Breakdancing

Breakdancing
	A breakdancer performing outside Faneuil Hall, Boston, United States
Genre	Hip-hop dance
Inventor	Street dancers
Year	Early 1980s
Origin	New York City

Breaking in the street, 2013

Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women) is a style of street dance originated by African Americans in The Bronx, a borough of New York City. Puerto Ricans in the Bronx also played a significant role in the spread of the dance,^[1] with many learning from and dancing alongside the original African American breakdancers.^[2]

Breakdancing consists mainly of four kinds of movement—toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes—and is typically set to songs containing drum breaks, especially in funk, soul, and hip-hop. Its modern dance elements originated among the poor youth of New York during the early 1980s.^[3] It is tied to the birth of hip-hop, whose DJs developed rhythmic breaks for dancers.^[4]

The dance form has expanded globally, with an array of organizations and independent competitions supporting its growth. Breaking became an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris,^[5] as per a December 7, 2020 decision by the International Olympic Committee, after a proposal by the World DanceSport Federation.^[6]

^ Verán, Christina (1999). "Breaking It All Down: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the B-Boy Kingdom". In Light, Alan (ed.). The Vibe history of hip hop (1st ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 54. ISBN 0-609-80503-7. OL 42726M. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Chang, Jeff (2007). "It's a Hip-Hop World". Foreign Policy (163): 58–65. ISSN 0015-7228. JSTOR 25462232.
^ Hall, Josh (2020). "From the Bronx to the world: The birth and evolution of hip-hop". Red Bull. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
^ "2024 Paris Summer Olympics will feature breakdancing". Yahoo! News. January 19, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
^ "Breaking officially added to Olympic Games Paris 2024". worlddancesport.org. December 12, 2020.

[Verán_1999-1] Verán, Christina (1999). "Breaking It All Down: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the B-Boy Kingdom". In Light, Alan (ed.). The Vibe history of hip hop (1st ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 54. ISBN 0-609-80503-7. OL 42726M. Retrieved August 11, 2024.

[:0-2] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Chang_2007_58–65-3] Chang, Jeff (2007). "It's a Hip-Hop World". Foreign Policy (163): 58–65. ISSN 0015-7228. JSTOR 25462232.

[4] Hall, Josh (2020). "From the Bronx to the world: The birth and evolution of hip-hop". Red Bull. Retrieved December 13, 2022.

[5] "2024 Paris Summer Olympics will feature breakdancing". Yahoo! News. January 19, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.

[6] "Breaking officially added to Olympic Games Paris 2024". worlddancesport.org. December 12, 2020.

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