As Israeli breakdancing finds its flow, locals throw down for chance at world stage
The urban dance style is gaining momentum here — mostly among B-boys — as local crews develop their style and look to represent Israel at the upcoming world final in Los Angeles
Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
In the capital city of a country fighting a complex war on multiple fronts, two B-boys in their early teens went out for a different kind of battle last week.
When the judge at one of Israel’s largest breakdancing competitions of the year gave the word, the first boy, wearing a black T-shirt and the fringes worn by many religious Jews, shuffled and sliced to a heavy dance beat. Quickly, he slide-stepped into a spin before flipping his body to stand on his head, and then kicked out, froze, and twisted into a cross-step.
When he was done, he gestured to his rival, also in black, to try and beat him, a standard dare in the world of competitive breakdancing.
Sitting offstage on a couch designed to look like a rocket ship, judges typed their scores into their tablets, choosing a winner to move on to the next round. Victor and vanquished ceded the stage to the next duo.
On Tuesday, hundreds of shimmiers and shakers descended upon Jerusalem’s Cinema City mall for the World of Dance Festival and the Israeli Breakdance Championships. Among them were some 70 of the country’s top breakdancers, competing for a shot to represent Israel in the world finals in Los Angeles in October.
The dance form, which evolved in tough neighborhoods in New York in the 1970s as a nonviolent alternative to physical confrontation, has become increasingly popular in Israel in recent years, organizers told The Times of Israel.
Tuesday’s festival included competitions in several dance styles, including breakdance and hip-hop, noted an organizer named Yarick.
“We organize a few events every year, and this is one of the biggest,” said the 42-year-old, who got his start in breakdancing in 1999. “When I first learned about breaking, it was seen as something different and unique in Israel. Now, it’s almost mainstream.”
Breakdancing classes for different age groups are constantly opening up in studios around Israel, and they fill up quickly, said Shani, a logistics coordinator for the event. (Like Yarick, Shani declined to give her last name.)
Breakdancing’s debut as a sport in the 2024 Olympics definitely helped, she noted. Still, some ridiculed the event’s inclusion in Paris, especially the performance of kangaroo-hopping Australian B-girl Raygun, and it will not return for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“Israel’s breakdancing scene isn’t as developed as in other countries, but it’s at a nice level,” said Alan Hoffman, one of the judges. “We have representation at international competitions, and there are a lot more people doing it now.”
Shani noted that the dance form was still male dominated, guessing that in Israel B-boys outnumbered B-girls — as the dancers term themselves — in something like a four-to-one ratio.
“It’s a more masculine form of dance that is also popular among religious youth,” she added.
Females, on the other hand, appeared to have the hip-hop part of the competition locked down.
During the early hours of the daylong event, scads of young teenage girls decked out in colorful costumes waited excitedly near the main stage to perform their hip-hop routines in front of judges and spectators.
The one common denominator among participants was youth. Hoffman was practically an elder statesman of breakdancing at age 31.
Known in the breakdancing world by his nickname Asado, a method of barbecuing meat popular in South America, Hoffman said he has been breakdancing for over 20 years.
“When I was a kid, I would train with my crew for 2-3 hours, four days a week,” he said. “Most people start dancing and developing their reputations in high school, which is why they have funny nicknames. I was called Asado because my family is from Argentina, and I’ve kept the name ever since.”
He called over a budding phenom, a 14-year-old from Lod known on the scene as Eminem.
“Officially, I’ve been doing this for five years, but really, since I was three years old,” Eminem said. “It’s in my soul and brings me peace. Breakdancing isn’t just a dance, it’s a lifestyle.”
Hoffman insisted that while breakdancing may have originated from within the hip-hop culture of urban neighborhoods in the US, breakdancers here have developed a local style that is distinctly Israeli.
“You can feel the character of our country here,” he said. “There is a bubbling sense of unity within our community, and a palpable drive to win. It’s something distinctly Israeli that you can’t describe.”
The Times of Israel Community.