Breaking
Level up your dance with these 7 pieces of advice from B-Boy Neguin
B-Boy Neguin is a master of his craft. We attended his workshop at the Red Bull BC One UK Cypher and distilled his wisdom on how to improve as a dancer.
B-Boy Neguin lives a very eclectic lifestyle of movement and spirituality, focusing on being in tune with his body and searching for the things that make his art unique. All of this and more was discussed when his high-paced, energetic workshop at the recent Red Bull BC One UK Cypher turned into a frank and open question-and-answer session.
The Red Bull BC One All Star and life-long capoeirista gave the participants food for thought with his answers, covering everything from the mental and physical aspects of breaking to conscious awareness of the self. We've summed up the best of his advice below:
1. Training is spiritual, mental and emotional
Neguin stressed that to become a master of the craft of breaking you have to train your spiritual, mental and emotional self. He says that breakers may train all their sets, but what is truly important is your approach to the craft of breaking and the consciousness with which you apply that approach. Dance is a conversation and Neguin says that he connects to something bigger than himself when he's having that conversation and exchange with someone in a battle, and this allows him to be himself.
He says that finding this connection to something bigger than yourself makes you, as a dancer, understand a different level of how to prepare yourself for a battle.
2. Respect your body and know your level
Neguin spoke a lot about the fact that he respects his body and never pushes it to do something that it isn't ready for or comfortable doing.
He explained: "There are levels in dance just like in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. You start as a white belt, then go to blue belt, then purple, then brown and then finally you become a black belt. Some people think they're a black belt too early and then get beaten because of it. This is the same as someone thinking they can do a flip they haven't mastered yet, so they hurt themselves."
Neguin at United Stylez during the Red Bull BC One All Star Tour 2019
© Kien Quan/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Think like a martial artist
With Neguin having grown up doing capoeira, martial arts is a big part of his life and he advises dancers to think like a martial artist to help them to better understand how their body functions. For example, a martial artist has to know how to turn their hip to kick, which Neguin says is the same type of movement used in doing flares.
"If I'm going to do a flip I know how to hold my knees in the correct position," says Neguin, "I understand my hips, I understand when to go slow and how to breathe. This is understanding how to control your body."
4. Take your time and get the right technique
To help understand your body he said that B-Boys and B-Girls should take the time to get the right technique and to make things comfortable for themselves in all aspects of breaking. He said that you should ask yourself if you're comfortable enough to do whatever you are practising both ways? Is it so easy for you that you can talk to someone while you're doing it?
Neguin in the Continent Battle at the Red Bull BC One Camp Switzerland 2018
© Little Shao/Red Bull Content Pool
5. Getting over fear and mental blocks caused by injuries
If you have a fear or mental block that's holding you back, maybe from trying a move like a flip and landing badly and injuring yourself, Neguin's advice is to go back to a comfortable place of training. For example, with flips go to a gymnastics gym with a soft floor, or to the grass. This is because you have to rebuild your trust in your ability to do that move, so slow down the pace of your training and work on getting the confidence back in yourself again. If it's really difficult to overcome the fear of learning a move, Neguin says: "Don't worry, take your time, go do something else and come back to it later. It's cool if you're not getting a move."
6. Breathe!
One of the biggest pieces of advice Neguin kept giving throughout his workshop was to 'breathe!' He pointed out how a lot of dancers don't consciously inhale and exhale while dancing, therefore not allowing oxygen to freely flow throughout their body. Instead, a lot of dancers actually impede their breathing while dancing and even sometimes hold their breath in without knowing it.
He says, "The most common mistake in breaking is we don't breathe. You need oxygen in your body or you're going to get tired within 30 seconds."
7. The importance of the meaning of HIP HOP
The Universal Zulu Nation, KRS One and Professor Griff from the legendary rap group Public Enemy, plus other hip-hop scholars and organisations have spoken about the meaning of HIP HOP being: Higher Infinite Power Healing Our People
Being someone who studies the culture, Neguin gave this very important piece of knowledge to everyone at his workshop. He stressed that it's important for a B-Boy or B-Girl to know and study the elements of hip-hop culture, as it will lead them to a better knowledge and understanding of themselves and how they fit within this collective culture.
Now watch the master perform alongside Kyoka at the opening of Juste Debout:
4 min
Neguin and Kyoka's dance performance
Check it out as former Juste Debout champs Neguin and Kyoka bring the heat to the stage as only they can.