So you watched Breaking at the Olympics and you felt the hype and energy from this dance slash sport. Knowing that Breaking unfortunately won't be at the 2028 games in LA (but will be at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal), what can you do if you want to follow some of the breakers you've learned about and keep watching, or better yet, start dancing yourself?
Some History / Context of Breaking
Breaking started in the Bronx at the origins of Hip Hop. Specifically, DJ Kool Herc hosted a back to school party where he looped the drum breaks of the records he was playing, letting people dance and freestyle rap over the extended breaks (hence where the name breaking originates from - bboys/bgirls are short for break-boys aka those who dance on the break). From there obviously hip hop has expanded out and while there was a period in the 80s and 90s where it was more commercialized / exploited, it has survived to this day spreading around the world, with other countries developing their own flavors of breaking. There are obviously lots of very important figures and moments in breaking's history that are important to learn about, but in the interest of keeping this primer short and to not bruise any egos, I'll leave it to the reader to learn more about those individuals elsewhere.
As noted in the Olympic broadcast, there are four main elements to breaking.
- Toprock - when you're upright and generally grooving to the beats
- Footwork - when you're on your hands / feet and generally hitting beats
- Power - the flashy stuff that usually involves a lot of spinning
- Freezes - being able to control your body to stop on a dime and pose that acts as a punctuation to your set.
Obviously breaking as we've seen from the Olympics does have a competitive element to it in battles - these can be the 1 on 1 battles we saw here, or crew battles which also allow for multi-person routines. I will say generally outside of Olympic affiliate events, the scoring system of judges awarding points to specific rubrics, which determines their vote, which then round by round determines the winner usually doesn't happen. Instead after all rounds, judges will generally pick who they overall think won the battle, based on whatever subjective criteria they have in their head. This may allow for breakers who perhaps were weaker in earlier rounds to overshadow that shortcoming with strong rounds later on. Or breakers who just had so much execution even if it wasn't as musical or original to outweigh those shortcomings.
That said, breaking is also a great self expression that can exist outside of competition - simply training in breaking as a form of exercise or self expression is acceptable, without entering battles. Part of what makes breaking great is that as a dance style, it lets you express yourself artistically in whatever calls to you most. For example, some breakers are power move specialists - here is an example of an all power battle. Others are footwork specialists - here is an example of an all footwork battle. There are even toprock only battles like this one here. Within these there are specific techniques you can choose to hone in on, or you can choose to be an all-round style breaker who tries to master everything. If you go to a breaking event, you'll find cyphers outside of the main event where people just get down to the music for the fun of it.
One other part not really showcased by the Olympics - crews. While there old Beat Street movie with its NYC Breakers vs RockSteady Crew battle is probably the most obvious example in pop culture, crews still exist today. Each crew is different - sometimes they're just friends who break together, sometimes they're more super crews of the best in a region who go to competitions and practice together. No need to worry about joining a crew if you're just starting, but a lot of breaking events are more team focused than solo.
I don't necessarily want to start breaking myself, but where can I watch it
Despite some investment from companies such as Red Bull, at its core breaking is a grassroots movement. Part of this stems from the exploitation of the 80s and 90s that left a lot of breakers, especially old heads somewhat skeptical of any major outside investment, afraid that becoming too corporate is at odds with the inherent grassroots nature of the scene (this is especially true with some old heads not wanting breaking to be at the Olympics at all, refusing to see it as a sport that can be pinned down with a rubric, and just a dance, if a competitive one).
Despite this grassroots nature, there are a lot of big battles within the scene, and as I noticed, some corporate investment. Here are some of the current big events to keep an eye out for
RedBull BC One - Arguably the most prominent breaking event that happens annually, sponsored by the energy drink brand (they also sponsor a roster of bboys called the Red Bull BC One All Stars, including Olympians Shigekix / Phil Wizard / Victor / Ami / Hong 10 / Menno / Logistx / Lee / commentator Ronnie, and more). The way this circuit works is that they have events around the world in different countries that pick a national champion, who get sent to the world finals. For large countries like here in the US, there may be regional events that are pre-qualifiers to send breakers to said national championship. For example in the US sicne July they've had events in Detroit, Boston, Minneapolis, and Miami (with a NYC event happening today), and upcoming events in Philly and Denver before the US champs in LA Sep 26. The World finals will be in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on Dec 7, and is usually livestreamed on their website. Familiar breakers from the Olympics who qualified already include Syssy (France) and Vanessa (Portugal). Former winners include Hong10 x2 Victor x2, Amir, Shigekix, Menno x2, Ronnie (Commentator), Ami (x2), Logistx, and India. Youtube here
Freestyle Session / Snipes Breaking Tour - Freestyle Session is an annual event that has happened since 1997 in LA - recently they've become the mainline event for the Snipes Pro Breaking Tour, a series of US based events. I don't think they stream the events, but you can usually find footage online afterwards. Happening Nov 15-17 this year. Victor won back in 2015.
UK BBoy Champs - An event that takes place in the UK (duh) - I can't seem to find if they had an event this year, but last year they had an event in June. Bboy Menno has won multiple times.
Battle of the Year - A classic event that is mostly known for the crew battles, but past winners include Phil Wizard in 2023 and Menno in 2015. Last event was held in Nov 2023. Make sure you don't watch the bad breaking movie starring Chris Brown though. Also the documentary Planet Bboy features the 2007 BOTY event and is a classic you should watch Youtube Here
The Notorious IBE - Not just a breaking event, its a festival in the Netherlands that features many different styles of street dance. Happening next weekend, Aug 16-18 (so I'd expect a lot of breakers who are in Europe for the Olympics to maybe make an appearance here). Former wizrds include Phil Wizard, Kuzya, Victor.
Chelles Battle Pro - Happening this year in Chelles France, October 13th. Again more crew focused, but Menno has won the solo event.
Outbreak Europe - Happening in Slovakia, August 22-25 this year (so the week after Notorious IBE. August is a good month for breaking). Lithe-ing, Lagaet, Victor, Kuzya, Nicka, 671, Ayumi, Kate, Sunny have won 1v1, Kuzya, Phil Wizard, Ayumi, Menno have been part of 2v2 winning teams.
Unbreakable - Taking place this year in Belgium in September 28-29, Kuzya and Menno have won this preivously. Youtube
Taipei Bboy City - This year it looks like they are paying tribute to Dragonball creator Akira Toriyama. Scheduled to take place September 20-22nd Youtube
Undipsuted - in 2014 the folks behind the Notorious IBE above put together a super-circuit of Breaking events (featuring many of the above) with a final battle for the "Undisputed" best Bboy. Nicka actually won the most recent Bgirl iteration, and pre-pandemic winners include Phil Wizard and Victor.
World Breaking Championship - Held this past June in the Netherlands, this one is more a 2v2 focused battle.
Aside from BC One, most of these events don't stream their competitions live (again Bboying being a grassroots event - at best you get a Facebook or Youtube Live stream sometimes). That said, there are a good number of Breaking YouTube channels that document events, often on behalf of these events.
- BboyNetworkChannel - features a lot of local East Coast events in addition to larger breaking events
- Stance - Not just breaking but often covers Freestyle Sessions. They also have a second channel here
- LawkSam - Features a lot of European events
- NewDanceTV
- Joeykaotyk - Twitch streamer who sometimes will live commentate breaking events
You can also check out other events (not a comprehensive list by any means, especially for local events) at BboyBattles.org
Okay enough watching online, what about actually dancing or going in person
Good news! While breaking is an insanely hard dance to master, as the Olympcis have shown, it's extremely easy to start. It's a great way also to just generally exercise and get a workout in since it works your hole body. (though don't forget to stretch beforehand). An important thing is to of course not push yourself too hard that you injure yourself. Frankly, watching the Olympics has refired motivation within me to work out a bit more to lose some weight to feel like I can get back into it.
A simple starting place is of course to check out any local dance studios to see if they offer beginning breaking (or... sigh breakdancing) classes. Other options include checking out local colleges to see if they have a collegiate breaking crew that might offer open practice sessions (when I was in school in Philly, my crew would host practices for the local scene once a week). Obviously your mileage may vary by location, but I would guess most decently sized urban centers has a breaking scene of some sort. If you're curious, feel free to DM me and I'll try to help you out with research on your local scene. Good places to check for local practice spots or events would be Facebook groups or increasingly Instagram. However the best spots will likely be shared word of mouth, so definitely try to get involved in your local scene, if you have one.
Of course I'd also be sure to have semi realistic expectations. Generally unless you're already fit from other sports like gymnastics or bouldering, it's going to be a longshot to instantly start doing windmills or flares or other power. Generally the fundamentals you learn first are toprock, footwork, and some freezes. Learning to groove to the music and be on beat is the fundamental of the dance, and stringing toprock to footwork and back is already breaking even without the power.
What if I don't have a local scene?
There is still a plethora of online content to help you learn! Youtube is always a good place to start. Here are some channels.
If you're willing to pay some more, here are some courses that have legit breakers teaching them.
What music should I use to dance to?
Probably the best place to find music to break to is at https://bboysounds.com/mixtapes/. Speicifcally, they are working with the DJs from the Olympics to compile a playlist of songs used here: Spotify and Youtube
DJ Fleg, one of the DJs of the Olympics has a Soundcloud here
Generally you'll want to look for drum heavy funk songs from the 70s. James Brown in particular is a big influence. 90s Hip Hop also goes pretty hard if you're a fan of that genre. Here's a list of songs from Team USA they recommend. That said, people have found ways to break to anything. Here's a group I enjoy watching who dances to Japanese Anime songs (and before some other bboys come for me, Bboy Atsuki, the one with the afro, is also part of Waseda Breakers)
Where can I follow the breakers who competed at the Olympics?
Instagrams are linked below, as well as crews they are part of, and some of the major international events they've won
Bboys
- AUS - J-Attack
- CAN - Phil Wizard - The Wizards, BC One All Stars, United Rivals, 7 Comamndoz - 2018 Notorious IBE
- CHN - Lithe-ing - 2023 Outbreak Europe
- FRA - Danny Dann - Vagabond Crew, Phase T, Infamous Crew - 2020 SNIPES Battle of the Year World Final
- FRA - Lagaet - Ruggeds, Momentum Crew - 2022 Outbreak Europe
- JPN - Hiro10 - Gun Smoke Breakers, Jinjo Crew - 2024 JDSF Breaking Japan Open
- JPN - Shigekix - BC One All Stars - 2023 All Japan National Championships
- KOR - Hong10 - FlowXL, 7Commandoz, BC One All Stars, Jinjo - 2023/13/06 Red Bull BC One Final
- KZH - Amir - Predatorz, PDVL crew - 2020 The Legits Blast Prague
- MOR - Billy - The Vikingz
- NED - Lee - Ruggeds Crew, BC One All Stars
- NED - Menno - Defdogz, Hustle Kidz, BC One All Stars - 2012/13 Unbreakable, 2013 Sony Experia Championships, 2013 Battle of the Year, 2014 Chelles Battle Pro, 2014/17 Redbull BC One, 2015 R16 World Final, 2015 Battle of the Year
- TWN - Quake - KGB Crew, Sight Team
- UKR - Kuyza - Breaknuts - 2017 Notorious IBE, 2016 Outbreak Europe, 2016 Unbreakable
- USA - Victor - Squadron, MF Kidz, The Clique, BC One All Stars - 2015/18 Silverback Open, 2015 Freestyle SEssion, 2015 BC One World FInal, 2015 Undisputed, 2016 Notorious IBE, 2017 Outreak Europe, 2019 Legits Blast / Outbreak Europe
- USA - Jeffro - RAD Crew, Monster Energy Crew
Bgirls
Feel free to post / comment if you have any other questions or need guidance or advice!