Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying". Regional qualifying tournaments, also known as preliminaries, are held worldwide culminating in the BOTY International, the world finals event which is currently held at Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France.
Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop dance mainstream exposure.
Breaking, also called breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the Foundational Black American communities of the Bronx, New York City. While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, breakdancing mainly consists of four kinds of movement: toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes. Breakdancing is typically set to songs containing drum breaks, especially in hip-hop, funk, soul music and breakbeat music, although modern trends allow for much wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.
Ken Swift is a second generation B-boy, or breakdancer, and former Vice President of the Rock Steady Crew of which he was a longtime member and key figure. He is now President of the Breaklife and VII Gems Hip Hop movement in NYC. Ken Swift began B-Boying in 1978 at the age of twelve when he was inspired by dancers on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Widely known in the B-Boy world as "the Epitome of a B-Boy," he is universally considered by B-Boys to be the individual who has had the greatest influence on break dancing. Ken Swift is credited with the creation of many dance moves and terminology. His original footwork and "freeze style" became a foundational part of breaking, which were considered new concepts at the time.
Kim Hong-Yul, better known by his stage name Hong 10, is a Korean b-boy. He is part of the Korean crew Flow Xl, 7Commandoz worldwide and represents the Red Bull BC One All Stars.
Red Bull BC One is an annual international B-Boy competition organized by the energy drink company Red Bull. It is an individual B-Boy competition, notable for being the only one of the major international breaking championships to not include a crew event. The main event is a knockout tournament featuring sixteen B-Boys and B-Girls, chosen for exceptional skills in the dance and good character, competing in one-on-one battles decided by a panel of five judges. Regional Finals are held for North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. The winners of each region go on and participate in the World Finals. The inaugural BC One was held in Biel, Switzerland in 2004.
T.I.P. Crew is a bboy crew from South Korea. T.I.P. stands for Teamwork is Perfect. Founded in 1996 by Virus, T.I.P is the first b-boy crew in Korea. The crew has won numerous awards around the world and are still ongoing to this day. They have also appeared in music videos, movies, TV shows and commercial films.
Super CR3W is a male assemblage of hip-hop dancers originating from Las Vegas, Nevada. The group won the second season Americas Best Dance Crew in the finals. Contrary to popular belief, Super CR3W was formed long before their appearance on Americas's Best Dance Crew, specifically in 2000. They wanted to bring the dance style, "Breakdancing/B-Boying" to the world.
Salah Benlemqawanssa, also known as Salah the Entertainer and Spider Salah, is a competitive hip-hop dancer from France who won the inaugural season of La France a un incroyable talent, the fourth season of Arabs Got Talent and the fourth season of Tú Sí Que Vales (Italy). He was born in the Paris suburb Saint-Denis and is of Moroccan (Father) and Algerian (Mother) ancestry. He calls his personal dance style P.A.B.E. which stands for Popping, Animation, Boogaloo, and Effects. Although Salah is best known for popping, he is also skilled in b-boying.
Ali Ramdani, born April, 18 1984, better known by his stage name Lilou, is an Algerian-French b-boy breakdancer. He is part of the French crew Pockemon Crew and the all-star team LEGION X. Since the beginning of his career in 1999 he has won many international prizes, both with his crew and as a solo dancer. He has had a black belt in Kung Fu since he was sixteen. He practices Islam and can speak Algerian-Arabic, French and English.
The airflare refers to an acrobatic movement in which the performer rotates the torso around the vertical axis of their body whilst simultaneously traveling in a circular path along a plane parallel with the floor. The feet are not allowed to touch the ground during the execution of this move and both hands are used to execute standard airflares.
Daniel "Cloud" Campos is an American dancer, director, choreographer, and occasional actor raised in San Diego, California, and Orlando, Florida.
B-boying or Breaking, also called Breakdancing, is a style of street dance that originated among African-American and Puerto Rican youths in New York City during the early 1970s. The dance spread worldwide due to popularity in the media, especially in regions such as South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan. Now, b-boying has gained much popularity around the world with countless competitions crowning the best bboy crews and solo bboys. Many consider Battle of the Year, The Notorious IBE, UK B-Boy Championships and R-16 Korea to be the 4 major international bboy competitions which determine the best bboy crew in the world. Along with crew battles, solo, or 1 on 1 battles, have also gained much popularity around the world. UK B-Boy Championships, Battle of the Year and R-16 Korea are also well known for their 1 on 1 b-boy championships. However, Red Bull BC One is argued to be the most coveted competition to crown the best solo b-boy due to their audience and popularity worldwide.
Freestyle Session is a b-boy competition held every year which crowns the best crew in the world. It is sanctioned by the Urban Dance & Educational Foundation and part of the Pro Breaking Tour and Undisputed's World BBoy Series. Originally held only in the United States, Freestyle Session is now being recognized worldwide. Most years have featured a 3 on 3 battle, but formats have varied over the years, from a 2 on 2 to a 10 on 10 full crew battle. Freestyle Session is most well known as a b-boy event, but has also featured b-girl, youth breaking, popping, and open styles competitions, among others
Karl Oliver Alba, also known as Dyzee is a professional b-boy from Toronto, Canada. He is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, holding the longest b-boy circle. He is member of Supernaturalz and 7 Commandoz.
The Silverback Open Championships has been an international prize money breaking competition, with five editions held to date in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2014 through 2018. Funded by Silverback Bboy Events, which supports the competitive breaking community philanthropically and through sponsorships, the Silverback Open Championships has been regarded as one of the premier International B-Boy Championships held every year it has been featured, with the most recent edition including 850 competitors from 50 countries. Silverback Open prize money pools have exceeded $100,000, and the event has attracted an international social media following accumulating millions of views. The Silverback Open event has been part of the Urban Dance & Educational Foundation's Pro Breaking Tour and Undisputed's World B-boy Series. The event has featured of many of the best and most well-known b-boys and b-girls around the world and has received praise throughout the breaking community for the high level of competition and for providing a warm welcome to guests and competitors alike.
Break'n Reality (2012-2014) is a documentary series, produced & directed by Maximilian Haidbauer. The show dives deep into the culture of Break Dance, also called B-Boying and follows some of the most respected dancers around the world as they compete for the world championship title. Season one titled" 3 B-Boys, 1 year, One Passion" featuring B-Boy Roxrite, B-Boy Lilou and B-Boy Neguin released August 2012. Season two titled "Making a living and keep'n it real " released in summer of 2014. The original theme song was recorded and performed by hip hop legend Rakaa / Dilated Peoples who also narrated the show.
Roman Gorskiy, known as Froz, is a competitive breakdancer born in Russia and raised in Italy.
YounessEl Mouaffaq (1994), better known by his stage name Cri6, is a London-based Moroccan competitive b-boy. As of July 2017, he has won a silver medal in the Hip-hop dance category at the VIII Jeux de la Francophonie in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, competing together with the Moroccan national team 04 Lkarwa.
Jinjo Crew, is a South Korean b-boy crew formed in 2001. Jin and Jo means 'Rising Fire '. Jinjo Crew is famous for winning the world's top 5 major tournaments, including UK B-Boy Championships (2012), Freestyle Session (2011), Battle Of The Year, R-16 Korea, Red Bull BC One (2008).
"RoxRite’s Journey to 100 Wins" by Red Bull BC One.