Prepare to witness history in motion. This is Breakdance Showdown in Los Angeles. It’s more than just a show. It’s a celebration of a culture that has moved bodies and souls for decades.
Breakdance Showdown stands as a testament to the evolution of breaking. Breaking started in the Bronx in the 1970s. It quickly became synonymous with the birth of hip hop. New York is often seen as the birthplace. But California has its own long history with breaking.
Los Angeles was already experiencing something unique. The soul and funk movement had taken root on the West Coast. Television shows like Soul Train exposed everyone to locking and robotic styles. The entire culture was immersed in many different styles. They were all put under the umbrella of breakdance.
The roots of breaking run deep. In the late 1974 or early 1975 teenagers from the Bronx pioneered a freestyle form of dance. They called it rocking. The Salsoul and Zulu Kings dance crews started with a salsa-like style to rock music called top rock. When the right beat came on they transitioned down to floor rocking. This involved innovative footwork with the dancer’s hands on the ground. They finished in a chair-freeze pose. They froze their entire bodies in a shoulder stand with their legs crossed.
These crews inspired the next generation of rockers or B-boys. By 1976, new dancers added their own innovations. Luis Trac 2 Mateo incorporated gymnastics into the dance. He invented a floor rocking move called tracks. This involved spinning on his head while switching hand positions.
Rocking spread. By 1977, teens in Bushwick started doing their own variation. It was called up-rock. It involved a simple hop shuffle step that emulates fighting against another dancer. The first rocking competition took place in 1978 in the Bronx.
By 1982, rocking was considered played out in the Bronx. Other forms of street or urban dance like popping became popular. But then Hollywood came around. In 1983, the movie Flashdance revived the dance. Kids started copying the spinning moves of floor rocking. They dropped the dance element. California kids called these tricks power moves. They included windmills, turtles, tracks, and backspins.
The media called the dance breaking. The term breaking came from Chain Reaction. This was a dance group based in Reseda, California. They used breaking to describe the bent-arm freeze position of their style of locking. By 1976, they used breaking to describe the act of dancing in general.
Soon, the media made breaking an umbrella word for all street dance. This included locking, popping, boogaloo, and rocking. Each demanded their own funk music, rhythm, and tempos. The media blurred these together. They homogenized unique dances into one jumbled craze.
The B-boys in the early Bronx scene never intended it to be about acrobatics. The magic was the rhythmic dance reflected even in ground moves. That’s why in 1998, the Underground Dance Masters tournament had a 16-beat dance requirement. Competitors had to rhythmically dance to the correct number of beats.
The styles you see today have evolved. Toprock includes steps from a standing position. Downrock involves movement on the floor with the hands supporting the dancer. Power moves are acrobatic and require momentum. Freezes are stylish poses that emphasize strong beats.
Now, let’s get ready to experience the energy. Prepare to be amazed by Breakdance Showdown.