I was talking to some friends recently about some of the quirks, advantages, limitations and particularities of b-girling, b-boying, breakdancing– whatever you might like to call it. Something that came up was the use of the term b-girl or b-boy, and how one can be a great breaker but not a b-girl, or a lifelong b-girl, but actually not much of a dancer, generally.
What’s the difference? As Nadine might tell you if you dared to cross her in Break On Through, a b-girl not only practices, but battles, and essentially “lives” b-girling outside of the studio or the cypher or what have you. She might be walking to the bus, thinking about her footwork or getting ready for bed, planning to call someone out first thing in the morning (morning meaning noon or so ;-). So you could have killer toprock, and have mastered three kinds of flares, and even perform on stage five nights a week, but still not be a b-girl.
You could also eat, breathe, live, sleep b-girling and be totally stumped by any other kind of dance– kind of like Mr. Fantastic in season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance. (See video above– although he was a popper/locker/funk stylist… don’t even get me started explaining the difference between b-boying and locking or popping… or get me started, but in another post, say.)
Can you imagine what it would be like if other sports or dances carried the same stringent requirements?
X: Are you a figure skater?
Y: (defensively) No!
X: But you’re skating now. You just did a triple axel!
Y: Well yeah, I figure skate but I’m not a figure skater. Geez, get a clue.
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