Breaking in the Kitchen

BREAKING IN THE KITCHEN Bronx street acts heated up The Kitchen in Graffiti Rock, a three-way collaboration of rap, graffiti art, and breaking. To the driving rhythms of Fab 5 Freddy and D.J. Spy on mikes and turntables, and against the visual backdrop of spray-painted murals by Dondi, Duro, and Lee, the Rock Steady breakers showed off their moves. Photos by Paula Court Breaking is street dancing made up from gymnastics, mime, martial arts, disco dance, and sheer adolescent energy. It's a team sport competition, and half the Rock Steady club squared off against the others as the Swift Kids Crew. The breakers worked out in 10 to 30 second bursts of solo shots with occasional duet and group numbers. It was the best kind of game: everyone went all out and nobody kept score. rA 64 Like any true folk art, breaking is with his hands while swinging the legs a la the crotch, simulating a moon, miming a simple-a rigid form and a small, russe. Other moves to the floor include long tool (these are boys). repetitive vocabulary carry the straight- dives, cartwheels, somersaults, and flops. ahead emotions. Within these concen- After these set-up moves, each routine Put to rhythmic rap and flashy graffiti trated, kinetically rich limits, each breaker turned quickly to a big climax, frequently a graphics, the breakers strutted their stuff invents his own "signature" style. A spinning maneuver using the back or head straight: no show biz, no glitz, just pure, breaker typically began with fast, syn- and shoulders and a pivot. The punch line homemade, New York black/hispanic copated, foot-shuffling steps, then dropped was a fall out of the spin into a frozen pose dance genius. The house was rocked. to the floor on all fours, propping himself which was most often an insult: grabbing John Howell 65 ...