Body Movements

"The image captures a scene from the August 1981 dance battle between Rock Steady Crew and Dynamic Rockers, two classic breakdance crews of the early hip-hop era-in retrospect, a seismic event in the form's history. Taking place at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, the battle brought the street-level culture of the Bronx (Rock Steady) and Queens (Dynamic Rockers) to the heart of Manhattan's official high-culture complex, home to the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, among others."

"Cooper's image captures the youthful throng surrounding the central battlefield, with its teeming summer-in-the-city camaraderie. (Local news reports put the crowd in the thousands.) In the center of the photograph, at the heart of this "cypher," or competitive circle, is Rock Steady's Take One, the late David Martinez. Judg­ing from the glowering Dynamic Rockers facing him, and the egging-on at his back by fellow Rock Steady members Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón and Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, his mo"

An August 1981 dance battle at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival pitched Rock Steady Crew against Dynamic Rockers, bringing Bronx and Queens street dance to Manhattan's high-culture core. The event drew thousands and captured summer camaraderie within a competitive cypher centered on Rock Steady's Take One. Within two years many participants toured internationally, recorded music, or appeared on film, fueling brand campaigns that accelerated hip-hop's global spread. The battle occurred on land once cleared of Black and Latinx San Juan Hill residents, adding historical layers of displacement and cultural reclamation to the scene. The atmosphere combined feral exuberance with community celebration.

Read at Artforum