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PLANET B-BOY:KNUCKLEHEAD ZOO:BBOY Planet B-Boy's Knucklehead Zoo (KHZ) is the nations TOP professional break dance troupe, performing incredible dance moves in a high-energy presentation of pops, twists and spins; 2007 VMA, after party, MTV Music Video no wonder they call it breakdancing. This performance is 100% GUARANTEED to leave your audiences in awe. You gotta see it to believe it! KHZ are semi-final dance champions on CBS' Star Search and have won numerous break dancing titles world-wide, including first-place at the prestigious BBoy World Evolution Jam championships held in Europe and are the 2005 U.S. Champions at the Battle of the Year; which is the industry's equivalent of the Super Bowl. Shows and Demos available up to 20 minutes in length. KNUCKLEHEAD ZOO presents The HISTORY OF BREAK DANCE (courtesy Answers.com) Planet B-Boy, Break dance, breaking, b-boying or b-girling is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Latin American youths in the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to funk or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and is arguably the best known of all hip hop dance styles. A breakdancer, breaker, b-boy or b-girl refers to a person who practices breakdancing knucklehead zoo Breaking was born when street corner DJ's,in legend it is DJ Kool Herc who was first, would take the breakdown sections,or "breaks",of dance records and string them together without any elements of the song per se. This provided a raw rhythmic base for improvising and further mixing, and it allowed dancers to display their skills during the break. Popular speculations of the early 1980s suggest that breakdancing, in its organized fashion seen today, began as a method for rival gangs of the ghetto to mediate and settle territorial disputes. In a turn-based showcase of dance routines, the winning side was determined by the dancer(s) who could outperform the other by displaying a set of more complicated and innovative moves. MTV Music Video It later was through the highly energetic performances of the late funk legend James Brown and the rapid growth of dance teams, like the Rock Steady Crew of New York City, that the competitive ritual of gang warfare evolved into a pop-culture phenomenon receiving massive media attention. Parties, disco clubs, talent shows, and other public events became typical locations for breakdancers, including gang members for whom dancing served as a positive diversion from the threats of city life and Planet B-Boy Though its intense popularity eventually faded in the 1980s, it has today grown into a well-known and accepted dance style, portrayed in commercials, movies, and the media, and often available at common dance studios. Some large annual breakdance competitions can be seen today, such as Battle of the Year or the heavily sponsored Red Bull BC One. KNUCKLEHEAD ZOO - MTV VIDEO - PLANET B-BOY MOVIE Breakdancing is generally unstructured and highly improvisational, allowing the basic routine might include toprock, a transition into downrock, a display of power moves, and finally a climactic freeze or suicide. Planet B-Boy toprock refers to any string of steps performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, style, and most importantly, rhythm. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into more acrobatic maneuvers. In contrast, downrock includes all footwork performed on the floor as in the 6-step. Downrock is normally performed with the hands and feet on the floor. In downrock, the breakdancer displays his or her proficiency with foot speed and control by performing footwork combinations. These combinations usually transition into more athletic moves known as power moves. The windmill is a popular power move. Power moves refer to moves that require Momentum and physical power to execute. In power moves, the breakdancer relies more on upper body strength to dance, using his or her hands to do moves. Power moves include windmill, swipe, and flare. Because power moves are physically demanding, breakdancers use them as a display of upper body strength and stamina. Many moves are borrowed from gymnastics, such as the flare, and martial arts, with impressive acrobatics such as the butterfly kick. www.knuckleheadzoo.net - We are the professional break dance crew in the Planet B-Boy movie providing free MTV videos, break dance video and break clip dance video. We provide you with the best hip hop Dance team. Unique presentation style is our specialty. A one-handed handstand, commonly used as a freeze. Freezes halt all motion in a stylish pose. The more difficult freezes require the breakdancer to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper body strength, in poses such as the handstand or pike. Whereas freezing refers to a single pose, locking entails sharp transitions between a series of freezes. Suicides are another type of end to a routine. Planet B-Boy Breakers will make it appear that they have lost control and fall onto their backs, stomachs, etc. The more painful the suicide appears, the more impressive it is, but breakdancers execute them in a way to minimize pain. In contrast to freezes, suicides draw attention to the motion of falling or losing control, while freezes draw attention to the final position. "Battles" refer to any level of competition in which breakdancers in an open space (typically a circle or even on stage) participate in quick-paced, turn-based routines, whether improvised or planned. Participants vary in number, ranging from head-to-head duels to battles of opposing breakdance crews, or teams. Winners are determined by the side exhibiting the most proficient and varied combinations of moves. "Cyphers," on the other hand, are open-forum, mock exhibitions where competition is less emphasized. Cartoon of a breakdancer displaying a basic freeze, next to a stereotypical Boombox.Since its inception, breakdancing has provided a youth culture constructive alternative to violent urban street gangs. Today, breakdancing culture is a remarkable discipline somewhere in-between those of dancers and athletes. Since acceptance and involvement centers on dance skills, breakdancing culture is usually free of the common race, gender and age boundaries of a subculture and has been accepted worldwide. Social interaction centers on practices and competitions, which are occasionally intertwined because of its improvisational style. While featured at dance schools, breakdancing is very difficult, typically taught to newbies, or beginners, by more experienced breakdancers and passed on to new generations by informal word-of-mouth. Clubs and hip-hop schools do exist, but are rare in number and more so in organization. MTV Music Video and Planet B-Boy movie. As the clichéd quote "break to the beat" insists, music is a staple ingredient for breakdancing. The original songs that popularized the dance form borrow significantly from progressive genres of jazz, soul, funk, electro or electro funk, disco, and R&B.The most common feature of breakdance music exists in breaks, or compilations formed from samples taken from different songs which are then looped and chained together by the DJ. The tempo generally ranges between 110 and 135 beats-per-minute with shuffled sixteenth and quarter beats in the percussive pattern. History credits Kool DJ Herc for the invention of this concept, later termed breakbeat. The musical selection is not restricted to hip-hop as long as the tempo and beat pattern conditions are met. It can be readily adapted to different music genres, often with the aid of remixing. World competitions have seen the unexpected progressions and applications of heavily European electronica, and even opera. Knucklehead Zoo - Breakdance doing a headstand. For most breakdancers, fashion is a defining aspect of identity.The breakdancers of the 1980s typically sported flat-soled Adidas, Puma, or Fila shoes with thick, elaborately patterned laces. Some breakdancing crews matched their hats, shirts, and shoes to show uniformity, and were perceived as a threat to the competitor by their apparent strength in numbers. B-boys also wore nylon tracksuits which were functional as well as fashionable. The slick, low-friction material allowed the breakdancer to slide on the floor much more readily than with cotton or most other materials. Hooded nylon jackets allowed dancers to perform head spins and windmills with greater ease. Additionally, the popular image of the original breakdancer always involved a public performance on the street, accompanied by the essential boombox and oversized sheet of cardboard, which serves as a dance floor. The b-boys today dress differently from the b-boys in the 80s, but one constant remains: dressing "fresh". Due to the spread of breakdancing from the inner cities into the suburbs and other social groups, different perceptions of "fresh" have arisen. Generally the rule that one's gear needs to match has remained from the 80s, along with a certain playfulness. Kangols are still worn by some, and track pants and nylon clothes still have their place combined with modern sneakers and hats. Trucker hats were reintroduced to the scene in the late 1990s, well before the mainstream pop culture began wearing them again in numbers. Function is heavily intertwined with b-boy fashion. Due to the demands on the feet in b-boying, b-boys look for shoes with low weight, good grip, and durability in the sole as well as elsewhere. Headwear can facilitate the movement of the head on the ground, especially in headspins. Bandannas underneath headwear can protect against the discomfort of fabric pulling on hair. Wristbands placed along the arm can also lower friction in particular places, as well as provide some protection. Today's breakdancing styles, which emphasize fast-paced, fluid floor moves and freezes, differ from that of two decades ago, requiring more freedom of movement in the upper body. Therefore, less baggy upperwear is more common today.Certain clothing brands have been associated with breaking, for instance, Tribal. Puma is also well known in the breaking community. Both brands sponsor many b-boy events. But aside from these generalities, many Planet B-Boys choose not to try too hard to dress for breaking, because one would want to be able to break anytime, anywhere, whatever the circumstances. This is part of the reason why many breakdancers would rather learn headspins without a helmet even though helmets allow them to learn the technique more easily. Breakdancing as a folk dance. There is some academic interest in whether breaking can be considered a folk dance. In particular, street dances are living and evolving dance forms, while folk dances are to a significant degree bound by tradition. Breakdancing was in the beginning a social dance but in its later years, because of media and television exposure, it has become a more performance oriented dance. BREAKDANCE In the 1980s, with the help of pop culture and MTV, breakdancing made its way from America to the rest of the world as a new cultural phenomenon. Musicians such as Michael Jackson popularized some of the breakdancing styles in music videos, and movies such as Flashdance, Wild Style, Beat Street, Breakin', and Breakin': Electric Boogaloo also contributed to the growing appeal of breakdancing. Today, many b-boys and former breakers are disappointed by the media hype that has changed the focus of breakdancing to money and overuse of power moves. Breaking was given proper respect in the critically-acclaimed, feature documentary film; The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy. The film captured the essence of the culture and accurately traced the origin, evolution, and position of the dance within the HIP-HOP MOVEMENT Some practitioners state the original terms b-boying or breakdance are better names for the dance as breakdance was supposedly created by the media as a marketing device. As such, the term breakdance is said to lack the depth and history of the older terms and are today looked down by some who consider its use as an evidence of ignorance and disrespect to the history of the dance style itself. Multiple stereotypes have emerged in the breakdancing community over the give-and-take relationship between technical footwork and physical prowess. Those who focus on dance steps and fundamental sharpness-but lack upper-body brawn, form, discipline, etc. are labeled as "style-heads" and specialists of more gymnastics-oriented technique and form-at the cost of charisma and coordinated footwork-are known as "power-heads." Such terms are used colloquially often to classify one's skill, however, the subject has been known to disrupt competitive events where judges tend to favor a certain array of techniques. It has often been stated that breakdancing replaced fighting between street gangs, though some believe it a misconception that b-boying ever played a part in mediating gang rivalry. These gang roots made breakdancing itself seem controversial in its early history.Uprocking as a dance style of its own never gained the same wide-spread popularity as breakdance, except for some very specific moves adopted by breakers who use it as a variation for their toprock. When used in a breakdance battle, opponents often respond by performing similar uprock moves, supposedly creating a short uprock battle. Some state that because uprocking was originally a separate dance style it should never be mixed with breaking, and that the uprock moves performed by breakers today are not the original moves but poor imitations that only shows a small part of the original uprock style. Often the danger inherent in breakdancing is overemphasized. As with any other strenuous activity, a measured risk of physical injury exists. Breakdancers should practice using professional supervision to decrease the chances of personal injuries. Planet B-Boy : Knucklehead Zoo : Break Dance, Breakdance Site, Breakdance, Breakdancer Stuff, Breakdance, BBOY Zoo, Breakdance Site for Break Dance Break Dance B-Boy Site, B-Boy Search Engine Submission - www.servicewrap.net: www.knuckleheadzoo.net - Planet B-Boy : Break dance : Knucklehead zoo - 2-Time USA national champion break dance crew. Video, images, stats of the popular Las Vegas based B-Boy crew. Available for bookings worldwide. www.knuckleheadzoo.net covers USA, Canada, UK, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City : - Free MTV Music Video - Break Dance.