Breakdancing is a street dance form that originated as part of the hip-hop movement among African-American youth in Manhattan and the southern Bronx in New York in the early 1970s. Dancing is done to pop, funk or hip-hop. For many young people, it offered an alternative to the violence of urban street gangs. In the summer of 1985, this new passion also appeared in Germany.

The first group was founded in Dessau, and the Bauhaus city quickly became the spearhead of the breakdance movement in the GDR. The film “Dessau Dancers” also highlighted this development in the cinemas of Germany. Today, breakdancing demands a high level of discipline from the dancers, who often have to possess athletic skills. Breakdance is today a worldwide spread and recognized dance form. Breakdance culture sees itself as free of boundaries of ancestry, gender or age.