Breaking Basics
Breakdancing, or "breaking," is a style of dance which grew up along with hip-hop culture in the 1970s. It involves a combination of graceful footwork, athletic moves like handstands and spins, an impressive inverted stalls where the dancer holds a difficult pose upside down. It is usually accompanied by a DJ who strings rhythmic breaks together to create a continuous track to improvise to. Although it started on the street corners of New York, and has now become an international phenomenon and a respected genre of dance. There are now dancers--called b-boys and b-girls--all over the world.
Buskingand Gigging
Breakdancers often form cruise--groups of dancers who like to dance together. Often, they will set up a match in a public area and bring along a boombox. They will either dance wanted a time, all at the same time, or both. Usually, some of the dancers will clap their hands and cheer to rile up the crowd and get them involved in the dancing. At a certain point in the performance--usually after a particularly impressive dance--the performers will pass a hat or bucket around asking for donations. A crew will use the same approach at a professional gig, hyping the dancing and energizing the audience. A b-boy crew needs to have good dancers, but it also needs a good location and an ability to work the crowd in order to make money.
Other Work
Dancing is not a career for those who crave an easy life and rich financial rewards. Break dancers typically need to do several things in order to make a living. Some of them will teach breakdancing classes to help pay the bills. Often, the boys will team up with emcees and DJs to put on shows. There are also breakdance battles were different teams of dancers compete, sometimes for a substantial cash prize. In reality, however, most b-boys and b-girls don't make a living from dancing alone.
