Breakdance

Breakdance




Breakdancing may have begun as a building, productive, and a
constructive youth culture alternative to the violence of
urban street gangs. For most breakdancers, fashion is a
defining aspect of identity. The breakdancers of the 1980s
typically sported flat-soled Adidas, Puma, or Fila shoes with
thick, elaborately patterned laces.[citation needed] Some
breakdancing crews matched their hats, shirts, and shoes to
show uniformity, and were perceived as a threat to the
competitor by their apparent strength in numbers. B-boys also
wore nylon tracksuits which were functional as well as
fashionable. The slick, low-friction material allowed the
breakdancer to slide on the floor much more readily than with
cotton or most other materials. The original songs that
popularized the dance form borrow significantly from
progressive genres of jazz, soul, funk, electro, disco, and
R&B. There are four basic elements that form the foundation of
breakdance. These are toprock, downrock (also known as footwork),
power moves, and freezes. In the 1980s, with the help of pop
culture and MTV, breakdancing made its way from America to the
rest of the world as a new cultural phenomenon. Musicians such
as Michael Jackson popularized some of the breakdancing styles
in music videos, and movies such as Flashdance, Wild Style,
Beat Street, Step Up 2: The Streets, Breakin', and Breakin' 2:
Electric Boogaloo also contributed to the growing appeal of
breakdancing.