As a subculture and art form, breakdancing has long operated out of the limelight, with a few mainstream breakthroughs during flickering cultural moments, like the Step Up movies and Just Dance video games. Breaking (how it’s called to those in the know) initially started as an underground dance scene and grew alongside hip-hop in the Bronx from primarily Black communities in the ’70s and ’80s, before being exported worldwide. But now, as the 2024 Paris Olympics draws near with breakdancing becoming an official Olympic sport, it’s finally being taken seriously.
In July, Red Bull hosted a regional competition at First Avenue, the Red Bull BC One Cypher Midwest USA, with the breaker Jake “B-Boy Boogie B” Riley as the event host. Riley and his wife Bao Lee own and operate House of Dance Twin Cities, a dance studio entirely focused on breaking, where a pre-competition workshop from the pro Red Bull dancer RoxRite took place.
Lee and Riley originally started the studio in Hopkins in 2014 before moving to their current location in Edina. The pair have worked hard to advocate for Minneapolis as a destination for breakdancing culture, winning a bid to host the Midwest Regional Cypher over larger cities like Chicago. “I fought real hard for that,” said Lee, the studio manager and co-owner.
Earlier this year, the studio hosted the Breaking for Gold USA Midwest Open, one of only three regional qualifiers sanctioned by USA Dance for the Breaking for Gold USA National Championships. Over 100 of the country’s top breakers competed at House of Dance for a shot at the championships to make their Olympic dreams come true: The top two national finishers in the adult categories there earned a spot at the World Dance Sport Federation World Championships—a qualifying event for the Olympics.
When I visited the studio ahead of the RoxRite workshop, its supportive environment was evident, as kids from timid beginners to champion-level teens felt free to express themselves through their moves. Simple steps to the beat and more complicated moves like head spins were equally welcome on the dance floor during the youth class, where Reily watched and offered encouragement to students as they performed solos.
“We are a united scene, so our elders and our veterans in the scene work together and we have an emphasis on the youth,” he says. “I think that builds long term sustainability and also, a place like House of Dance Twin Cities doesn’t exist in every major city… we’re fortunate to have the space for the community to come out.”
Even with a workshop full of experienced dancers, Reily takes care to be attentive to his youngest students as their class wraps up for the day, leaving written feedback with parents and inviting them to stay on for the workshop. A champion B-Boy himself, Riley wears many hats as an instructor, studio operator, and dancer, but the main focus at his studio is to be supportive of the youth in the Minneapolis breaking scene.
The Twin Cities is home to a multitude of studios that teach everything from K-Pop to ballroom dancing, but hip-hop based styles like breaking have appealed to young dancers since the genre’s inception. Diane Elliot Robinson, owner and instructor at Hollywood Studio of Dance in north Minneapolis, knows the importance of offering dance forms that young people already have an interest in. Incorporating hip-hop into her classes helped students translate their passion into exploring other styles and find confidence through dance.
“If you find something you love, and you have a place that is safe and a positive environment that can cheer you on, that will help you grow. Because it’s a true fact, it takes a village.” Robinson said.
Like House of Dance Twin Cities, Hollywood Studio of Dance has a special focus on empowering youth. As someone from north Minneapolis herself, Robinson intentionally based her studio in that community in order to provide dance opportunities to those who otherwise may not be able to access them due to financial barriers into performing arts.
RoxRite, real name Omar Delgado, has been breaking for 28 years, getting his start dancing with kids from school in northern California before beginning his competitive career in the summer of 1998. Roxrite was the first B-Boy in the sport to tally up 100 wins in competition.
In addition to leading the workshop at House of Dance, he is also a star judge for the Midwest Cypher event. As a judge, there’s a lot that goes into determining who is the best dancer. “The level [of skill] has gotten so high now that you’re picking apart who has the most errors at certain points,” he says. “You’re looking for who is delivering that package, that originality, style, form, musicality, battle presence—all that goes into that.”
On competition night, Lee watches from close by as her husband and RoxRite go about their duties of choosing winners and announcing new dancers as they come to the floor. In the crowd, young children were present just as they were in the dance studio. Toddlers bounce in their parent’s laps in the front row of the dance circle while older kids, some who I recognize from House of Dance, stand on a barrier near the back of the circle to get a better view.
RoxRite and two other judges sat in chairs set up on the stage at First Avenue, with a large DJ booth and speakers set up around them. They sat overlooking the dance circle and judged the battles not with scoring but by a simple majority, gesturing to either side for which dancer they chose as a winner. In the end, two breakers, B-Girl Blondie and B-Boy Ark, were crowned champions of their respective divisions.
While neither breaker went on to win the USA National Final cypher in Philadelphia, the Minneapolis event was an important night for the local breaking community and for House of Dance, which celebrated its ninth anniversary in August.
In meeting with Red Bull, it wasn’t hard for Lee to pitch that their marketing dollars would be well spent here. “I’ve got a bunch of kids and a bunch of really talented young adults that, if you give them a little bit of time and a little bit of the spotlight, you will see exactly what this city has to offer,” she said. “We’ve got a scene here and it’s a vibrant scene and it’s a big one, you just have to come out and give us that chance.”