Breaking
B-Boy and B-Girl royals discuss how their legacies in the City of Dreams helped forward the culture’s future.
Thank New York City for ushering dance into the future. B-Boys and B-Girls from the five boroughs, going as far back as the late '60s, blessed the world with a fresh and exhilarating new way to move. While folks in neighborhoods all across America had, for eons, been busting slick routines (as seen in vintage "Soul Train" episodes), rockers and breakers from NYC absorbed those loud, aggressive vibrations and made everything even more cutting-edge.
Their inventive array of burns, jerks, freezes, and power moves mimicked the unruly, hopped-up urgency of the City That Never Sleeps. When hip-hop exploded in the '80s and '90s, dancers from NYC served as the faces of the culture, making virtually everyone want to spin on their heads and pose in a B-Boy stance. Now, the city's most groundbreaking dances are more popular than ever. Fans will enjoy the Red Bull BC One World Finals in their glorious return to hip-hop's birthplace this year. And breaking has recently been named an official sport at the 2024 World Games. It's the perfect time to hear from some New York pioneers who've ensured that B-Boying stays at the forefront.
01
Brooklyn Took It
The so-called "Planet" is home to legions of iconic dancers. One of them is Sammy Davila, who hails from the borough's Coney Island section and represents the legendary Incredible Breakers crew. An original Brooklyn rocker, Sammy started dancing in the late '60s, just as young people in NYC began to abandon the traditional dances that dominated the funk and soul eras for newer, edgier moves that matched their grim reality.
Each borough had its unique twist on rocking. Sammy, who learned the dance from his sister in their living room, fostered an impressive blend of styles. But as hip-hop blossomed, he and his family moved to Manhattan (where everyone was still doing basic jerks). Luckily, he brought a brand new style with him across the bridge. "Brooklyn's number one, man. Brooklyn kicks ass," Sammy says. "I started doing reverse steps to it. I started doing spins to it, jerks to it, you name it. Knee-downs, corkscrews, backflips. I added so much shit to this shit (laughs)."
Another Brooklyn legend who brought exciting innovations to the dance is Mighty Mike of the esteemed Mastermind Rockers. Mike started breaking as a teenager in the early '80s before transitioning, years later, to rocking, which he'd remembered seeing in the parks in his South Williamsburg neighborhood. "What I wanted in this dance was more about... I want to make you be like, 'Oh, shit. That's nasty.' That's what my goal was," he says. "It wasn't to [do] basic rocking. I wanted to show you what I can do and how I escalated the dance to a level that people will be like, 'Fire.'"
After noticing, in the late 2000s, that rocking began to feel outdated, Mike gave the scene an enticing 21st-century rebrand. He organized battles throughout the city, bringing new attention to the time-tested dance. And today, the 40-year vet looks to a thriving future full of endless opportunities for aspiring rockers. "We’re [having] a rocking battle at Red Bull [BC One Camp this year]," he says. "So it's gotten to where rocking is surfacing now at these levels, at this platform. If it wasn't for Mastermind Rockers, this would not exist. And that comes all the way back to Brooklyn."
02
Up in the Bronx (Where the People are Fresh)
The Bronx is the birthplace of hip-hop, so it's no surprise that some of the world's greatest B-Boys call it home. Mega Flash, a pivotal New York City Float Committee member, proudly represents the Boogie Down. The BX OG has been dancing since the first Star Wars film. "Back in '77, my first experience with breaking was going to a house party," he recalls. "And it wasn't called breaking or anything like that. People would just challenge each other in dancing. And they would do some form of uprocking. And, by the way, uprocking is not just from Brooklyn. 'Cause we did it here in the Bronx, too."
Known for his acrobatic power moves, Mega, who took breaking all over the world, eventually dancing in commercials, helped revivify the culture through his death-defying street performances. Even after the mainstream moved on in the late '80s, Mega continued thrilling audiences with the moves he learned back in the Bronx. "I never stopped; I kept getting better," he says. "Me and the guys that were breakdancing on the street, we kept breakdancing alive."
Also repping the Bronx, K-WON 138 is pleased with the present state of B-Boying. Though the leader of the Swift Kids originally comes from Queens, he made his mark in the BX, where he moved in the early '80s. And the borough's rugged, no-frills style reeled him in. (He was all about straight-up combinations and hitting the concrete with swift footwork.) But K-WON is ecstatic over the high-wire moves he sees younger breakers executing on social media these days. "I can watch videos from kids from China, Korea, Iran, France doing such amazing moves," he says. "And I don't even know this kid from a hole in the wall because I don't know how that kid thinks. I don't know how that kid feels. But you don't need to speak my language to understand the dance. The body language alone says it for itself." The breaker-turned-B-Boy instructor believes giving back is essential to maintaining the culture. "If you wanna help, don't play the part, be the part," he stresses. "That's how it stayed strong."
03
Queens Reigns Supreme
Destiny and evolution are two words that immediately come to mind when talking to Bongo Roc, who puts it down for Queens' Supreme Beingz crew. Blessed with a cool, photogenic smirk, the 40-year-old B-Girl heightens the culture by simply being skilled and in her moment. Yet Bongo sounds like an old soul at heart. And it was fate that she'd turn into a first-class dancer. She fashioned her name from arguably the most influential B-Boy anthem. And, believe it or not, her parents supported Dynamic Rockers' legend Kid Freeze. "I was telling my dad, 'You know I'm going to this jam.' Blah, blah, blah. 'Kid Freeze,'" Bongo Says. "He's just like, 'I know Kid Freeze; he used to do head spins in the lobby in Ravenswood Projects.' 'Cause, that's where my parents came from. And my mom used to babysit him (laughs)."
Despite being a woman in what is still a male-dominated field, Bongo insists that her gender has only made her work harder. She says that the fundamentals—aggressive ground power—distinguish Queens crews from her era. And ultimately, Bongo views social media as a critical outlet for keeping the heritage alive in the city. "I've been more active with, like, posting about jams I've been at. You know, shouting out dancers," she admits. "That's how you support the community, by reposting and tagging and getting people more involved. And the scene in New York needs that."
04
Manhattan Keeps on Makin' It
When Flashback, a proud native of Manhattan, started breaking in the early ‘90s, the climate was ripe for some energetic throwback vibes. Motivated by the underground cyphers sprouting up all over NYC during this period, Flash scouted every vacant floor he could find. "What made us popularize [breaking] in the city was because we were hitting every party. It don't matter what it was: if there was music playing, we would go," Flash says. "It could be a quinceañera; it could be like a Sweet 16; it could be a wedding. Like we would have truly crashed parties just to express ourselves. We were hunting for a good floor to spin on."
Flash's crew, Living on Concrete, mastered a medley of different styles (the quick burns of Rock Steady's Ken Swift and the flashy showmanship of the Dynamic Rockers). But his trademark (which became currency in Manhattan) was gutsy power moves. Today he hosts the YouTube series Flash Talks, where he chops it up with various prominent dancers. And he continues to hit those floors. "I'm still breaking. I will still battle in a cypher," he says. "It's more of a thing that I love doing. Like, I don't got nothing to prove anymore. You know what I'm saying?"
These pioneers exemplify a rich heritage honed over decades (and inspired by the gritty, fast-paced lifestyle) that could have only started in the Big Apple. While breaking's popularity and influence have spread globally, its foundation in NYC remains solid, as seen in the subway "showtime" routines, street performances, battles, jams, and cyphers. Sammy, Mike, K-WON, Mega, Bongo, and Flash remind us that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Let's hear it for New York.