieties of this element, one of which is to set the position of the hands behind the back and, as a result, after the transition from the back, the hands are not involved.

Munchmill - in Russian: barrel - similar to gelik, but turning over occurs by jumping with the help of a push with the legs, which are crossed and pressed to the chest.

Headspin - rotation on the head - rotation occurs with the help of hands. The position of the legs may be different. The most common is with the legs spread apart and bent into an obtuse (or right) angle. It is often performed in combination with a “helik” and ends with some element (most often in the form of one straightened leg and the second, placed across the knee, like an inverted “4”).

1999/ninety-nine - in Russian: candle - rotation on a straight arm, there are many options for the location of the legs and the second hand.

2000\two-thousand - also called a candle, but it is a two-handed spin. There are also many leg options.

Swipe - rotation of the body by 180 degrees around the horizontal axis with repulsion from the floor with one or two legs and change of the supporting arm. The key features of this element are the strong extension of the leg or legs with simultaneous twisting of the body. There are varieties of this element, one of which is to put the elbows on the floor, not the hands.

Turtle - in the Russian version: turtle - Horizontal rotation of the body on bent arms, which rest with the elbows on the press. Rotation consists in dragging the body from one elbow, which rests against a certain part of the press (right or left), to the other supporting elbow while simultaneously directing the body in the direction of movement

Air Flare is one of the most difficult elements. With the movement of the arms, it is very similar to the Swipe element, but the main feature is that the legs do not come into contact with the floor, they constantly make swing movements in a circle in the air, thereby allowing the body to be kept in a position close to horizontal. There are varieties of this element, one of which is to put the elbows on the floor, and not straight arms.

Cricket is an element that is very similar to the Turtle element. In this element, instead of transferring the center of gravity of the body from one elbow to another, only one hand is used, while the second is a guide. The first hand makes a push, and due to this, the body bounces. At this moment, the first hand turns around and is placed on the floor, after which the second hand, resting on the floor, scrolls the body. There are variations of this element, one of which is to use only one hand to push and to twist the body.

Six steps - translated into Russian as Six Steps . It is called so because it consists of six leg movements. The hands in this element are the support. There is a movement of the legs in a different position, in addition, when rearranging the legs, they must be crossed twice. The result will be circular runs with your feet on the floor.

backspin - 360 degree or more back twist with legs wide apart or crossed. Similar to Windmill scrolling on the shoulder blades.

Flare - (in Russian “fly”) the element is similar to the gymnastic element “dalasalom”, that is, rotation on a horse, only in this case on the floor and with legs apart.

Baby freeze - a frieze similar to Turtle, but without rotation. Unlike Turtle, the head is lowered and one knee rests on the elbow, varieties: open baby freeze, close baby freeze, baby gun

Air baby freeze - standing on the arm slightly bent at the elbow with the knee placed on the elbow.

Air Chair - frieze, the elbow rests with the triceps on the hip, legs together and on itself, the body turns as much as possible towards the floor, so that it seems as if the biboy is standing with his back to the ground.

Drill - One of the types of headspin, the legs are straightened up crossed among themselves, the arms are pressed to the shoulders, or apart, but do not touch the floor. B-boy spins fast, standing on just one head.

Halo - An element similar to Baby freeze, but during this movement, the b-boy rolls his head to the side, then stands on Baby freeze and again "jackhammer" - an element similar to Cricket, but jumps are made on one hand.

These are not all elements of b-boying, dance is unlimited and b-boy is first of all individual.

Battle Ten Commandments

Don't sleep!
Never show your entire "arsenal" of moves
Never make moves that are not yet perfected
Do not use multiple "outputs" at one time
Never repeat the opponent's moves (usually the list of exceptions are those cases when, after the repetition, you complete your opponent's move with a spectacular ending)
Less words, more concentration
Battle is won not by movement, but by thought
If this is a battle - let me know about it, influence the unconscious!
Keep your eyes on your target!
Know how to accept your defeat.

Legendary teams

Rock Steady Crew

Highly professional, one of a kind and inimitable legendary Rock Steady Crew. Its founder is a certain Jo-Jo. Now R.S.C. not just a dance group consisting of several dancers, it is a whole empire that takes root all over the world.

Not everyone can become a member, but there is still a small chance. The first Rock Steady Crew was registered in the early seventies in New York, and its second generation included seven dissimilar monsters of dance culture: Crazy Legs, Prince Ken Swift, Baby Love Buck 4, Kuriaki and Doze. Crazy Legs and Prince Ken Swift are still official members of R.S.C. Buck 4 and Kuriaki passed away a few years ago for unknown reasons. The last member of the Doze team devotes most of his time to the art of graffiti.

Today the Rock Steady Crew officially includes: Crazy Legs, Prince Ken Swift, Y-Not, Mr. Wiggles, Masami, Orko, Bailrock.

ICE KID from 2nd II None

Flying Steps

But still, the direction of music for this dance is not limited to those listed above. You can dance to any genre of music (often these are remixes of different songs). On world battles, such genres as European electronica and even operatic compositions are also progressing.

In the USSR and Russia

1986, the first battles in the "Oktobris" club in Riga

Among the first electric-boogie dancers were Igor Zakharov, Oleg Smolin, Alexei Gerulaitis, Konstantin Mikhailov.

B-boy performance at Sparrow Hills

The name "break dance" is not entirely correct, it is correct to call this style breaking or b-boying. How can you describe this style? This is culture, art, rotations, extreme movements, as well as the direction of hip-hop. It was first danced on the New York streets in the 70s. Breaking used to be the dance of the Underground culture, or rather the underground. Later, Puerto Ricans added capoeira elements that looked like (screw, somersault). How is breakdancing at home?

Breaking music

Have you set yourself the task: “I want to learn how to break dance”? Then pick up the music first. For this, accelerated remixes of hip-hop tracks are suitable, as well as break-beat music, for example, Funkshone, Dj Skeme Richards, Big Daddy Moochin, Ill Boogs and others.

How to learn how to breakdance at home: basic movements

1. Strike. Sit on the floor, one leg is bent at the knee and on the toe, the other needs to be pulled forward, the toe looks up. Next, we take the extended leg to the side, cut the second one and return it to its original position without bending.

2. Balance. Learn to balance. Take a position as for push-ups on the floor, lean on one hand and try, balancing, to stay on it. The right elbow should be brought to the stomach, transfer the weight to this hand without losing balance.

3. Tumbler. You need to fall on your back, somersault back and lift the body on your hands, then fall again and so on.

4. Swipe. You need to stand on one hand, the body is parallel to the floor, does not sag and is turned to the side, raise the other hand to the ceiling. You can first change your hand and at the same time turn the body in the opposite direction. Together with the replacement of hands, you need to perform a jump from both legs.

5. Footwork. These are leg movements. These include weaves, paths, rhythmic footsteps around the body, running.

6. Spinning move or power move. These are elements of rotation that amaze with their spectacularity. For example, "crab" - the body rotates horizontally on the arms, and the legs are spread apart into a twine.

7. Power Trix. Power movements that are unthinkable without appropriate physical training.

8. Friezes. These include fading in different positions.

How to learn how to breakdance at home? This, of course, is not too simple, but it is quite real. To perform break dance lessons at home, use the tips that will help you in your endeavor:

All technical elements will require endurance from you, so learn endurance and patience - not everything works out the first or even the fifth time.

When performing acrobatics, get a friend or coach to back you up.

To avoid injury, be sure to warm up and cool down - warm up the muscles well.

Be careful when performing movements, move from simple to complex gradually.

Conduct training in a team - it is easier to notice your own and other people's mistakes and avoid them in the future. In addition, this is a great incentive to dance better than others and learn how to perform the most inconceivable movements.

Now you know how to learn how to breakdance at home, and this is a great start, as dancing in this direction is a great replacement or addition to any sport.

Breakdancing originated around the 1970s, but it continues to evolve and be one of the most popular forms of modern dance movement. What is a unique dance style that was born on the streets of New York.

What is breakdancing?

Many people, including established professional dancers, often view breakdancing as a form of dance that peaked in the 1980s and is now dead. However, this is very far from the truth. Breakdancing actually originated 20 years before the heyday of its popularity - at the beginning of the 19In the 1970s, this form of dance was popular with young African Americans and other ethnic minorities in the Bronx. Children began to bring their radios to the streets and try different dance moves. These dancers became known as "breakers" because of the association with starting the dance after turning on the radio.

The Evolution of Dance in Society

Quite quickly, break dancing caught the attention of more experienced professionals in the dance world, and it soon became popular throughout the United States. The dance often took place on the street, was used to peacefully resolve disputes by warring gangs, and soon these informal competitions turned into more organized events. Soon, dance groups began performing breakdancing at big events and discos. Today, there are worldwide competitions dedicated specifically to break dancing, and many dance studios offer break dancing lessons. Often the steps of this dance are taught in conjunction with more modern hip hop. Breakdancing is now an international phenomenon and is popular in every corner of the globe.

Breakdancing Movements

Breakdancing has four unique movements - Power Elements, Freezes, Toprock and Footwork. Each of these has its own function in the overall breakdancing choreography, and the dance essentially consists of a combination of these four types of movements.

Toprock is a series of movements performed while standing. This series of moves requires good flexibility and a sense of rhythm, and many dancers use Toprock as an introduction to a series of dance tricks.

Footwork is the exact opposite - it is done mostly on the floor.
Power movements are rotational elements that can be used in any phase of the dance.
Friezes - freezing for a couple of seconds in one position after the end of any set of movements.

Women dancing in the street

Women have been on the sidelines of the break world for decades. However, in recent years, "B-girls" have found their niche in this dance art. The girls are now creating their own groups and also dancing with their male counterparts.

Break dance: upside down dance | Blogs

Dancing is the most accessible opportunity to change role masks (you must admit that not everyone can play in the theater, and it is not always appropriate to use the ability to transform in everyday life). So I decided: “That's it, enough of my step from the hip, thickly painted eyelashes and other feminine lotions” and went to a master class in one of the toughest and most technically complex types of dance - breakdance. My guru in the world of b-boying was Lena Volkova - a breathtakingly dancing b-girl and a feminine "tomboy". About how two antipodes collided and how a break dancer did not “hatch” out of me, I will tell in my dance diary.

At once it would be desirable to make a reservation about terminology. Despite the familiar name "break-dance", in recent years the word "B-boying" has been increasingly used. The female dancers are called "B-girls" and the male dancers are called "B-boys".

—Unfortunately, due to the Russian mentality, these terms evoke strange associations, but in our case, "bi" is an abbreviation for "break", and not a designation of bisexuality - Lena laughs caustically, - by and large, break dance and b-boying can be called synonymous.

Lena puts on knee pads and elbow pads before class:
— Now, when I train people myself, I make sure that everyone has “protection”, so that the guys warm up properly and listen to at least the elementary instincts of self-preservation. My bitter experience is just the careless, inattentive and fearless use of my own body, as a result of which there are injuries and diagnoses that are very limiting for me today.

But despite this, Lena has been successfully doing her favorite thing for five years now. However, this happens to many professional dancers.

—At the age of 19, I started going to a modern dance group with a profile: “everything in a row and anything,” and then I moved to the next room, where the boys danced break dance. Then no one specially trained anyone - everyone was self-taught, therefore, probably, there was more interest and effort. Breakdancing was something unknown; rare videos, cassettes with battles and some episodes of the program "Under 16 and older" served as sources of knowledge. But any information was worth its weight in gold! And today everything is more than accessible, the "romance" is gone. But on the other hand, the professionalism of the dancers and their capabilities are multiplying. B-boying completely changed my life, which before it was completely empty! I really regret that I came to training late and wasted time on useless things ... - there is a feeling that Lena's conversion to breakdancing happened not five, but 10-15 years ago.

— Doesn't it bother you that b-boying is a masculine, even boyish dance, that there is no femininity in it? – I clap my eyes with long eyelashes, which I nevertheless made up.
- Well, I can dance feminine and b-boying .... Yes, okay, who am I kidding (smiles). This is a stereotype that a girl must certainly be in a dress and high heels. Of course, I will dress like this if, for example, I go to someone's wedding, but the fact that I now look different (Lena in a spacious T-shirt and a black shapeless hat - author) does not detract from my feminine essence. Femininity is an internal state when you have special wisdom, when you can take care of your beloved man and children in the future, - for these words of Lenin I mentally shake her hand, - With regards to female breakdance, many girls attend training only in order to improve their personal lives and stare at the boys. It's just extremely feminine, isn't it? But nothing good comes of this.

Fortunately, at the master class organized by Lena (by the way, our b-girl now lives in Novosibirsk, she came to Irkutsk for only a week), almost all those present came to dance, not to look around. There were a lot of hip-hop dancers among the class participants, over whom Lena made fun of them, showing the advantages of breakdancing over other types of street dances.

“The first and most important point is to psychologically prepare a person for training,” Lena assures, which is why she talked and joked a lot at the master class.

“Don't be afraid to look like an idiot! Everyone here will look like this!”, “A dancer must learn to stand on his hands. Well this is another world upside down”, “Your body is all you have. Money and lovers do not belong to you, only your own body! the Internet.

—At one time I was wildly afraid to perform. Especially, to improvise in battles - it seemed to be something super-terrible, - Lena admits in front of twenty eyes staring at her, - in order to achieve expressiveness, you must be sure, there must be energy, pressure - you need to dance when you have something that really pissed me off. So that your opponent in the battle will be scared of you and run away from the stage.

To be honest, I didn't manage to "get angry" that day, perhaps that's why it was difficult for me to catch sharp "steps" with my feet and intricate scrolling on the floor. Most of all, I remember the "cross-step" - according to legend, this movement originates from those distant times, when the pioneering b-boys thus freed up their place on the dance floor. Like, step back, now I'll show you!

During the master class, Lena explained that b-boying is a very meaningful dance, and abstract thinking will only help:
- Break dance makes you fantasize and look at the world in a different way. There are no restrictions in this direction, anything can inspire you, even a ballet or a program about animals. You can imitate the behavior of birds or imagine yourself as some kind of fairy-tale character. In general, in a break there are many options for playing out some scenes from life, for example, you can do a dance with a fictional flower or a gun. The main thing is that the action is logical and complete.

When the practical and familiarization part of the master class came to an end, Lena suddenly announced jubilantly: “And now there will be a creative jam.