Breaking words · Intermediate

The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.

I · Intermediate · 43 words · Step 2 of 2

General terms

Field of Play

The dance floor, also called the circle. It is at least 6.5 m by 6.5 m (or 6 m across), with a red line on the right and a blue line on the left from the judges' side. An event may use two circles at once.

Age groups

Adult is for those reaching 19 or older in the calendar year, youth is those reaching 16, 17 or 18. Youth may compete as adults.

Chair

The official who supervises the whole event. The chair checks that the rules are followed, can sanction people, confirms any disqualification and does not vote.

Head judge

The official in charge of the judges. The head judge does not vote, keeps the 10-second window and the set time, and watches how the judges perform.

Movement terms

Windmill

A power move family, with the air flare and the float. The usual description is the dancer rotating on the upper back and shoulders, which the manual does not define.

Headspin

A spin on the head. The manual counts it among the spins, a spin being a turn of at least 360 degrees on the ground, which becomes a power move when done with many turns.

Six step

A footwork concept in downrock. The manual lists it with the eight-ball and the pretzel as sets of step patterns. How the legs move in it is common usage.

Baby freeze

A freeze balanced on one forearm with the body tilted. The manual points out that a baby freeze can also be part of footwork if the dancer does not stop, and only a total stop makes it a freeze.

Air flare

A move with the whole body in the air, and the family of power moves from which many are derived. The detail of how it differs from the windmill is common usage.

Drop

The transition from toprock to downrock, also called the go-down. Sweeps and coin drops are examples.

Footwork

The steps, leg swings, kicks and sweeps done on the ground, which the manual also calls legwork.

Spin

Any turn of at least 360 degrees on the ground. A spin with many turns at once belongs to the power moves, and a 360-degree turn in the air is usually called a full twist.

Air move

Any moment in a set when the whole body is in the air. Flips are a family of air moves, and the air backspin, air flare and air twist are examples.

Blow up

A quick, explosive combination of moves that surprises the viewer, sometimes including flips and freezes.

Transitions

The moves between moves, which link a set. A transition is most often done only once in a set.

Judging criteria

Technique

The largest domain of the physical quality, worth 20 per cent. Judges compare athleticism, body control, dynamics and spatial control.

Variety

A physical-quality domain worth 13.333 per cent. Judges reward a wide range of moves, with little repetition, using the values vocabulary and variation.

Performance

The largest interpretative domain, worth 20 per cent. Judges compare composition, impact and authenticity.

Creativity

The largest artistic domain, worth 20 per cent. Judges compare progression from the foundation, response to the opponent and the music, and improvisation.

Personality

An artistic domain worth 13.333 per cent. Judges compare stage presence and character.

Judging terms

Physical quality

The domain of the body: Technique (20 per cent) and Variety (13.333 per cent), together a third of the score. Technique values include athleticism, body control, dynamics and spatial control.

Interpretative quality

The domain of the soul: Performance (20 per cent) and Musicality (13.333 per cent), together a third of the score. Performance values are composition, impact and authenticity.

Trivium

The WDSF's recommended judging system, a direct-comparison model with three qualities (body, soul and mind) split into six domains: technique, variety, performance, musicality, creativity and personality. The weights add up to 100 per cent.

Crossfader

The sliding scale each judge uses to set the balance between the two breakers in each domain, so the decision is not binary. The judge presses submit after the round.

Votes

Each judge has one vote per round, and a round goes to the breaker who wins the majority. A battle in the knock-out goes to the majority of rounds, and a tie needs a deciding round.

Battle and culture terms

Biting

Taking a phrase or set of moves from another dancer. The judges can penalise it with a bite button, which counts against the variety, creativity and personality domains, because ownership of a move is hard to know and they can only react to what they see.

See also: Variety, Creativity, Personality

Burn

A move or moment meant to mock or outdo the opponent. The rules do not use the word, but they ban obscene, rude or abusive gestures and any physical contact between opponents.

See also: Battle

Crew

A team of breakers. In a crew battle one side performs a set, the other answers, and the sets continue in turn for every member. 3vs3 and 4vs4 are defined, but the manual's crew rules are marked TBD.

See also: Battle

Set

The performance one breaker gives in a round of a battle. A set is at most 60 seconds, and there is no penalty for going over or going short, but the head judge has the MC tell the breaker to finish.

See also: B-boy, Battle, Head judge, Performance

Foundation

The basic moves and steps that others build on. The rules ask judges to set a defined baseline for the foundation in order to judge progression from it as part of creativity.

Competition format

Pre-Selection

The first phase when there are more than the Pre-Qualifier needs: an audition of solo performances in groups of four. At least half of the field can be eliminated, and with more than 192 entries the field is cut to 128.

Pre-Qualifier

The first knock-out phase, which brings the field down to the best 64, 32 or 16 for the round robin. It uses one-round battles at first.

Round robin

Groups of four in which every breaker battles every other in a two-round battle. Groups are ranked by rounds won, then votes received, and the top two of each group go through.

Knock-out

The last phase. The top eight battle in best-of-three battles, and the semi-finals and finals are three-round battles, with the semi-final losers meeting in a bronze battle.

See also: Battle

Olympic format

The format for sixteen starters, which the manual requires for the third phase of any Olympic qualifier: four round-robin groups of four, top eight, semi-finals, a bronze battle and a final.

See also: Battle

Heat

A group of four breakers performing in the Pre-Selection.

Two-90-two

A battle format with two rounds, a 90-second break, and two more rounds. One breaker starts the first two rounds and the opponent starts the second two.

Breaking for Gold

The WDSF ranking series, held at three levels (World, International and Challenge series). Results feed the Breaking for Gold World Ranking List, which sets the initial ranking for seeding.

Penalties

Crash

An unintended error in three degrees. A slip is a minor error and costs 2.5 per cent for each judge who sees it, a crash is a heavy stumble worth 5 per cent, and a wipe-out is a severe failure that cancels that set unless the opponent also wipes out.

Repeat

A penalty for repeating moves, counted against variety and creativity. It applies across the whole competition, from the first round to the final.

Misbehavior

Rude, abusive, violent or similar acts, or contact. Unintended contact costs 2.66 per cent and deliberate contact 5.34 per cent per judge. Warnings from a majority of judges build up, and three can lead to disqualification once the chair confirms it.

Disqualification

A breaker or crew disqualified for misbehavior (shown as DSQ, or DQB for behavior) is ranked last, with all rounds and votes deleted. In the knock-out the opponent advances.

See also: B-boy, Votes, Crew, Knock-out, Misbehavior

Late arrival

A breaker or crew that is late or absent may be disqualified by the chair after a grace period of one minute.