Breakdance Move List

The list of names of breakdance moves and steps below is what I learned in my breaking journey. It is not complete and will never be as our dance is still alive and growing every day. So there are always potential new steps to be discovered.

The breaking move list below is split up into the different elements Top Rock (the dance while standing up), Down Rock (dancing on the floor, which consists of footwork and backrocks), Freezes (acrobatic poses), and Powermoves (the spins and tricks that everybody knows).

Bold is the name of the move that I consider the correct one. Most of the time it’s the name I got taught.

(In parenthesis there are alternative names when written next to the name or general comments when in the back of the line).

In italic letters, I added additional info when I have it. The name after an s stand for source, meaning who I learned the move from. o stands for origin and is used whenever a move is from another style imported into breaking.

Some of the names have a link. It leads you to a clip of the move.

FraGue breaking at Circle Industry 2010
This is me, breaking at Circle Industy in 2010.

Before you check out the list…

If you want to find out how to make the most out of the moves you already know, grab a free copy of 7 Questions To Ask Every Move when signing up for my email list, take a look at some of the concepts I presented here on the blog or consider grabbing a copy of my first book Dance Smart. All the revenue goes into my work on future publications.

Top Rock

  2. Cross Step.
  3. Kick Ball Change, (Salsa Step).
  4. March Step.
  5. Hustle.
  6. Criss Cross.
  7. Webo. Toprock Konzept.
  8. Breather (Breath Step).
  9. Corkscrew.
  10. Box Step.
  11. Uprock (Brooklyn Rock, Rocking). Uprocking is its own dance style, which was partially adopted into breaking. Often without knowing the background of it.

Go Downs

  1. Drop.
  2. Walk In (Step Back).
  3. Half Sweep (Hook). s Alien Ness.
  4. Kneedrop. s Peppi Meilinger.
  5. Spindown s Ken Swift.
  6. Propeller Kick s Storm (Kick Drop s Abstrak).
  7. 360 Kick Drop. s Poe One.
  8. Swing Down. s Storm.
  9. Kickspins. o Capoeira.
  10. Shuffle Kick Out Godown. s Poe One.
  11. Roll.
  12. Parachute Drop. s Ken Swift.

Down Rock

Footwork

  1. Russian. s Alien Ness.
  2. CC.(Kickout)
  3. CC Spin.
  4. Kick Turn.  s Storm <2>
  5. Kickspin. s Storm <2>
  6. BacksideKickspin. s Storm
  7. Backkick. s Storm
  8. Jumpover. s Storm
  9. Around the World (ZuluSpin). s PoeOne, Alien Ness
  10. MonkeySwings. (Kickouts)
  11. Step Outs.
  12. Six Step
  13. 2 Step
  14. 3 Step
  15. 4 Step. s Koone. There are many different four step variations.
  16. 8Ball 6 Step. s Alien Ness
  17. Back and Forth. s David Colas
  18. Back and Forth(10Step). s Storm
  19. Bretzel. s Storm
  20. Reverse Bretzel. s Storm
  21. ExtendedBretzel. s Storm
  22. BretzelWalkover. s Storm
  23. BretzelWalkback. s Storm
  24. BretzelBackswipe. s Storm
  25. Hook (Half Sweep). s Storm <2>
  26. Hook Walk. s Storm
  27. Sling. s Storm
  28. Sling Walk. s Storm
  29. Sling Walk Sideways. s Storm
  30. Peter Pan. s Storm
  31. Shuffle. s Alien Ness.
  32. Step Over. s Storm
  33. Sweep (Coffeemill, Coffeegrinder, Helicopter). s Alien Ness.
  34. Hook Step Back. c Profo One. s Profo One
  35. Corkstep. c Roxrite. s Roxrite
  36. Scramble (Floor Salsa, Baby Love). s Alien Ness & Storm.
  37. Penny 6 Step. c Penny / Floor Gangz. s Penny
  38. Knee Walk. s Storm
  39. Atomic Six Step. s Storm
  40. Octopus. s Storm. 
  41. NohandSweep. s Storm
  42. KneeSwitch s Storm
  43. NohandTuck In. s Storm
  44. NohandKnee Turn.  s Storm
  45. Paddle Walk (Knee Drop Walk). s Storm
  46. Hand Taps. s Storm
  47. Kneeslide. s Storm
  48. Turnover Footslide. s Storm
  49. Buttslide. s Storm
  50. Side CC. s Pepito
  51. PepitoSweep. c Pepito. s Pepito
  52. Ninja.
  53. Track 2 Shuffle. s Alien Ness
  54. Bicycle Pump. sAlien Ness
  55. Air Hooks frontside & backside. s Alien Ness

Backrocks

  1. Floor Shuffle
  2. Travelling Floor Shuffle
  3. Back CC
  4. Back Step Over
  5. Back Step OverSwitch
  6. Baby Track
  7. Dead Cat
  8. Basic Thread
  9. Tortoise. o Contemporary Dance.
  10. Baby Track. s Ata
  11. Twist Up. 
  12. Belly Roll. s Storm
  13. Octopus. s Storm
  14. Back Swing. s Storm
  15. Scorpion Back Rock. s Poe One

Powermoves

  1. Backspin.
  2. Windmill (Continous Backspin).
  3. Flare.
  4. Airflare (Twist, Airtrack).
  5. Headspin.
  6. Tracks (Halos).
  7. Turtles.
  8. Crickets.
  9. Jackhammers.
  10. Ufos (Wolf).
  11. 1990.
  12. 2000.
  13. Munchmill.
  14. Starwalk. c Crumbs.
  15. Swipes. s Storm.

Freezes

  1. Baby Freeze
  2. Chair Freeze
  3. ShoulderFreeze
  4. Airchair
  5. Airbaby
  6. Airfreeze
  7. Hollowback
  8. Inverted Hollowback
  9. Sidehollowback
  10. Rummenigge
  11. Headstand
  12. Handstand

I also have a list of moves and steps from house dance and another one for hip hop dance.

If you are ready to dig deeper into the possibilities that your moves offer, check out my book Dance Smart, which covers 36 concepts to work with your moves.

Dance Smart at the Open Qualifier for Circle Industry 2020. Photo: Christian Poschner
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