The
words '
Break Boy and
Break Girl' originated from the Bronx of New York. In the early 70'
s Dj Kool Herc would play the 'breaks' of songs. Meaning, he would only play parts of the songs where it was
beat only, no lyrics. This would excite the
people to dance. So in turn girls and guys who danced to these 'breaks' were called '
Break Boy and Break Girl' or 'B-Boy; B-Girl' in short.
B-boying started with the James Brown'
s 1969 "Get on the Good Foot". When on stage James Brown would dance around with such energy and almost acrobatic moves, many
people began mimicking his moves, so they called it the "Good Foot". The 'Good Foot' was mainly dancing around that involved drops or spins on the floor. Thus, the beginning evolution of breaking.
During the 1970'
s martial arts were also very popular, so B-Boys (for the most part) incorporated martial
art stunts to 'wow' the crowds. And today b-boying has evolved into a highly demanding dance physically and mentally. With massive b-boy dance competitions being held around the world, such as BOTY (Battle of the Year) in Germany and the FreeStyle Sessions.
It is important to know that the term b-boy cannot be used for an emcee, DJ or rapper. Only breakers can be called b-boys.
Also b-boys do not like to be called "Break-dancers", as this was a term coined by the media in the 80'
s, and is not a 'true' hip-hop' phrase. Break-dancers are dancers who have no style and show their powermoves to get props from
people who have no idea about breaking.
