Fairmount: Break Dancing Culture

https://vimeo.com/18394663]

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For most people a typical night around town doesn’t include spinning on the floor, flipping in the air and standing on their heads. But for Philly’s B-boys and girls it’s practically an every day (and night) occurrence. Last Saturday night at the Performance Garage in Fairmount, 10 local breaking crews battled in the National Breakin’ League (NBL) competition in Philadelphia.

Unlike conventional competitive sports, “break battling is based on style, originality and being able to be who are on and off the floor,” says longtime Philly B-boy Metal, break- dancing teacher and member of the Repstyles crew.

Philadelphia has a deep B-boying history that started in the late 1970s. Back then, legendary B-boys like Rennie Harris were dancing and battling in the clubs, on the streets at self-proclaimed “street clubs” and in the parks long before organizations like the NBL were formed to turn the high-energy dancing style into a competitive sport. Every year the NBL holds three Philadelphia competitions where hungry crews vie for a spot to compete against teams from across the country, at the annual national breakin’ championships in Phoenix.

The Philadelphia jam circuit is a way for breakers and b-boy enthusiasts from various neighborhoods scattered throughout the city to socialize, to dance and to simply enjoy the jam. “These jams are a place where people of all ages just dance and come together to do what we love to do,” explains B-boy Metal “we see a lot of newer and younger dancers coming through bringing sick style and originality to breaking and it’s really a way for old generations to teach and vibe with the new generations.”

Jams are a regular part of the breaking culture and have been since the beginning. Regulars of the jam circuit know the undeniable sense of community that attracts local business owners and entrepreneurs to build their brands. “People in the breaking community get my clothing and what I’m trying to do— they go against the popularly followed fads and just do their own thing,” says Bill Brown, creator of Weirdo Clothing.

By embracing break dancing and B-boy culture, young Philadelphians within the dance community identify with a positive outlet to explore themselves through their breaking and general love of dance. “B-boying has taught me the three things I value most in life: respect, that you can’t win everything and that expression is probably the most valuable thing you have. Your voice, your vote, everything you do counts,” said Steven Ngo, a high school senior at Carver High School in North Central.