What is B BOYING/ BREAKING?
B-Boying Also known as Breaking or as the media calls it break dancing, is a dance form originated among African Americans & Puerto Rican youths in New York City during the early 1970's. Breaking was Hip-Hop's first dance, it can also be viewed as a funk dance; as it was danced primarily to Funk music and was named after the breaks in Funk music and other types of records. The term b-boy is a short for break boy and is credited to Dj Kool Herc, a pioneer who is considered the father of Hip-Hop. Kool Herc referred to dancers who danced (went off) to the break of the record as 'break boys' and 'break girls' or Bboys & Bgirls.
The elements of Breaking: Top rock: the rhythmic upright dancing that introduces a dancer's style and character.
Down rock: the flowing movement that displays rhythm, finesse, creativity and style on the floor.
Power moves and air moves: displaying the strength, balance, dynamics and acrobatics.
Freezes: the technique of going to a sudden stop from your motion like posing for a picture, displaying strength and balance. Some of the most notable and respected dancers that used to get down at Dj Kool Herc's Jams: KLARK KENT, THE AMAZING BOBO, JAMES BOND, TRICKSY, EL DORADO MIKE, KEITH & KEVIN.
Some of the most Notable Breaking Crews:
BreakMasters, Dynamic Breakers, Incredible Breakers, New York City Breakers, Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Commandos and the Mighty Zulu Kingz. About KEN SWIFT:
KEN SWIFT is one of the greatest influences the dance of Bboying (otherwise known as Breaking or Breakdancing) has known. Considered “The Epitome of a Bboy”, B-boys and
B-Girls worldwide have emulated his image and style throughout the years.
Ken is credited with establishing movements critical to the dances’ foundation with his personal style and techniques. He participated in the development of the accepted terminology for the form, now used by dancers and choreographers all over the world.
He is a true pioneer recognized worldwide for his continued contributions throughout the last 38 years of promoting, performing, educating and preserving the art form.
He continues to be a driving force in its current global culture and is continually invited to attend, judge and compete in competitions around the world.
Separate from Ken Swift’s successful individual career he has collaborated with and is one of the original members of the world renowned Rock Steady Crew (RSC); the first group of Bboys to receive professional recognition from the media and their peers. They also appeared in television and film including Graffiti Rock (1983), Style Wars (1982), Wild Style (1982), Flashdance (1983,)
The David Letterman Show (1983), and Beat Street (1982). As a recording artist with RSC Ken received gold and silver records for the single Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew.
(Virgin/Charisma, 1984) The album, “Ready for Battle,” which included two dance videos,
reached out to a larger Pop audience worldwide, brought about tours to Europe and Asia,
bringing Breaking to a world audience for the first time.
In 1996 Ken co-authored, co-directed, co-choreographed and performed Off-Broadway’s first Hip Hop musical Jam On The Groove. One hundred performances led to a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Choreography in the 1995-1996 seasons. For these achievements, Ken and Ghettoriginal Productions Dance Company received a Bessie Award for choreography.
In 1999, Hip Hop Culture was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for which Ken was asked to produce an installation. His career led him to open the Ken Swift School of Hip Hop Fundamentals at Breaklife Studios in Brooklyn in 2005. Ken has judged dance championships all over the world in countries such as France, Switzerland, Sweden, China, South Africa, Finland, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, Norway, Germany, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Russia, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the throughout the U.S.
Ken started VII Gems as a dance company in 1996, a company dedicated to the preservation of New York City traditional dances; Breaking and Rocking. He directed and choreographed the first ever Rock Dance theater piece entitled “Rockin It” that toured 8 cities throughout the UK in May of 2009 sponsored by the Breaking Convention, a Sadler Wells Project.
The company consists of members whom average over 30 years of dance experience, authentic pioneer dancers from the early years of these dances. The company is involved in numerous dance classes, lectures,
demonstrations, performances, panels, film screenings, competitions, and workshops throughout the world.
In New York City, Ken Directed and wrote curriculum for BEAT BREAKERS, a non-
profit organization that teaches Breaking dance Fundamentals in after school programs at
multiple schools in The Bronx, NY.
Due to Ken’s contributions as a pioneer of B Boy Culture, he’s received several Lifetime
Achievement Awards, one from The Mighty IV, a nationally renowned annual Breaking event in North California, and a Louis Reyes Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him at Amherst College. In 2007, Ken received an Appreciation Award from Seoul Arts College as well as a Hall of Fame Living Legend Award from the Korean Tourism Agency, which declared him as an Honorary Ambassador of Korea and positive influence on youth cultures worldwide.
In 2009, Ken was awarded a Zulu Nation Achievement Award at the Take 1 event in Belgium, as well as an Appreciation Award from Encountras las Ruas at the Joinville Dance Festival in Brazil.
Ken's travels brought him back to the United States in 2010. While judging at The Ultimate Bboy Championship in Las Vegas. Ken was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his preservation and dedication to Bboy culture. Also in 2010, Ken was acknowledged as an
“American Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts and received an American
Masterpieces in Dance Award to reconstruct his choreography with Olive Dance Theatre in a
show entitled “Swift Solos: The Re-Construction of Ken Swift’s 20th Century Breakin’,” which
toured 5 cities in the United States throughout 2010. In 2011, Ken Swift was voted the 2nd Most Influential Dancer of the 20th Century by CNN’s Icon Series, he was the only B.Boy to receive this honor amongst mostly ballet dancers.
In France, Afrika Bambaataa along with Le CACDU and Zulu Nation France, honored Ken with an Ambassador of Hip Hop Culture award on the 30th Anniversary of Hip Hop Culture. In June 2013, as part of Sadler Wells Breaking Convention Festival at NY Apollo Theater, Ken was honored for his contributions to the dance of Breaking which included an exclusive short dance piece entitled Chill Town, New York. In 2014, Ken received an Award of Honor from Style Elements crew in San Francisco, an Award of Honor from Batalla de Fuego in Columbia, and an Award of Recognition from Cultural Corporation of San Pedro in Chile. Most recently in 2015, Ken received a Living Legend of Hip Hop Award from Hip Hop International at the World Hip Hop Championships in San Diego. Ken was a Scholar in
Residence at New York University's Hip Hop Education Center from 2014-2015. He was
appointed as an Eminent Artist in the Dance Department at University of California Riverside for the Spring of 2016 and Spring of 2017. Recently he was appointed as a professor of dance at UCLA for the Spring of 2018 and 2019. Currently he is completing his first book entitled, The Art of Breaking; as well as a contributor to the “Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Dance” to be published in 2020.
I had the opportunity to get in touch with Ken swift and ask him a few questions that I feel would help every dancer around the globe and specifically; Egyptian dancers.
How did you get into dancing?
"I got into Breaking in 1978 in New York City, Uptown Manhattan. I saw a friend and then other people doing it and I got involved right away. At the time I just got introduced to Wall Writing, DJing and MCing. Breaking was different, I didn't really see it as a dance at first, I saw it as B Boying. The name just made it feel different than dance, even though it was dance."
Who were the key influencers that inspired you and influenced your dancing?
"I would say the first people I saw do it inspired me, people like Doze, Deno Rock, Kid Terrific, Frosty Freeze, Ice Ice, Fritz, Ty Fly and others."
Any advice you would give young artists and dancers?
"To young artists, study histories of experiences with the business and elders and their journeys. To dancers, the music is the key, explore as much music as you can to help inspire creativity and exploration."
What do you think countries like Egypt that are new to the Hip Hop culture should be doing to grow?
"Egypt can grow by providing it with accessible information in addition to footage of all dance styles and the History of Hip Hop Culture as a whole."
Do you think social media has more positive effect on the dance community or a negative effect?
"It has a more positive effect. There are negative moments with human interaction, thoughts and opinions but overall I believe it has a more positive impact. Some of these dance forms survived for over 45 years and this says so much about its importance in the world & community."
Check out Ken Swift: Hip Hop International's 2015 Living Legend of Hip Hop Award Recipient
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvWUKBdkkd8
You can follow KEN SWIFT on his Social media accounts: