breakdancing

A highly complex form of modern dance. It has its roots in a Brazilian martial art known as Capoeira. When Capoeria moved up from Brazil and into Los Angeles (where many poor immigrants from the Southern Countries end up), it was adapted by the local culture into a new and creative dance form. Contrary to popular belief, breaking does NOT come from New York - they simply made it famous.

It is split into two styles--breaking and popping. Breaking is the art of balancing and spinning in an acrobatic manner, whereas popping is a display of muscular control, wherein the body is moved in such a fashion as to give the illusion of robotic precision, unnatural fluidity, or both. The music behind breakdancing is normally Hip-hop, Breaks, or Jungle.

Breakdancing is what the media called b-boying (it's proper name). It originated in New York in the boogie-down-Bronx in the 70's.

EDIT no. 2: there are two schools of thought concerning breaking's origins. One theory is that it originated when east coast and west coast gangs taught themselves capoeira to defend themselves. this is believable since moves like uprock and toprock bear a striking resemblance to capoeira footwork. Others believe that James Brown's music had a bigger influence and so b-boying didn't come from capoeira directly. "Moves that we never saw before, like the capoeira moves, somehow ended up in breakin'." quoted from Mr. Wiggles in The Freshest Kids. "We've never seen capoeira, just like they never saw us dance. It definitely didn't come from another country; it was made up in the Bronx." says Mr. Freeze, one of the original members of Rock Steady Crew. Other influences include some of the old tap dancers like the Nicolas Brothers, and the Will Maston Trio. So if you want to be technical, Sammy Davis, Jr. was a b-boy.

Popping originated in LA on the other side of the U.S. Popping is a combination of locking and the robot. Though the east coast conceived breakdancing and hip hop, popping and locking, are respected parts of the family. Afterall, hip hop is all about sharing.

_{http://www.ukhh.com and The Freshest Kids}