If you've spent countless hours perfecting your six-step, holding baby freezes until your shoulders burn, and dreaming of throwing down in a cypher like the legends you watch on Red Bull BC One, you're not alone. Every advanced b-boy and b-girl started exactly where you are now: hungry to level up but unsure of the path forward.
This isn't a step-by-step tutorial for executing a 1990 or Halo tomorrow. Those moves take months—or years—of dedicated training under experienced coaches. Instead, this guide is a realistic roadmap. We'll map out the progression from foundational moves to intermediate techniques and, finally, to the advanced power moves that define elite breaking. You'll learn what each stage demands, how to train smart, and how to avoid the pitfalls that stall most dancers' progress.
The Foundation: Why You Can't Skip the Basics
In breaking, "advanced" doesn't mean skipping ahead. It means building so much control over your fundamentals that complex movements become possible. Before you even think about power moves, these core elements should feel second nature:
- Toprock: Your introduction to every round. Clean footwork, musicality, and confidence.
- Six-step and variations: The backbone of floorwork. You should be able to flow in and out of them without thinking.
- Baby freeze and chair freeze: Your first lessons in weight distribution, balance, and using your core.
- Backspin and headspin basics: Early rotational moves that teach you how to spot, control momentum, and protect your neck and wrists.
Rushing past this stage is one of the most common mistakes in breaking. Dancers who chase power moves too early often develop sloppy form, compensate with the wrong muscle groups, and hit plateaus they can't break through—or worse, suffer injuries that keep them out of the scene for months.
The Bridge: Intermediate Techniques That Unlock Everything
Once your fundamentals are solid, intermediate moves become your proving ground. This is where strength, flexibility, and control start to matter as much as creativity. Mastering these techniques creates the physical vocabulary you'll need for advanced power moves:
| Move | What It Builds | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Air flare | Explosive hip drive, shoulder stability, spatial awareness | The gateway to aerial power moves and one of the most respected techniques in breaking |
| Elbow freeze | Balance on a smaller base of support, core tension | Teaches you to stabilize your body in unconventional positions |
| Hollowback | Back and shoulder flexibility, controlled inversion | Develops the open chest and shoulder mobility essential for handstand-based power moves |
| Flare | Continuous circular momentum, hip flexor endurance, wrist conditioning | The direct prerequisite for the Thomas and air flare |
Spend real time here. Many breakers plateau not because they lack talent, but because they try to jump from flares to air flares without the hip strength, or from baby freezes to 1990s without the wrist and shoulder conditioning.
The Summit: Advanced Power Moves and What They Actually Demand
Let's be honest about what "advanced" means in 2024. The moves below are staples of competitive breaking—and they each represent years of structured training. Here's what you're really working toward:
The 1990
Often called the defining power move of modern breaking, the 1990 is a one-handed spin executed from a handstand position. The free hand tucks to the chest while the supporting hand drives rotation through subtle wrist and shoulder adjustments.
What it demands: Immaculate handstand balance, wrist and forearm strength capable of absorbing repeated impact, and the ability to generate and control rotational momentum from a dead start. Most breakers spend 6–12 months drilling handstand holds, handstand hops, and two-handed spins before attempting a true 1990.
The Halo
A dynamic, head-driven rotation performed from a handstand or inverted position. Unlike a headspin, the Halo uses the head as a pivot point while the body remains relatively upright, creating a floating, circular motion.
What it demands: Extreme neck and shoulder conditioning, precise weight transfer between the hands and head, and the spatial awareness to maintain a tight rotation without losing balance. Conditioning often includes neck bridges, controlled headstand rolls, and handstand-to-headstand transitions.
The Thomas Flare
Adapted from gymnastics and named after Kurt Thomas, this power move combines continuous circular leg motion with alternating hand support. The legs scissor wide in a straddle position while the body rotates around the hands.
What it demands: Strong hip flexors, the ability to maintain a wide straddle through active flexibility, and wrist conditioning for repeated weight shifts. Breakers typically learn the Thomas after mastering standard flares and airflares, as it requires both the circular momentum of the former and the aerial hip drive of the latter.
