[Electrolux]

On the homepage of this site it says:

"Breakdance, Breakdancing and Breakdancer are media terms. Bboy or bgirl and Bboying are the correct words to use instead of Breakdance, Breakdacing (sic) or Breakdancer."

hey! why are the knives out? who is this dude who is giving out these lectures?

Considering the same page is promoting a DVD called 'Breakdance: Step By Step' it seems rather hypocritical to dictate to people what they should call their artform. If phrase-fascists are going to go down that line, they should also be chastising people for saying hip-hop rather than hippedy-hop which is what Kool Herc says it was originally called. But I don't see them doing that........

[Harry Popper']

do you really think the people running this are stupid. Or do you really think they dont know what they are talking about, or you think you found a flaw. Search before you post.

Think. If some kid wanted to learn how to bboy and had no clue how, he wouldnt go google bboying. He would type in breakdancing. If you cant figure this out then im sorry, dont try an make things difficult.

Its all been said before, check for other threads.

[flobotopics]

is this the one millionth or second millionth thread like this??? i lost count around 389,706th thread

[Harry Popper']

2nd

[Reflexion]

well that seems to be a good point and i've already thought about this... to me, part of the dvd's purpose was to expose people to this beautiful subculture we have which is why there was interviews and extensive talk about style and what it means to be a bboy

tane's (the creator of the site/dvd) has already come under heat for not using 'how to bboy,' but that would not have the effect as 'how to breakdance' would have... i mean it could be presented as something cool and commercial, but at the same time it brings you a deeper understanding of the bboy...it's like an authentic dvd packaged under a commercial label.. i myself and many, many other people got into hip hop because of the mainstream presentation of it... but it was through these gateways that i came to realize the underground movement within hip hop and the difference between the real and the commercial

i started to get into hip hop through the commercial shit i was presented, but now i'm a total underground head.. with emceeing and bboying, i both got in for totally different reasons than why i'm in it now

perhaps i'd agree with your criticisms if there was not such a strong effort in the dvd's to explain what style is and why it's so important... how bboying developed and how it's different from what it's presented as.

[Quailman]

who cares if we all know what they mean. honestly, if someone came up to me and said "hey u breakdance?" or "hey u bboy?" i'd know what they were saying either way. who cares.

[Electrolux]

Quailman, I agree. That's my point exactly.

Some days I call it breakdancing. Other days I'll call it b-boying. I think people should be free to call it what they like, providing they respect the artform.

However, there's too many people attacking those who use the word "breakdance" for being sellouts or 'not real' or, in this case, overly influenced by the media. Hey, doesn't this website and its DVD count as media too?

[Desi Boogie]

It's a problem for people like me cause most people don't understand at all what a B-Boy is. If you mention breakdancer to them their eyes will light up and they'll understand you (sort of) but if you say "i B-Boy" it can be really awkward trying to explain it.

I think that there really shouldn't be a problem. Although i have to admit that a B-Boy is deeper in meaning than a breakdancer. When people think breakdancer, they think of windmills, headspins and flares, that sort of shit. But B-Boying is an art form, an almost spiritual dance that brings with it a whole attitude and mindset, where your main purpose is not to get props for being a mad acrobat or power mover but to "rock the joint" and get the people jumping.

Hip Hop and B-Boying's a mindset, not a puritanical exclusive group, that is only accessible to the "hardcore true members". If this sub culture is about exclusion and paranoid derision of anything commercial then i hope i don't get too into things.

Peace