B-girl Battles - A Catch-22?

Established UK b-girls tend not to enter b-girl battles. In their opinion “the standard of competition in the UK battles is consistently poor”.

B-boying is a male dominated dance form - the common misconception in breaking is that b-girls only break for as long as it takes to find a b-boy boyfriend. B-girls want recognition and respect for their skills on the dance floor. They continually feel they have to go to great lengths to prove themselves and respect for b-girls, from both sexes, is notoriously hard won.

Established b-girls, not wanting to be segregated or sidelined by the boys, only throw-down in the B-BOY battles.  Many of the newer b-girls, however, are anxious about competing against boys. They feel more confident battling girls. 

All breakers improve with challenge. To be the best, you have to compete with the best. Is this lack of compromise a catch 22, a no-win situation? After all, no b-girl wants to be a BIG fish in a small pond.

Two possible ways to go:

Good b-girls consistently enter the b-girl battles, upping the stakes and making the competitions worthwhile.

-       or       -

Scrap single sex breaking battles. The b-girls intimidated by the b-boys will just have to stop complaining and start dancing!

We B Kingz

London’s freshest monthly bboying competition King of the Underground kicked off on Friday night at the Trocadero. The competition was an inauguration of the city’s newest training spot.

The location is an underground passage connecting Piccadilly Circus tube station to the Trocadero. It is open 7 days a week. From 10am to midnight, Sunday to Thursday, and till 1am Friday and Saturday. It has numerous working power points located throughout the room and entry is FREE!

With a total of 7 crowns to be awarded in 6 different categories, Kings of the Underground featured Krumpers, Lockers, Poppers, B-girls and B-boys.

Disaster struck the 1^st time event organisers early on when their sound system failed. But with cool heads and quick thinking a new amp was rapidly sourced and the event ran as planned, if somewhat behind schedule.

MCs Stefan and Damien, due to the earlier sound problems, were left without a microphone and their work cut out. Inspiration struck and Stefan used the crowd to holler for the dancers M.I.A and running the risk of being disqualified.

J-Realz, pulling some of the ugliest faces in Hip Hop, stomped his way to becoming this month’s King of the Krumpers.

Diva-J stole the show with her fresh-faced talent in the locking battles. The 10yr old, with a cheeky smile, out-styled seasoned locker Optimus Funk in the final round.

B-boy Spectrum chain-smoked his way through his rival suitors for August’s crown in the b-boy solos.

With only 5 b-girls willing to throw-down, the format of the b-girl competition was changed from a 1-on-1 to a 5-to-smoke. When b-girl Candice and b-girl Shorty met on the dance floor for the 3^rd time, they had clocked-up 4 rounds apiece. Shorty took August’s tiara, 5 rounds to 4.

B-boy Tofu and b-boy Banana of the East London crew Secret Recipe battled it out against b-boy Buzz and b-boy ROFLcopter of Stray Animals (a.k.a Topless Crew – perhaps one male bonding session too far) for the title fight in the 2 on 2s. Matched in energy, style and musicality the crowd vociferously contested the judge’s decision. Buzz and ROFLcopter with their topless no-handed mills were the first breakers to be crowned London's Kingz of the Underground.

King of the Underground was (and the organisers say) will continue to be a FREE event, taking b-boying back to the city streets where it began.

The Breakdance/Breakdancing Misconception

Breakdance and Breakdancing are not the correct terms used to describe the original dance element of Hip Hop. Those who were the first to dance it called this pioneering style of dance BREAKING or B-BOYING.

The crazy kids that dance this funky style throughout the world are referred to as BREAKERS or B-BOYS and B-GIRLS (BREAKs-boys and BREAKs-girls) because they dance on the BREAK of the music. Breaking is a dance form that is continually evolving rapidly incorporating new moves and styles as they are showcased by the breakers.

Breakdance and breakdancing were names were thought-up by outsiders wishing to commercialise the 80’s overnight dance sensation that all the kids, on every street corner in every city, were doing.

Like many other mismanaged affairs, too much coverage and exposure caused public interest to wax and wane and breakdance’s widespread popularity was short lived.

Breakdance and breakdancing are wedded to negative connotations of a hollow, commercialised and exploited former glory. These bogus terms misrepresent what breaking/b-boying means to those who are passionate about it and have dedicated their lives to cultivating it. They undermine what it WAS, IS, and HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME.

B-boys and b-girls are not a fashion trend born overnight. Breakers eat, sleep and breathe B-boying. To be good takes time, effort, skill and dedication. Breaking is more than a dance; for us, it is a way of life.