*On teh Internets*

What difference does 30 years make in the evolution of breakdancing?

These two videos should speak for themselves. Above you can see the finals of The Notorious IBE, an international breakdance exhibition held yearly in the Netherlands since 1998.

Courtesy of the homie Rob Flow is a throwback video from the movie Beatstreet, showing a choreographed breakdance battle in a 1980s New York City nightclub.

While you can see shreds of the past in the moves of the IBE dancers, it’s really amazing to see just how far the art has come in the intervening years. The power moves are infinitely more powerful, the technical skills more precise, more daring and more enthralling, and the swagger more swaggerific. Oh, those kids have some swagger, indeed. It’s also interesting to see how today’s breakers dress a lot more hipster, with tight pants, skater shoes and keffiyehs, all part of their outfits. Long gone are the days of the matching track suit.

All praise due to the pioneers of the art form, without whose invention none of today’s mastery would be possible. Still, from watching the two videos it really feels like watching two separate millennia, not just two time periods separated by 27 years.