Break Out

Bboying evolved from street-corner gatherings in the late 70s, in which DJs would edit together the instrumental parts (“breaks”) of dance tunes to better showcase the skills of attending dancers. Now a more mainstream, though street-born phenomenon, Bboying is celebrated in several large-scale competitions, the most prestigious of which is the Red Bull BC One. In this event, 16 of the world’s best Bboys engage in head-to-head dance battles to determine who is the greatest of them all. NOWNESS marks BC One 2009, which takes place in New York today, with a clip from Turn it Loose, Alistair Siddons’s forthcoming documentary about the hopes and dreams of six past participants.