Foundation : b-boys, b-girls, and hip-hop culture in New York

B-boying is a form of Afro-diasporic competitive dance that developed in the Bronx, NY in the early 1970s. Widely - though incorrectly - known as breakdancing, it is often dismissed as a form of urban acrobatics set to music. In reality, however, b-boying is a deeply traditional and profoundly expressive art form that has been passed down from teacher to student for almost four decades. Foundation: B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York offers the first serious study of b-boying as both unique dance form and a manifestation of the most fundamental principles of hip-hop culture. Drawing on anthropological and historical research, interviews and personal experience as a student of the dance, Joseph Schloss presents a nuanced picture of b-boying and its social context. From the dance's distinctive musical repertoire and traditional educational approaches to its complex stylistic principles and secret battle strategies, Foundation illuminates a previously unexamined thread in the complex tapestry that is contemporary hip-hop. Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page vii) 1. Introduction (page 3) 2. "The Original Essence of the Dance": History, Community, and Classic B-Boy Records (page 17) 3. "Getting Your Foundation": Pedagogy (page 40) 4. "We Have to Be Exaggerated": Aesthetics (page 68) 5. "In the Cypher": B-Boy Spaces (page 94) 6. "I Hate B-Boys—That's Why I Break": Battling (page 107) 7. From Rocking to B-Boying: History and Mystery (page 125) 8. Conclusion (page 155) Notes (page 159) Biblography (page 167) Index (page 173) Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-172) and index.'The original essence of the dance' : history, community, and classic b-boy records -- 'Getting your foundation' : pedagogy -- 'We have to be exaggerated' : aesthetics -- 'In the cypher' : b-boy spaces -- 'I hate b-boys-- that's why I break' : battling -- From rocking to b-boying : history and mystery. 1. Introduction. 2. Getting Your Foundation: Pedagogy. 3. B-Boy Text: Aesthetics. 4. Crews. 5. I hate b-boys - that's why I break: Battling. 6. Like old folk songs handed down from generation to generation: history, canon, and community in B-boy culture. 7. If Breaking came out of Uprock, then Hip-Hop didn't start in the Bronx: B-boy History. 8. Conclusion