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Breaking was created in the South Bronx, New York City during the early 1970s. It is the first hip-hop dance style.

Traditionally, breakers dance within a cypher or an Apache Line. A cypher is a circular shaped dance space formed by spectators that breakers use to perform or battle in. Cyphers work well for one-on-one b-boy (break-boy) battles; however, Apache Lines are more appropriate when the battle is between two crews. In contrast to the circular shape of a cypher, competing crews can face each other in this line formation, challenge each other, and execute their burns (a move intended to humiliate the opponent).

Though African Americans created breaking, Puerto Ricans maintained its growth and development when it was considered a fad in the late 1970s. The Puerto Ricans contributed to breaking by tyrning it to an acrobatic style.

Toprock: is footwork-oriented steps performed while standing up. Downrock: is footwork performed with both hands and feet on the floor. Freezes: are stylish poses done on your hands. Power moves: complex and impressive acrobatic moves. Transitions: from toprock to downrock are called "drops." Gymnastics and bymartial arts had further influence on making breaking a purely upright dance style, to becoming more floor-oriented.

B-Boy/B-Girl

A practitioner of this dance is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. The terminology used to refer to b-boying (break-boying) changed after promotion by the mainstream media. Although widespread, the term "breakdancing" is looked down upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture. Purists consider "breakdancing" an ignorant term invented by the media.

The terms "b-boy" (break-boy), "b-girl" (break-girl), and "breaker" are the original terms used to describe the dancers. The original terms arose to describe the dancers who performed to DJ Kool Herc's breakbeats. DJ Kool Herc is a Jamaican-American DJ who is responsible for developing the foundational aspects of hip-hop music. The obvious connection of the term "breaking" is to the word "breakbeat", but DJ Kool Herc has commented that the term "breaking" was slang at the time for "getting excited", "acting energetically" or "causing a disturbance". For those immersed in hip-hop culture, the term "breakdancer" may be used to disparage those who learn the dance for personal gain rather than for commitment to the culture.