Style File: Breakdancing

WSVN -- What spins around, comes around. Breakdancing first broke out in the 80s and now it's smokin' hot again.

Mario: "It died out a little bit in '99, but it came back, and it's still coming back."

Robert Bell:"Breakdancing is more like self expression to myself. You just demonstrate the beat with your body."

Kevin: "It has personality where you can stick in who you are into the dance and that's what I love about the dance, I can be funny, I can be mad, or I can be excited."

Kevin Sanchez and his crew from Kevin S & Company have been breakin' it down in Miami for several years now. They entertain crowds at parties and do nightly shows on Lincoln Road. Kevin even teaches private lessons and will school you on moves like "the freeze" or "b-boying."

Kevin Sanchez: "What they are going to learn is the basics. I always tell my students I'm going to teach you the moves, but I want you to put your personality into it."

All ages can learn even this 10-year-old has mastered some of the electric moves.

Giovanni: "This is my favorite move, "the freeze."

Another place to learn the fancy footwork, is the new Divas of Dance Studio in South Miami.

Mario: "When I teach breakdancing, I teach them the foundation, top of rock, forward, and freezes, and I show them transitions in between, so it doesn't look like a robot."

The instructor there is Mario. He and his crew "Ground Zero" are big hitters in the breakdancing world and have been featured in many recent music videos and movies. But when he's teaching a class, he breaks it down for students, step by step.

Mario: "I do it really basic so you don't think it's too difficult, so you want to keep on learning."

Breakdancing isn't the only specialty at Divas of Dance. Since it's Miami's first international dance studio they also offer unique classes like Hawaiian or Indian dance.

Heather: "We wanted to offer the Indian, the bellydance, the Hawaiian, the salsa, even the breakdancing, because that's something you really don't find at dance studios. Not only are we teaching the dance but we're teaching the culture."

But even they admit, breakdancing is the one class everyone is flipping for right now.

Breakdancing classes at The Divas of Dance start at about $48 for a month. Kevin's breakdance lessons cost anywhere from $25 to $35 and last about an hour.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Kevin S. & Company
786-357-5357
newcre1@aol.com
www.myspace.com/kevinsandcompany

Divas of Dance
www.divasofdancemiami.com
8881 SW 131 St.
Miami, FL 33176
(786) 286-9372