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BIOGRAPHY
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 movement 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
Star, Whitney Houston and Luther Van Dross. 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
US. BREAK! most recently has 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. |