Foundation - B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York - Grand Format

B-boying is a form of Afro-diasporic competitive dance that developed in the Bronx in the early 1970s. Widely-though incorrectly-known as "breakdancing," it is often dismissed as a form of urban acrobatics. In reality, b-boying is a deeply traditional and profoundly expressive art form that has been passed down from teacher to student for almost four decades. Foundation offers the first serious study of b-boying as both a unique dance form and a manifestation of the most fundamental principles of hip-hop culture.
Drawing on anthropological and historical research, interviews and personal experience as a student of the dance, Joseph G. Schloss presents a nuanced picture of b-boying and its social context. From the dance's distinctive musical repertoire to its complex stylistic principles and secret battle strategies, Foundation illuminates unexamined aspects of contemporary hip-hop.