Description
Book SynopsisThe untold story of how breaking one of the most widely practiced dance forms in the world today began as a distinctly African American expression in the Bronx, New York, during the 1970s. Breaking is the first and most widely practiced hip-hop dance in the world, with around one million participants in this dynamic, multifaceted artform and, as of 2024, Olympic sport. Yet, despite its global reach and nearly 50-year history, stories of breaking's origins have largely neglected the African Americans who founded it. Dancer and scholar Serouj Midus Aprahamian offers, for the first time, a detailed look into the African American beginnings of breaking in the Bronx, New York.
The Birth of Breaking challenges numerous myths and misconceptions that have permeated studies of hip-hop's evolution, considering the influence breaking has had on hip-hop culture. Including previously unseen archival material, interviews, and detailed depictions of the dance at its outset, this bo
Trade ReviewThe Birth of Breaking is the most complete and in-depth study of the origins of hip-hop to date. Midus's research is unmatched and he sets the bar high for all future scholarship. Praise True. * Pete Nice, Co-Curator, Universal Hip Hop Museum *
The Birth of Breaking offers an insightful and vitally important account of hip-hop history, presenting it in a way that properly acknowledges the crucial contributions of African-Americans and their cultural traditions, highlights the central role of women, and underlines the importance of breaking in hip-hop's development. This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in or involved in hip-hop culture. * Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, 2020 and 2021 Top Ranked b-girl by the Australian Breaking Association, and Lecturer in Media and Creative Industries, Macquarie University, Australia *
A
tour de force study of the African American wellsprings of breaking, written with academic rigor and empathetic care. With outstanding complexity, Serouj Midus Aprahamian explains how race and class have shaped hip-hop dance histories. Exploring unpublished archives and conducting new interviews with hip-hop legends from the 1970s,
The Birth of Breaking demonstrates how dance has been central to understanding hip-hop’s powerful global influence. * Thomas F, DeFrantz, Professor of Performance Studies, Northwestern University, USA *
As a b-boy and scholar, Dr. Aprahamian could not be better positioned to author this groundbreaking historical study that sets the record straight on the genesis of breaking culture. A combination of archival research, practitioner interviews, and embodied knowledge,
The Birth of Breaking details how innovations in this Black vernacular dance influenced the advent of hip-hop music, dispels myths that link the dance to Black criminality, and recognizes the contribution of women to this vibrant dance culture. * Sherril Dodds, Professor of Dance, Temple University, USA *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Detecting Breaking’s Beginnings 2. Going Off in the Bronx 3. Keeping the Movement Moving 4. Make Way for the B-Boys 5. Mothers of the Movement 6. Breaking’s Latino Adoption Epilogue: Back to the Beginning
Notes Index
