Introduction to Breakdance by Neil Sweeney

My name is Neil Sweeney aka Bboy Sweeney – I started dancing when was a about 9/10 years old watching MTV videos and trying to copy the cool dancers! I was already competing in gymnastics so this gave me a great foundation for the basics of breakdance and a head start for power moves that would come later.

Breakdance is split into four categories

Up rock/ Top rock – This is usually the intro to your set and will consist of dancing upright incorporating your unique styles and signature flavour to the beat. The indian step or cross step is the most popular and well known and recognised of all the Top rock styles.

Footwork – Footwork consists of just that, working with the feet close the ground. Six step is one of the most basic and fundamental of all the variations of footwork. Potentially the styles are endless and footwork is a great transition into power moves. Here’s a tutorial on the Six Step to get started:

Power – Power moves consist of the high energy fast acrobatic moves such as windmills, airfares and head spins. They can be some of the hardest to learn and can take years of practice. However they can be some of the most impressive and work well as a highlight of a set.

Freeze – Freezes are the finishing moves of a set – the defining ending of the routine. These freezes vary widely from easy simple “baby freezes” to well practised inverts, hollow backs or one arm freezes.

A full Bboy set will usually consist of a variation of these different categories as well as a special attention and knowledge to the specific rhythms, build ups and drops of the music. When the set is performed with precision and recognition of the music, this is known as “killing the beat” and can be the overall deciding factor of wining a battle. Feeling and style are both also hugely important and one should try to incorporate there own individualism into there dance inventing and expressing themselves in the own unique way. I hope this helps to explain to those who wish to learn more about the art of Breakdance.