cover 0708.qxd - PhillyFIT Magazine

LocallyFIT
By Mary M. Nearpass, MA, MS
Clockwise:
Amir Askari,
Ryan Wagner
and Dominic
DiMatteo
OMG! How do they do that This is the expression
across the faces and verbally exchanged by anyone
who has ever seen Breakdancing. Whether it’s spinning on
their heads, freezing in a one arm handstand or performing intricate footwork,
once you’ve watched, you’ll never forget these talented young dancers.
If you were fortunate enough to attend the 8th PhillyFIT Bash, held this
past November 30th at the Bucks County Community College, you
definitely know what I’m talking about. My eleven-year-old
daughter is still talking about it and how it “blew her mind.”
Breakdance, breaking, b-boying or b-girling; call it what
you want, but it’s a dance style that’s definitely here to stay.
The term “breakdancing” refers to the breaks in music, and
the movements that are associated with these breaks. Since
there is such a mystique about this style of dance, we wanted
to find out for ourselves, from the dancers themselves,
what Breakdancing is all about.
I was warmly greeted by a group of four handsome, young,
adult men in their early twenties as we entered the restaurant.
Instantly, I felt their professionalism, positive energy,
camaraderie, and commitment, not only to their art, but to
each other ― a kind of intra and inter-dependence going on
at the same time.
I started by inquiring about the origin, evolution and position
of their form of dance. The predecessor to this form
of dance is atypical. It is a street dance style that evolved
as part of the hip-hop movement among African
American and Puerto Rican youths in New York City
during the early 1970’s. It may have begun as a productive
and a constructive youth culture alternative to
the potential violence of urban street gangs. It also
16 I PhillyFIT
March/April I 215-396-0268 I www.phillyfit.com