Bronx, New York, 1970s
BREAKING
The invention of the B-boy in the Bronx
Breaking (or Breakdance in commercial vocabulary) was born at block parties in the Bronx in the early 1970s, around DJ Kool Herc. Dancers took advantage of the "breaks" — the instrumental pauses that the DJ looped — to drop to the floor in battles of virtuosity. It is Hip-hop's first dance, carried by the Latino and African American B-boys of the Rock Steady Crew, the Zulu Kings, and the Dynamic Rockers.
Its vocabulary is organized into four families: toprock (standing), footwork (on the ground), powermoves (acrobatic spins), and freezes (holds). Long a niche practice, Breaking is today an Olympic discipline — included for the first time at the Paris 2024 Games — without ever losing its culture of battle, crew, and cypher.
How it's danced
Technique & figures
Breaking is danced to breakbeats at around 90-110 BPM. Each round lasts about a minute: the B-boy enters standing (toprock), drops to the floor (drop), links footwork and powermoves, then finishes with a freeze. It all has to be musical, clean, and tell a story.
Styles and fundamentals
Two great eras coexist. The Old School (1970s-80s) favors style, rhythm, floor exchanges. The New School (1990s to today) pushes acrobatic virtuosity — powermoves, spins, air moves. A good dancer masters all four families and knows how to read their opponent.
Main figures
- 01
Toprock
Standing vocabulary: Indian step, salsa rock, kick step. It's the round's entrance, where the B-boy introduces himself.
- 02
Six-step
A circular sequence of six hand-foot supports on the ground. The gateway into all footwork.
- 03
Windmill
Continuous rotation on the back and shoulders, legs open in a V. An emblematic powermove of the repertoire.
- 04
Headspin
A balanced spin on the head, legs extended. One of the most technical and dangerous powermoves.
- 05
Flare
An athletic circular rotation of the legs, body supported on the arms. Borrowed directly from gymnastics (pommel horse).
- 06
Baby freeze / Air freeze
Holds balanced on the forearms (baby) or in the air on one hand (air). The exclamation point of a round.
Reading the music
Breaking is danced to funk-soul breakbeats (James Brown, The Incredible Bongo Band with "Apache"), to old-school boom-bap, and today to break mixes produced specifically for battles. DJs ISO, Skeme Richards, and Lean Rock are the guardians of the sound.