Exploring the Origins and Evolution of Break Dancing: From Bronx Streets to Olympic Stage

Listen babes, everybody is eating up the Australian break dancer, okay, that is going viral as sport makes its Olympic debut, okay? Baby Rachel Gunn, what was you doing girl? Cause we, we don’t know. Listen, she competes under the name Ray Gunn. So she went viral online after her performance Friday in the round robin stage of women’s breaking competition where she was swept out without earning a single point. I’ll show you. And I’m your freestyle dance teacher. Okay, listen, we’re not going to talk about her. I want to talk about the origins of break dancing. Break dancing, also known as breaking or b-boying originated in the Bronx. Come on, let’s go. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, African-American and Latino youth created the dance style, which is characterized by acrobatic floor moves and style allows footwork. Break dancing incorporates moves from martial arts, gymnastics and older dances like popping and rocking. The term breaking comes from the practice of showing off during the musical breaks at parties, let’s go. Break dancing was inspired by a number of sources, including black fraternity and sorority stepping. Some say break dancing began as a nonviolent alternative to gang fighting with breakers breaking against each other instead of fighting. DJ African Bambada, Michael Jackson’s 1983 video beat it because you know there were actual gang members in that video. Break dancing is a core element of hip hop, which includes MCing, DJing and graffiti. Now, bags, I’m almost 50 years old, all right? Now, the very first movie that was ever on the silver screen that showed break dancing was breaking in 1984. And I was so in love with L-Zone, hold on, I’ma show you a little bit. [“Breaking In”] Now, I don’t know what Rae Gunn was doing and apparently she’s been quoted as saying to the internet, “‘Let me do my thang.'” Okay, girl. Okay.