IU Breakdancing Club offers more than just rhythm and beats

The IU Breakdancing Club, which arrived on campus four years ago, is full of energy, spark, talent and diversity. \n“I always wanted to do dancing but there was no outlet in my community,” said sophomore Keane Rowley, the club’s president. “(When I was) living in McNutt, I was going to the computer lab and heard music playing. I saw what was going on, asked about how to be a part of it.”\nRowley, who is from Indianapolis and has been dancing with the club for about a year, said the group began with four guys and evolved into the group it is today, consisting of about 20 active members. \nThe breakdancing club also consists of the “Beatsickmisfits,” a group that competes as a “crew” in competitions. The unique aspect about the “Beatsickmisfits” is that it enables the group to perform as a whole, rather than the typical three-on-three style of competition, Rowley said. \n“The club is really diverse ... we have all different kinds of people with different backgrounds and different majors,” Rowley said.\nOne club member, Leo Zhang, a freshman from China studying business, has been dancing for two years, he said.\n“I heard about it during orientation,” he said.\nAdding to the diversity of the club are the nicknames given to most of the breakdancers. Rowley’s is “bboyrox-it.” Other group members also have catchy monikers. Sophomore Quinnton Parker, the club’s treasurer goes by “bboyvizion” and “bboydownfall” is the name sophomore Justin Wolverton, the club’s vice president, is known by.\n“These nicknames stem from the original form of the word breakdancer, which is ‘bboy’,” Rowley said. \nWesley Owens, a sophomore from Terre Haute studying informatics, said some members of IU Breakdancing Club are also members of Hip Hop Connxion, which is “an advanced team of hip-hop dancers ... based off the parent organization in Chicago.” \nRowley also said there are many different styles of breakdancing, but the main three are “top rock, footwork and power.” \n“Top rock is everything you do standing up, footwork is everything you do on the ground and power involves strength,” Rowley said. “You can go through your whole career and be really good at one.”\nHe also said that “the most interesting is circus style ... (people) contort their body and are really flexible.”\nIn addition to regular meetings, the group also competes in various competitions across the U.S. Their next competition, scheduled for late February, is going to be held in Nashville, Tenn. That competition will mainly consist of the three-on-three format, Rowley said. \nRowley also said that the winning group of the competition in Nashville, called “Bashville,” will receive a $1,500 grand prize.