Seattle's breakdance scene is center stage again — but don't call it a comeback

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ou’d do well not to look away as b-boys Morgan “Stripes” Andrews and Menno van Gorp take turns entering the breakdance circle, called a cypher — blinking could mean you miss one of their physics-bending power-moves. As quick as flashes of lightning and as slick as ice, their acrobatic feats are interspersed between rhythmic footwork — known as top-rock or down-rock depending on one's orientation to the floor — and stylish freezes, gravity-defying poses that punctuate sequences of movement.

The two's onstage chemistry belies the reality that they’ve never performed together until now. But with each of their original battle partners sidelined due to injuries, Andrews and van Gorp met the moment Saturday night when they won in an upset against the high-octane Venezuelan Team Vinotinto in the 2024 Red Bull Lords of the Floor breakdance competition at WAMU Theater. It was the event's first appearance in Seattle since 2002.

Andrews and van Gorp were among 16 breaking duos from across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America that battled it out for an opportunity to claim the top spot and collect a prize — the nature of which competitors didn’t seem quite sure or concerned about heading into the contest.

“I went in with zero expectations,” said 34-year-old van Gorp, who's based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following his win. “I’m really, really hyped to be here and I just wanted to have fun. There were a lot of people in the lineup I looked up to when I was younger, so it's probably one of the most iconic competitions I can do.”

Andrews, from Jacksonville, Florida, also shared what the victory meant to him: “I don’t win that much — so a lot,” he said. Winning Lords of the Floor was a multidecade dream in the making which hadn’t yet sunken in, he added.

“I’m 36 and in school at 14…we used to go on the computer and watch the [Lords of the Floor] clips,” he said.

The competition has used a two-versus-two format since its inception in 2001, with various pairs outcompeting each other until two front-runner duos go toe-to-toe in a final battle.

“The two-on-two [structure] facilitates good battles because there’s always time to recuperate because you’ve got a partner,” explained JD “Twixx” Rainey, who represented the Seattle-based breakdance crew Massive Monkees, which got its start on Beacon Hill in 1996.

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“Sometimes in a solo battle, the battles drag out and everybody gets a little tired. Then with crew battles, everybody's trying to get into the circle and it can get overwhelming or unfair because you have some crews that are bigger than others,” he added.

Rainey, now 42, first competed in Lords of the Floor at age 19, when the inaugural event was held at the shuttered Sand Point Naval Base. That year, six duos from Massive Monkees competed against dancers from around the country, with Rainey’s duo taking fourth place. The event came together in part thanks to members of Circle of Fire, self-described as “Seattle's original club-breakdancing crew.”

Although Seattle's breakdance scene was already thriving in its own right, Lords of the Floor helped cement its place on the world stage next to dance hubs like New York City and San Francisco, Rainey said.

“They made it a point to give us something that was birthed in Seattle — something that people would want to come to our state for versus us waiting to go to their events, because that's mostly what it was for us growing up,” he said.

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The event was also the precursor to the annual Red Bull BC One competition, a one-on-one style breakdance contest held in various world cities since 2004. Lords of the Floor also gave rise to a new era of breaking contests with high-production value, according to veteran breakers.

“It was a shock that Red Bull wanted to even do something this big of a caliber for a dance event, where there are invitees that come out and a slew of hosts, DJs, and dope judges and whatnot,” said Dufon “Orbitron” Smith, a longtime member of Circle of Fire who competed in the 2001 and 2002 contests.

Smith returned for the third iteration of Lords of the Floor on Saturday, this time as a judge. He likened the event, which also featured a performance by hip-hop legend Common, to a reunion — one postponed by three years due to Covid.

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“It's more or less just about the nostalgia and the vibe that Lords of the Floor brings,” Smith said. “You have all these iconic dancers who are paired up with iconic dancers — also new and upcoming dancers, dancers who have been in the game, and a few Olympians.”

Saturday's competition came in anticipation of breakdancing making its Olympic debut in Paris this coming summer. While the energy at Lords of the Floor could be likened to that which you’d find at the Olympics, there are no explicit criteria for these judges to weigh, nor any score cards to fill out.

“It’s an intuitive thing and it’s personal for each judge,” Smith said. “All of these guys are professionals so it’s a matter of the minute details of breaking — crashes, executions, character. And if one of the people in a crew falters, they’re not carrying it for the two.”

To cast their votes, the five judges simply pointed in the direction of the duo they wanted to see advance.

Lords of the Floor's two-decade hiatus notwithstanding, Saturday wasn’t a comeback for the Northwest’s breakdance scene.

“Here in Seattle we throw our own local breaking events,” Smith said, including the Northwest Sweet 16 competition in which dancers from around the region competed three-against-three last month. The local breakdance community will also get back to it Sunday night with a battle called The Gathering at the Substation in Ballard.

Smith pointed to roughly six competitive breaking crews that are still active in the Seattle area. Moreover, The Beacon Studio offers breakdancing classes for adults and children as young as 2 each week. And on a clear day, you might find breakers out practicing on a local basketball court or parking lot.

“And because Vancouver and Portland are so close, we connect with those guys too,” Smith added. “The Northwest has something really unique and that's that we all support each other.”