BREAK ! The Urban Funk Spectacular is the cutting edge of
dance at the dawn of the 21st century. The cast of BREAK! and their
unorthodox creative movements demonstrate a distinctive American
art form which finds its roots in the streets of the Inner City.
BREAK ! Performers have all been featured
as soloist dancers in worldwide performances with show business
legends including PUFF DADDY, JANET JACKSON, RINGO STARR, WHITNEY
HOUSTON and LUTHER
VANDROSS. Cast members are supremely talented specialists from the
world of break dancing, locking, "electric boogaloo" or
"popping," and power tumbling.
The company of BREAK was presented at The 2000 Edinburgh Festival
in Scotland, and has gone on to tour performing arts centers throughout
the United States. BREAK! most recently completed a tour of Korea
where they were featured at Olympic Park in Seoul in a 5000 seat
arena.
WHAT IS BREAK DANCE (B-BOYING)
Although the exact beginning of break dance is unclear, it seems
to have emerged as a style of street dance during the 70's. Involving
a variety of footwork patterns, spinning and various gymnastic-like
actions, it was heavily influenced by a number of sources. Most
critics agree on the African influence of the dance. Among the theories
of the origins of break dance,
many consider James Brown and 1969 hit "Get on the Good Foot"
one of its starting points. Inspired by his energetic and almost
acrobatic dance on stage, many people began dancing on the "Good
Foot," often incorporating moves that involved drops or spins.
Others attribute the extreme popularity of martial arts films during
the 70's to the beginnings of break dance since
elements of these types of movements are also prevalent. The term,
"break dancing" actually arose with the growing recognition
of this art form in the media. The early 80's battles between dance
crews attracted the attention of the public and Breaking or "break
dance" became associated with other street
dance styles such as Locking and Popping.
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