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Intermediate Breaking

9 min read

What

These are notes for the Intermediate Breaking class taught by me for ~14 weeks.
Prior to this I had experience with teaching power move classes, 1:1 privates, and informal mentorship.

Why

I got bored of teaching power in a class setting. The movements take a long time to learn and have a high entry barrier (mastering freezes). So beyond backspin and maybe swipes, students really need to invest in mastering stabs, shoulders, headstand, handstands, etc. to get into the other power moves. Most of the regulars at these classes needed more time with the basics in order for the learning process to be productive and safe.
There wasn’t an intermediate breaking class at the studio yet, and most of these students seemed pretty active and hungry for the next steps.

Goal (ad)

Grow understanding of the dance and dive deep into topics such as: form, vocabulary, composition, style, freestyle, musicality, dynamics, battling, and the art of practice.`

Background Planning

What is Breaking?

On surface level breaking is a dance involving some rough categories: top rock, footwork, power, freezes. Each taking influence from many other contexts (kung fu, funk, rocking, jazz, gymnastics, etc.) and emerging from the 70s-80s melting pot of New York.

There are a few different kinds of environments that you may be breaking:

  • Battle (organized competition)
  • Cyphers (circle with other dancers)
    • Call-out battle (unorganized, un-judged competition)
  • Practice
  • Class
  • Show (performance)

Levels

Since this is an intermediate class, it is useful to come up with some rough definitions of what this is. This is all of course, very subjective, and based on my own personal experience.
We will share some things that may characterize breakers at the different levels.
Beginner:

  • Little or no experience with the fundamental movements
  • Basic round: top rock, fw, freeze
    • Not smooth
    • May be limited to complete set learned from class
    • Top rocks may be off-beat
    • Limited arsenal
    • Struggles with form (does not look effortless)
      Intermediate:
  • Significant experience with fundamental movements:
    • 3 basic tops, rock groove
    • CC, sweeps, monkey swings, hook, 6 step, 3 step, zulu spin
    • Stab freezes, baby freeze, head stand, nike freeze
    • Back spin, possibly other power moves but not necessary
  • Basic round:
    • Able to cypher
    • Some capability to freestyle
      • Explored, drilled, created enough to have some systems/options for freestyle
    • Generally things look smooth
    • Top rocks on beat, possibly fw/fr on beat as well

Where do we go from here?

We define the broader goals of our dance evolution (coined triangle equality).
And wrap it up in the ART OF PRACTICE.

1) Look Good

  • Form
  • Style
  • Composition
  • Dynamics

2) Feel Good

  • Flow
  • Style
  • Technique/physics/effortless movement

3) Freedom

  • Musicality
  • Conversation
    • Battling
    • Freestyle
    • Story-telling

Art of Practice

We want to optimize use of time spent at practice each day, each week, each month, each year to progress the Triangle Equality attributes as efficiently as possible, without losing sight of enjoying the process/adventure.
I.e. balancing hyper-optimizing training with being human.

Continuous Challenges:

  • Which TE attributes to work on?
  • HOW to work on them?

MAKE IT A VIDEO GAME

Actual class

What is intermediate? Less and less about the moves/fundamentals.
NOT going to cover 6 step, CC, top rocks, 3 step, baby freeze, etc.

Class Structure:

  1. Warm-up
  2. Option: New Vocab
  3. Fundamentals Drilling
  4. Main Activity
  5. Time-dependent: Stretch/discussion

Topics:

  1. Form
  2. Style
    1. Personal approach
  3. Composition
  4. Dynamics
  5. Flow
    1. Personal approach
  6. Musicality
  7. Battling
    1. Conversation
    2. Combos

Small circles. Cypher Games.
How to break down movement, learn it.
How to create new movement.
How to help yourself with musicality, freedom

Starting on the RIGHT FOOTING.
HOW YOU DO IT.

  • FRESH
  • COMFORTABLE, EFFORTLESS
  • CLARITY
  • COMMUNICATION
  • DANCING

Warm Up

We rely on a similar warm-up every time that activates:

  • upper body
  • lower body
  • mobility/joints
  • core

Typically it is:

  1. Top Rock
  2. Light mobility/stretching

Goals:

  • Get body warm
  • Enforce basic groove (rock)
  • Learn how to do simple things with groove (walk)
  • Play around and add your own style (fw/bw side-side top drill)
  • Explore musicality, specifically patterns of 8 count

New Vocab

Optionally introduce new vocab for students to play around with.
It may or may not be connected with Fundamentals or Main Activity.

Fundamentals

Each class features drills across the studio.
Typically includes go-down, fw, get-up.
Sometimes just fw forward and fw backward.

Goals:

  • Reinforce importance of basics
  • Elevate form
  • Discover missing fundamentals
  • Learn to travel and go up/down

Hidden agenda:

  • Use studio space in a different way to help with memory/learning

Main Activity

  1. See new thing
  2. Try new thing
  3. Integrate new thing into dance
  4. Reflect, repeat

Typically framed as a game to explore in the context of a cypher.
Sometimes we partner up and create/explore together, before integrating.

We try to avoid “just learning moves”, and more like learn tools to expand on our triangle equality attributes.

Running List of Learning goals

Fundamentals

  • BL
  • Spin-up
    • Hook
    • CC
    • Middle
    • Knee
  • Hook - baby
  • Sweep
  • 6 step, 3 step, 2 step
  • Sweep stand
  • 6 step BL
  • Kick-outs
  • Monkey swings
  • Back entrances from knee
  • Twist to back to twist to baby
  • Swipes
  • Machine
  • 8-ball shift, and reversed
  • Basics moving backward
  • Handstands/crane pose
  • Machine to stab/power/ice
  • Hips in CC
  • Scissor go-down
  • Baby tw Chair
  • Sweep zipper
  • 4-step

Concepts

  • Reset!
  • Repeat freeze shape 3 times (theme)
  • Level change mid round
  • Creating an entrance/exit
  • Reversing a transition/move
  • GHOST
  • 2/8 counts tops switch
  • Walking with Tops
  • Creating together
  • Conversation — similar language (reset, back, freeze)
  • Top rock traveling
  • Stop on 1
  • 2/8 count + 1 freeze FW combo
  • OLD TO THE NEW
    • Basic variation ⇒ flipped variation
  • Conversation in cypher context
  • Quick/fast speed changes
  • Jabs (go-down 1 freeze)
  • Threading

CLASS 1

Warmup

  1. Tops
  2. Arm circles
  3. Neck
  4. Twist
  5. Squat
  6. Ham string
  7. Hips
  8. Wrists

Fundamentals

These are done across the room for FUN.

  1. Bruce lee hook
  2. Bruce lee 6 step
  3. Bruce lee 3 step
  4. Bruce lee sweep
  5. Bruce lee sweep swipe

Cypher Game

Split into groups of 3-4

  1. Hook → Knee pause 3 times
  2. Hook → High Chair pause 3 times
  3. Hook → Baby pause 3 times
  4. Put it all together

Discussion/Stretch/Condition

CLASS 2

Warmup

  1. Tops
  2. Arm circles
  3. Neck
  4. Twist
  5. Squat
  6. Ham string
  7. Hips
  8. Wrists

Aside

  1. Hook baby
  2. 3 step

Fundamentals

These are done across the room for FUN.

  1. Bruce lee hook, knee, hook spin-up
  2. Bruce lee sweep hook, chair, hook, spin-up
  3. Bruce lee hook, baby
  4. Bruce lee sweep standing

Cypher Game

Split into groups of 3-4

  1. Freestyle, sweep stand, Bruce Lee hook knee
  2. Freestyle, sweep stand, Bruce Lee hook chair
  3. Freestyle, sweep stand, bruce lee hook baby
  4. Put it all together

LEARNING GOALS

  • Hook baby/ 3 step

  • Details of knee pose, chair pose

  • Level changes.

  • Reminder on trigger/reset

  • Ways to arrive at reset.

  • Creating combos/variations/moves/etc.?

    • A) Intentional
    • B) Unintentional + Record
      FEEDBACK:

  • Variations

  • Level changes/back stuff

  • Character

  • Transitions

CLASS 3

Warmup

  • Focus on knees, ankles

Fundamentals

These are done across the room for FUN.
This time it’s different

  1. Bruce lee hook, middle spin-up
  2. Bruce lee CC, middle spin-up
  3. Bruce lee kick-out, spin-up
  4. Bruce lee swings CC spin-up

Back Transition

  1. Knee pose entrance to back

  2. Reverse-engineer the entrance

  3. Cypher to try it out 1-2 rounds

  4. Add-on to entrance

  5. Cypher

LEARNING GOALS

  • Spin-up from middle position
  • Basic entrance to back
  • Basic exit from back
  • Creativity as problem solving
  • Transitions

CLASS 4

Warmup

  • Focus on knees, ankles

Back Sweep w/ Knee

Fundamentals

These are done across the room for FUN.
This time it’s different

  1. Bruce lee 6 step CC, spin-up
  2. Bruce lee 3 step CC, spin-up
  3. Bruce lee 2 step CC, spin-up
  4. Bruce lee swings, sweep get up

Baby-Back Transition

  1. Knee to back review

  2. Baby both sides, chair both sides

  3. Back sweep to baby

  4. Twist tap, to back

  5. Cypher to try it out 1-2 rounds

  6. Baby to back direct

  7. Cypher

LEARNING GOALS

  • Back-sweep
  • Baby to back transition
  • Basic exit from back
  • Creativity as problem solving
  • Transitions

CLASS 5

Warmup

  • HOST tops
  • Top Rock 2/8 game
  • Stretch
  • Octopus

Create together

Fundamentals

  1. BL 1/2 6 step
  2. BL 3 step CC spin up
  3. Monkey Swings across the room
  4. BL sweep to standing

Creating Together

  1. Pair up together
  2. Create combo together
    1. Reset position
    2. Back
    3. Freeze
  3. Those pairs become battle partners
  4. Call-out battles.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Top rock variations
  • Octopus
  • Combo creation (creativity)
  • Battle

CLASS 6

Warmup

  • Top Rock 2/8 game
  • Stretch, wrists
  • Bear-bridge
    • Hand switch
  • Steering wheel

6 step BL

Fundamentals

  1. BL 6 step, BL
  2. BL 3 step CC spin up
  3. BL 2 step CC spin up
  4. Cart-wheels

Swipes

  1. Machine break-down
    1. Cypher, drill
  2. Hand switch drill, reminder
  3. Swipe breakdown
  4. Cypher

LEARNING GOALS

  • Tops walking
  • 6 step BL
  • Swipes
  • Integrating power

CLASS 7

Warmup

  • Top Rock Stop on 1

8-ball shift

Fundamentals

  1. 8-ball shift fw
  2. 8-ball shift rv,bw
  3. BL CC forward
  4. BL CC backward
  5. BL 6 step BL
  6. Car wheels

Layers

  1. Pick 2 basic FW
  2. FLIP THEM (GHOST), big/small
  3. Create a 2-8 count combo, end w/ freeze/burn

LEARNING GOALS

  • Tops pause
  • Pause, level, speed
  • Big/small?

CLASS 8

Warmup

  • Bear to bridge

Handstands

  • Crane freeze
  • Kick up
  • Hold
  • Hand-hop
  • Valdez

Fundamentals

  1. BL CC spin-up
  2. BL 3-step spin-up
  3. 6 step FW
  4. 6 step BW
  5. Bonus: 8-ball S

Machine to stab

  1. Knee entrance
  2. Slow guided entrance
  3. 1 machine 1 slow entrance
  4. Implement in cypher

LEARNING GOALS

  • Hand-stand progression
  • Machine power entrance

CLASS 9

Warmup

  • Walking tops
  • 2/8 count tops: take and flip

Baby tw Chair.
CC form dissection.
Sweep hook.

Fundamentals

  1. slow BL Quick CC spin-up
  2. slow BL Quick sweep hook
  3. slow 6step quick 6step
  4. Monkey swings hands/nohands

Speed Changes

  • Quick round trying to deliberately slow down a fw step
    • Smooth vs choppy
  • Slow down before RESET position, then snap into freeze
  • 2/8 count round freeze on 1
  • Strong get-up

LEARNING GOALS

  • Conversation in cypher context
  • Hips in CC
  • Quick/fast

CLASS 10

Warmup

  • Walking tops
  • Hip twist
  • Speed
  • 2/8 count tops: take and flip

Switch-through go-down
TW_f

Fundamentals

  1. Monkey swings hands/nohands
  2. BL 6step sweep zipper
  3. BL 3step sweep zipper
  4. scissor cc

JABS

  • Create 1 go-down to Baby
    • Time go-down on 7-8 AND 1
    • Fresh exit up
    • From Basic TO: slide, spin, speed, size, height
  • Repeat!!! 2/8 count!
  • Battle

LEARNING GOALS

  • New go-down (scissor)
  • Sweep zipper
  • Go-down and 1 freeze

CLASS 11

Warmup

  • Walking tops
  • 2/8 count tops: take and flip

6-step to BL
4 step

Fundamentals

  1. BL sweep CC spin-up
  2. BL 6step BL
  3. 4 step fw
  4. monkey swings

THREADS

  • 3 basics
    • Deadleg
    • Jump over
    • Go-down
  • Try it
  • Create your own w/ pairs
    • 3 threads, different body parts
  • Cypher to try it out

LEARNING GOALS

  • 4 step
  • concepts, threading

CLASS 12

Warmup

  • Tops in cypher
  • Steering wheel

Freezes review, stack w/ tw
Pump

Fundamentals

  1. FW rolls
  2. BW rolls using shoulder
  3. BW rolls with head
  4. BW roll to elbow

Backspin to Freeze

  • BS
  • BS shoulder
  • BS stab

LEARNING GOALS

  • Freezes reminder
  • Stacking using tw (if direct hard)
  • Roll backs
  • BS freeze

Graph View