The Third of the four original elements of hip-hop, B-Boying-aka-Breakdancing, is said to have originated in the South Bronx in the mid to late 70’s. The term “Breakdancing” was derived from special dancers that would specifically dance to the “breaks” in the records/beats that the DJs played. Hence forth, those dancers would be called “B-boys” (Break-boys) and b-boying would become the official/ultimate dance style of hip-hop culture.

However, the purpose of nmoh.org, during the pre-construction phase of the Museum, is not to provide a comprehensive history on any of the four elements. Instead, this site means to provide members of hip-hop culture with something that no other website can; an in-depth glimpse into how this element will be represented within the World’s first hip-hop museum.

The following summary is a rendition of current design protocols for the Museum facility. NMoH has published these designs, prematurely, for the purpose of keeping hip-hop fans around the world informed on our development progress, but mostly to encourage comments, questions and suggestions from the visitors of this website. The Board of Governors for the Museum has mandated that we take into serious consideration any and all comments from the public; as we envision this will be the first museum in history to be created by a plethora of suggestions from the public. This will be an institution designed for hip-hop culture, by hip-hop culture.

It is important to realize that the National Museum of Hip-Hop will not be a reproduction of the traditional museum; filled with permanent and temporary exhibits. NMoH will consist of 75% interactive activities and about 25% exhibitions. The Museum Campus will consist of the museum facility, two public parks, an exterior promenade and a separate concert hall for the Hall of Fame. The museum facility will be divided into four elemental departments, a central cafeteria, two public parks and a restaurant/lounge. Each of the four departments represents an element of hip-hop. The B-Boy Department, focusing on the art of dance, is the smallest of the four departments.

This department will be approximately 10,500 square feet and will be comprised of three workshop dance studios and 3 interactive performance stages. There will be ample space for dance instruction and performances.

As with every elemental department, the B-Boy Department will offer a full hip-hop dance workshop; for b-boying as well as other forms of hip-hop dancing (click here to view diagram) and U.S. college-accredited elective dance courses. The workshop will give visitors of all ages a chance to learn exactly what it takes to be a real b-boy/b-girl; from the history of the b-boy fashion and swagger to dance techniques, rules of combat and much more. Workshop teachers will consist of some of the top b-boys and b-girls from around the world.

The featured contest for the B-Boy Department will be a quarterly event called “The International B-Boy/B-Girl Competition”. This event will be a competition involving the best hip-hop b-boy crews from around the world, who will showcase their dancing skills at NMoH in front of a live as well as televised audience. There will be a total of 4 winners per year. Before the end of each fiscal year, each of the 4 winners will compete in a tournament to declare one final B-Boy Champion. The champion will receive various awards and prizes and become the official B-Boy crew to perform for the annual Hall of Hip-Hop Induction Ceremony that year.

So as you can imagine, the B-Boy Department will have a great deal to offer to its visitors. Besides what has been illustrated here, there are many more features of this department. However, we feel like there are many more that can be developed! This is where you come in. Tell us what you think about our proposed ideas. Tell us what we can do to make them better-whether by additions or subtractions. Tell us how you think we should devise the criteria for the B-Boy Crew Hall of Hip-Hop inductions. Tell us about your favorite dance crews from around the world, and why they should be featured within the Museum. We are building this facility for YOU! So we want to hear from you…we are really going to take the dopest suggestions under serious consideration; and any ideas we consider, we will post props for on the website! PEACE.

For more information on the B-Boying Element, please visit the NMoH Affiliate websites listed below.

www.breakernyc.com