The 5 Best Breakdancing Videos Of All Time

Jonathan Riggs | September 17, 2013 8:43 am

Ah, the good old days, when the boogaloo was electric and there weren’t any problems a plucky, multicultural band of breakdancers couldn’t solve. (Take THIS, greedy developers!) In honor of the physics-defying spirit of b-boys and -girls past and present, all of us here at Idolator HQ have been busting out our old-school Adidas warm-up suits and buying our tickets to the September 20 release of the dance-themed flick Battle of the Year. So crank the genre’s unofficial anthem on your shoulder boombox, pull up a piece of cardboard and head-spin to these jams!

5. Dirty Vegas – “Days Go By”

Foreshadowing this year’s Mileygeddon, this video tells the tale of a dancer doomed by his devotion to the “We Can’t Stop” lifestyle, haunted by the specter of a lost love and enslaved to the twerk. (Oldest story in the book.) Although the video’s nameless hero has grown up from youthful breakdancer to suit-wearing businessman, he hasn’t lost any of his moves…or his melancholy. Never has a poppin’ fresh windmill been so poignant. Sniff.

4. Toni Basil – “Shoppin’ From A to Z”

More than a horny cheerleader with a Disney fetish, Toni Basil is a terpsichorean legend who helped innovate dance by blending ballet, classical and street styles. Chameleonic and kooky, Toni is at her most charmingly bizarre in this clip from the prehistoric music video era when anything went. (“Try it with this dip!”) In a just world, this would have been the biggest hit of the 1980s and Toni would still be toppin’ toppin’ the charts from A to Z. #GagaSabotagedBasil

3. Klymaxx – “Meeting in the Ladies Room”

To paraphrase Klymaxx frontdiva Bernadette Cooper: sometimes you gotta leave your condo and come down to the level of a BW — a basic woman — because things got scandalous! I think we can all relate to the concept of this video: a club full of lusty revelers — including a young Vivica A. Fox — dance-battle over the shirtless Bruno “Pop N’ Taco” Falcon. Although Pop N’ Taco never stands up from his futuristic dentist chair (available from Skymall, we hope), his seated breakdancing whips everyone into a sexual frenzy. Slap us!! Because we are most definitely in the mood!!

2. The Rock Steady Crew – “(Hey You) Rock Steady Crew”

Once upon a time in the early ’80s, there was no greater calling for our nation’s youth than to freeze and flip as a member of the flyer-than-a-pelican Rock Steady Crew. Granted, there was no chance in hell 98% of the viewing audience could ever replicate ANY of their moves, but that didn’t stop thousands from trying. Let’s lower our vintage LL Cool J Kangols in honor of all the bones, curfews and major appliances broken in a certain generation’s attempt to — like so much Tupperware — lock in maximum freshness.

1. Cherrelle – “I Didn’t Meant to Turn You On”

King Kong breakdancing. That is all. That is everything.