Breakdance emerged late 70s and early 80s in the black ghettos in New York.
The dance style was also known as breaking or b- boying, and makes together with rap, graffiti and DJ-ing the four fundamental parts of the former hip-hop youth culture.
DJ's like Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool Herc used turntables and a mixer to run the break (stop, pause) in a song endlessly. From this the name is derived. The moves in this new music were first called electro, and later hip-hop and rap.
Dancers compete on the street, in a circle of clan members against each other in a battle to be the best with the most spectacular movements. It is mainly about having your own style, originality and expression. If a dancer steals a move from another this is called biten.
A b-boy ("break boy" or " Boogie Boy") is a boy on the instrumental music of the DJ scratch -using his unique dance moves to show in the circle. (In hip hop is such a circle called a cypher.)
A real "breakdancer" is very busy with dance, exercises regularly and is active in jams (demonstrations) and battles (matches with jury). He is clearly recognizable by his style, even if he (or she) does not dance. Most dancers call themselves rather b-boy than breakdancer.
A routine is a dance with two or more dancers at the same time, to show that you also can dance with someone else on- beat.
Commands are prearranged movements to keep the run in their own crew. For example, a rollover can be the signal for another crew member to participate, so the opposing parties don’t get the chance.
Breakdance has various movements taken from including traditional African dance, Chinese martial arts and the Brazilian martial art capoeira. Some well-known breakdance moves are: freeze, head spin, windmill, flare, swipe, sixstep, airflare.