How to Break Dance

Breakdance is form of freestyle street dance. Breakdancing grew out of the hip-hop movement in the United States in the early '70's. It requires a lot of physical skill, as many hip hop moves require a lot of gymnastic feats. However, if you want to teach yourself to breakdance, you can learn some basic moves on your own. Try figuring out the basic foot and arm work of breakdancing. From there, learn how to piece moves together to form a basic routine. Then, look into building your strength and pursuing professional training. This can allow you to breakdance on a more professional basis.

Step 1:

Learn basic breakdancing terminology. A breakdance routine is compiled of three basic types of moves: top rocks, footwork, and freezes. Learn the basic terminology, and how these moves fit into your typical breakdance routine.Top rocks incorporate the top half of your body. You would use your arms, hands, elbows, and chest when performing top rocks moves. Top rocks are used as an introduction to a breakdancing routine. You would start off your routine by engaging in some top rocks before moving on to more advanced moves.Footwork involves moving with the lower half of your body. This involves using your feet, legs, and hips to dance. Footwork usually looks far more complex than top rocks, so you would transition into footwork later in a dance routine.Freezes are an important aspect of a breakdancing routine. If you think of breakdancing as a work of prose, freezes are the periods at the end of each sentence. When you finish one move in breakdancing, you should do a freeze. This means temporarily stopping movement before moving on to a second move.

Step 2:

Try a basic three step. One of the easiest form of footwork in breakdancing is a three step. You can use a three step to transition into many more complex moves down the road. If you're starting out as a breakdancer, learn the three step first.Start off in a crab walk position. This means you place your arms behind you and your legs in front of you, bending your legs at the knees. Lift your body slightly off the ground.[1]Move one foot forward, keeping the other leg down and supporting your body. Pull the leg that's down inside your body, using this leg to change your position. You should be standing on all fours, with your hands and feet on the ground. This is similar to the position you would be in to do a push-up, but your body is raised higher off the ground.[2]Now, you can begin your three steps. Take your left leg and kick it out to your side, so you're supporting your weight with your right leg and arms. This is step one. Then, switch which leg is stretched out. Pull your left leg back up to the knee and kick out your right leg. This is step two. Then, move your right leg back under your body, returning to the push-up position you were in earlier.[3]

Step 3:

Learn the coffee grinder. A coffee grinder is another basic footwork move. It's also known as the helicopter or propeller. In this move, you'll spin around while crouching near the ground. The coffee grinder is a very common move in breakdancing routines.To start, crouch near the ground. If you've ever done crunches as part of a workout routine, this is the position you would be in at the bottom of a crunch. Then, swing your right leg out to your side, stretching your leg as far as you comfortably can.[4]Then, swing your right leg around to the front of your body. Keep your hands on the ground to keep movement steady, bringing your right hand up briefly to let your right leg through. Keep swinging your right leg until it's on the left side of your body. You will also have to bring your left hand up and down to let your right leg through.[5]Then, hop slightly with your left foot and pass your right leg under your left foot. Return to the original crunch position.You can repeat this spinning process until you feel comfortable with it. Try to increase your speed as people will be impressed if you're able to do the coffee grinder at a fast pace. You should also switch directions on occasion, spinning with your left leg instead.[6]