Reader asks, "What is a B-Boy?"

This is a B-Boy named "Red," pictured here spinning on his back at the Relapse Theatre in downtown Atlanta. There are 17 entries for "B-Boy" in urbandictionary.com.

Many of us know "B-Boys" by the name "breakdancers," a term coined by the media in the 1980s. I recently learned that serious dancers of that style prefer to be called "B-Boys." Calling someone a "breakdancer" is tantamount to calling them a "poser." Don't do it!

B-Boys trace their roots to the early 1970s in the Bronx. "B-Boy" might be short for "Bronx-Boy." Other sources think it is short for "Break Boy." Break, by the way, refers to a break in the music - where the lyrics end and the dancing begins.

B-Boy dancing looks like a gravity-defying mixture of hiphop, gymnastics, and martial arts. Truly incredible moves! I am by no means an expert, but I am definitely a fan now! If you get a chance to attend a competition, go! Not only will you have a renewed sense of awe for the human body and its ability to flip and flop and twist and thump and spin and gyrate to music, but you will find yourself in the kind of melting pot that diversity officers dream about -- ethnically, that is. (There is a gender imbalance, but I hear that is changing).

B-boy dancing has an international following, complete with its own World Championship. While fairly new to the style, South Koreans have been in the news lately for capturing international B-Boy titles.

One of my classmates has been filming Korean American B-Boys in the Atlanta area for a documentary that explores family dynamics of Korean immigrants. So far, he has found that most Korean parents are supportive, or at least tolerant, of their childrens' interest in B-Boy dancing as long as they continue to excel in school. I will share a link to his video clips as soon as it is available.

Who says we can't all get along? B-Boy competitions have a "melting pot" feel.

There seems to be a connection between B-Boy and grafitti. Where there are B-Boys there is also grafitti. The only connection I've found is that both began as counter culture movements of poor youth.