History
Note: Several stories & ideas surrounding a history behind b-boying come popularized media construct.

B-boying is probably attached to Urban Street Jazz. B-boying when you understand it around todays world developed in Just released York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although there is a few contention, several argue that it was likewise getting within Los Angeles at the equivalent period. Nonetheless, a majority believes these are strictly of Up to date York origin. A original practician (Crazy Legs, Mr. Freeze, Spy, a Nigga Twins, Roy Williams etc.) say that more dances that humans usually associate by using b-boying like capoeira may have influenced b-boys (numerous b-boys come known to gather influence from either old Kung Fu films). Nonetheless, b-boying doesn't stem from either people dances. View a streaming video documentary film "The Freshest Kids" for interviews supporting this claim.

Prototypically the pioneers of breakdancing were immature & of a moo socioeconomic class. A majority one were male, & virtually all were Black or Hispanic, and sleep in heavy populated area (mostly Future York).

Etymology
Breakdancing was never an actual term utilized per original practician. It was the term coined in the Eighty's once it became supplementary of the media phenomenon. David Toop (1991) describes breakdancing when existence an adaptation of the Break, the dance popular prior to existence replaced per Freak, fueled by Chic's "Le Freak" in 1978, but that was revived by Crazy Legs, Frosty Freeze, and a Rock Steady Crew. He besides explains, ""a word break or even breaking occurs as music & dance term (too as a byword) that goes back an extended way. A select few tunes, such as "Buck Dancer's Lament" from either early this century, featured the deuce-bar silence within each eight parallel bars for the break - the quickly showcase of jury-rigged step." However, in the documentary "A Freshest Children" hip hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc insists that the name breaking originated in the slang term "break", meaning someone going "off" or crazy, just as the dancers seemed to do when driven by the right beat. Others claim the term originates in the break of the song, which is the best part to dance to.

In New York, DJ Kool Herc was the first person to coin the term 'b-boy' in 1969. During performances where Herc would be DJing, he would yell out "b-boys last down!" which cued the dancers to begin breakdancing. 1969 was also the year that James Brown recorded "Get on the Effective Foot," a song that promoted high-energy, acrobatic dancing and that Afrika Bambaataa (founder of the Zulu Nation) claims led to break dancing (Toop, 1991). Many oldschool breakdancers prefer to be referred to as b-boys. "B-son" was the original term for urban style dancers, while "breakdancer" is better known as it has been used more commonly by the media. The 'B' in b-boy doesn't correspond to a specific word, but most likely means "Boogie-woogie", "Bronx" or "Break." Today, the term 'B-Girl' is used as well.

The "b" in b-boying probably does not mean "Boogaloo". Boogaloo was a style developed in the West Coast and pertains more to the general Funk styles dance scene than to the b-boying and Hip Hop scene although those two cultures did end up intermingling. Funk styling, or Popping, is an entirely different dance with origins in California and the funk scene, not New York and the Hip Hop scene.

Dance
In its early form, breakdancing was divided into three distinct forms: Breaking, dancing, and popping. Breakdance is commonly associated with, but distinct from, popping which is one element of the funk styles that evolved independently in California during the late 20th century. Other styles of dance associated with breakdancing include Uprock, Locking, Tutting, Krumping, Boogaloo and liquid dancing. These styles are sometimes "contortionistic" rather than "athletic", although they are often incorporated by breakdancers who wish to widen their expressive range. There is some academic interest in whether Breakdance can be considered a folk dance. In particular, street dances are living and evolving dance forms, while folk dances are to a significant degree bound by tradition. Breakdance was in the beginning a social dance but in the later years, mostly because of media and television, its goal has been as a performance dance.

Breakdancers often call any dancing that takes place on the ground 'downrock' as opposed to 'uprock' or 'toprock'. The rest of the dance is founded around these basic moves. Dancers usually begin by toprocking, and then continue by going down to the floor and performing a '6-step' or similar that may be heavily varied. Certain power moves can then be formed with combinations. After performing the techniques, the breakdancer will usually end the dance with a 'freeze' which is when he contorts his body to a strange position and literally freezes, stopping all dance motion.

Much of being a successful breakdancer is about having style. The constant debate between b-boys is a debate of who has the most style. Since, in theory, anyone can learn the basics of breakdance, the dancers must deviate from the set dances to use their own style. In this way they can show-up other breakdancers during battles, thus winning the battle.

Battles
Breakdancing battles were very common. A breakdancing battle is when dancers 'fight' against each other on the dance floor without contact. They form a circle and take turns trying to show each other up through either better style, more complex move combinations, or tougher moves. Usually, breakdancing battles would take place between two opposing breakdancing crews. Examples of major crews are the Zulu Nation, Rock Steady Crew (RSC), Style Elements, Furious Styles Crew, Dynamic Rockers, Problems Kru, Ichigeki, Repstyles, Team OHH, Fireworks, Havikoro, The Furious Five, Full Force, Battle Monkeys, Knucklehead Zoo, Renegades, Killafornia, Vagabonds, Gamblers, Pockemon, and Airforce Crew.

Today serious battles are usually held at organized b-boy events. The battles are usually part of a tournament style competition with cash prizes, or they are featured showcase battles, where each crew is paid to dance. It's not uncommon that spontaneous battles will happen at events as well, when rival crews show up with most of their members. These events are called "blocks," and generally consist of several hours of "cyphering" (open circles), followed by the main battle event.

The largest competition each year is probably Battle of the Year (BOTY), held in Germany since 1990, and featuring crews from around the world. Despite its name, BOTY focuses on choreographed routines. After judges rate the routines, the final winner, and de facto world champion crew, is decided in a final battle (along with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places). Recent winners have been from France, Korea, Germany, and Hungary. While crews from the USA have won in the past, the claim is that they are not often winners of BOTY because competitions in the USA are almost exclusively battles and hip hop dances, whereas in the rest of the world, dance routine competitions are more common. Additionally, until recently (August 21 2005), the USA has not held a BOTY USA national event and thus has not had a crew to send to the finals in Germany. BOTY USA 2005 was the first; at this event, Knucklehead Zoo defeated Renegades in the finals and won Best Show to secure their victory and entry in the BOTY finals. Nonetheless, this is a good indicator of how widespread the practice and high ability level of this American folk art form has become.

Fashion
For the breakdancer, fashion is an important aspect of their identity. Many breakdancers dressed wearing Adidas shoes with thick laces. B-boys that are extremely serious match their hat, shirt, and shoes. This style is to show uniform, and is supposedly a threat to the competitor. They also wore nylon jumpsuits which were functional as well as fashionable. The slick surface allowed the breakdancer to slide on the floor much easier than if she or he had been wearing a cotton shirt. Also, the popular image of the breakdancer during the 80s always involved a public performance on the street, accompanied of course by a boombox.

B-boys today dress differently from b-boys in the 80's, but one thing remains, and that is dressing "newly". Due to the spread of b-boying as an artform from the inner cities out into the suburbs and to different social groups, different senses of "freshly" have arisen. Generally the rule that one's gear needs to match has remained from the 80's. Kangols are still worn by some, track pants and nylons still have their place combined with fresh sneakers and hats. Trucker hats became a large part of the scene in the late 90s and early 2000's, well before the mainstream pop culture began wearing them again in such numbers.

There are dancers and crews that now have begun to dress in a style similar to "goth" or punk rockers in order to stand out from the more traditional toned-down b-boy look.

Another trend is referred to as "Internet b-boys" or as they call them in japan "Otaku b-boys", who are often looked-down upon as not having their heart in hip-hop culture, and having learned much of what they know of the dance purely from the internet and from watching videoclips, not by instruction or by the passing of knowledge from one generation to another. Additionally, these "e-boys" do not usually reach out to their local b-boy scenes, nor participate in jams, nor do anything except flaunt and preach over the internet.

Media
In the 1980s, with the help of pop culture and MTV, breakdancing made its way from the suburbs to the rest of the world as a new cultural phenomenon. Musicians such as Michael Jackson popularized much of the breakdancing style in their music videos. Movies such as Flashdance, Wild Style, Beat Street, Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo also contributed to breakdancing's growing appeal. Today, many b-boys and former breakers are disappointed by the media hype that watered the dance down into money and overfocus on power moves.