The flaws started falling apart 26 years ago when I was a junior in high school. He founded Bboy Factory, Denver’s first break studio, in 2012. The term b-boy or b-girl refers to someone who practices breaking.
broke down I grew up in the Bronx in the 1970s, Along with the emerging hip-hop culture. Young black and Latino dancers created and popularized this style characterized by acrobatic movements, stylized footwork, and dynamic power moves.
Throughout the 1980s and ‘In the 1990s, hip-hop culture became increasingly prominent in mainstream media, spreading from the streets of New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where teenage Floz was obsessed with the Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Tupac.
His introduction to Breaking came when a girl invited him to dance lessons on a date.
Flouse grew up playing sports, and became addicted to breaking sports as another athletic outlet. Breaking also gave him space to express his creative side.
Breaking is very improvisational. At Flaws Studio, band members learn basic movement terminology and techniques, which they use to build their own unique combinations and routines.
The creativity of the dance is B-Boy Mac Jones’ favorite part about break. He has danced in the studio for two and a half years. His signature move is to put his leg behind his head.
“I like how it’s not super choreographed,” Jones said. “You can basically do whatever you want and it’s very creative and really fun. You have to be very creative to be able to pull off the moves.”
Mac Jones and his colleagues practice “freezing,” a breaking technique in which dancers stop moving and maintain their balance in interesting positions.
Photo: Peter Vu, Rocky Mountain PBS
Before opening his own studio, Floz spent several years teaching English and dance in Korea, Costa Rica, and Cambodia. He saw how breaking barriers empowered his students abroad and decided to open Bboy Factory to give kids in Colorado the same experience.
Colorado has traditionally been isolated from large communities in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Flouse said. The connections Flaws made outside Colorado allowed him to connect the studio and Denver to the global scene.
“I felt like raising the bar in Colorado, we needed better education,” Fluss said. “Bringing workshops, bringing master teachers from around the country and around the world and [having] A consistent space for people to exercise and for people to train.
Dance classes for young people are the core of the studio’s work, but for 12 hours a week, the studio is open as a free practice space that anyone can use. Flaws spent years curating a collection of hip-hop memorabilia to decorate the studio.
A vibrant graffiti mural, painted by New York-based artist Charlie Doves, is the centerpiece of the studio’s decor, dominating the largest wall in the studio. The graffiti-free walls are covered with photos of past b-boy classes and posters from contests and breaking events. Office Flaws boasts an impressive collection of stock boom boxes.
“I really want this place to be a cultural center as much as it is a dance studio,” Flouse said. “It’s a community center, but it’s a cultural landmark.”
Ian Flouse grew up in Boulder and taught dance abroad. He returned to Denver to start Bboy Factory and build the city’s evolving community.
Photo: Peter Vu, Rocky Mountain PBS
Imperfections have seen incredible growth in the sport, especially among young dancers. A few years ago, if kids wanted to participate in breaking competitions, they had to compete against adults, Floss said. Now, he said, every event has a youth demographic, and that’s often the largest demographic there.
Breaking will make its Olympic debut at the 2024 Summer Games, but it won’t be breakking’s first time on the world stage. Breaking made its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympics and the World Breaking Competition Red Bull BC One It hosted its first final in 2004. But the Olympics will help introduce the sport to a wider audience.
“The growth trend is going to continue which is obviously exciting as a business owner,” Flouse said. “But as an artist, when kids come and say they saw the sport on TV, I educate them about the culture and art as well.”
Jones, a fourth-grader, is excited to watch his sport at the Olympics. He said he is not very competitive, but enjoys dancing in major competitions. He has big goals for his future as a boy.
“I hope to win more fights and do more competition and get more powerful moves,” Jones said. “I really want to pop. I really want to make a name for myself.”
Flaws started the studio to provide elite training to young men in Colorado, like Jones. Some of Flaws’ older students have been dancing at the studio for eight years.
Former students have begun making a name for themselves in the breakout scene, including Run, who started dancing in the studio and recently competed in the Red Bull BC One Nationals Cypher.
“She’s bigger than me or Bboy Factory or any one student,” Flouse said. “We have a whole huge community, and it’s amazing to see the kids flourish and grow.”
Carly Rose is a journalism intern at Rocky Mountain PBS. carlerose@rmpbs.org.
Peter Vu is a multimedia journalist for Rocky Mountain PBS. petervo@rmpbs.org.