B-boy

A b-boy performing in Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA.

A b-boy (or break-boy) is a male dancer who practices breaking or b-boying, the original hip-hop dance style. Equal terms for this are b-girl, to refer to a female who practices breaking, and breaker which is gender neutral.

Terminology

The breaking documentary The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy presents two reasons of why the ‘b’ stands for ‘break’. The first is that it is a reference to the musical ‘breaks’ on the record.^[1] Crazy Legs, the president of Rock Steady Crew explains the origin of the term: “the word b-boy originated from Kool Herc … b-boys and b-girls — break boys, break girls.”^[2] His colleague Mr. Freeze of Rock Steady Crew states, “the break of the record… ‘b’… break, we are the b-boys.”^[2] Mr. Wiggles of Rock Steady Crew and Electric Boogaloos says, “the DJs used to cut breaks, and the b-boys would break to what? The breaks. So you know, it’s just common sense.”^[2]

An alternative theory is that it comes from the street slang terms 'break' and 'breaking' which at the time meant to fight or to lose control.^[1] Grand Mixer DXT says, “breaking boys — because people would be breaking at the party, starting trouble… when somebody would get mad — 'yo he’s breaking, stop breaking man,' and when Kool Herc says it, it’s official.”^[2] DJ Kool Herc himself (billed as ‘The Father of Hip-Hop’ in the documentary) says, “b-boy — boys that break, it didn’t come from breaks on the record, it comes from… this man he ‘broke’, he went to a point, a breaking point… we just used the exaggeration of that term to the dancing — the b-boys, break boys.”^[2]

History of breaking

Breaking or b-boying, commonly called breakdancing, is a style of dance that evolved as part of hip-hop culture among Black and Latino American youths in the South Bronx during the 1970s.^{[3][4]:125, 141, 153} It is danced to both hip-hop and other genres of music that are often remixed to prolong the musical breaks.

There are four basic elements which form the foundation of breaking. The first is Toprock, a term referring to the upright dancing and shuffles. The second element is Downrock which refers to footwork dancing performed on the floor. The third element is the Freeze, the poses that breakers throw into their dance sets to add punctuation to certain beats and end their routines. The fourth element of b-boying is the Power Moves. These are the most impressive acrobatic moves normally made up of circular motions where the dancer will spin on the floor or in the air.

Though widespread, the term breakdancing is looked down upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture. This is because the word breakdance is a term created by the media^[2][5][6][7] to describe what was called breaking or b-boying in the street. The majority of the art form’s pioneers and most notable practitioners refer to the dance as breaking or b-boying.^[2][5][1]

B-boy styles

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B-boy Timon, doing a baby freeze

There are many different individual styles used in breaking. Individual styles often stem from a dancer's region of origin and influences. Although there are some generalities in the styles that exist, many dancers combine elements of different styles with their own ideas and knowledge in order to create a unique style of their own.

• Power: This style of breaking is what most members of the general public associate with the term "break-dancing". Power moves comprise full-body spins and rotations that give the illusion of defying gravity. Examples of power moves include headspins, backspins, windmills, flares, airtracks/airflares, 1990s, 2000s, jackhammers, crickets, turtles, hand glide, halos, and elbow spins. Those b-boys who use "power moves" almost exclusively in their sets are referred to as "powerheads".
• Abstract: A very broad style of breaking which may include the incorporation of threading footwork, freestyle movement to hit beats, house dance, broken link styles, and "circus" styles (tricks, contortion, etc.)
• Trick (Blowup): A style of breaking which focuses on the "wow factor" of certain power moves, freezes, and circus styles. Blowup-style consists of performing a sequence of as many difficult trick combinations in as quick succession as possible in order to "smack" or exceed the virtuosity of the other b-boy's performance. This is usually attempted only after becoming proficient in other styles due to the degree of control and practice required in this type of dancing. The names of some of the moves are: airbaby, airchair, hollow backs, solar eclipse, reverse airbaby, among others. The main goal in blowup-style is the rapid transition through a sequence power moves.
• Flavor: A style that is based more on elaborate toprock, downrock, and/or freezes. This style is focused more on the beat of the song than having to rely on "power" moves only. B-boys who base their dance on "flavor" or style are known as "style heads".
• Burns: A type of move intended to embarrass the opponent by creating obscene or comical moves (i.e crotch grabbing) during battles.

References

External links

Hip hop portal

Hip-Hop at the Open Directory Project

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