Breaking Is Still Alive And Well At Red Bull BC One

Denver stood as the center of breaking culture earlier this month when Red Bull BC One touched down for its regional cypher. The weekend brought breakers together to share techniques, learn new skills, and, most of all, compete. The lineup of talent included B-Boy Aloz out of Minneapolis and 18-year-old B-Girl India, representing Chicago and her crew Phase Two. Although only one of them advanced, both left a mark, especially for the next wave of Black breakers, keeping tradition alive.

For Aloz, the road to Denver was built on years of grinding — not just in the gym, but in the kind of community that shapes a breaker’s creative spirit. He began experimenting with movement in eighth grade, after watching a friend pull a backspin at a school dance. What looked like a flex was actually the beginning of a lifestyle.

“I always treated it as a hobby slash career,” he explained. “This is a hobby of mine that I’m very passionate about, and it has given me a lot of opportunities.”

Between training sessions and an EMS internship on his journey to become a full-time firefighter, Aloz arrived in Denver activated. Finishing fourth in the men’s round, he showed the floor what Minneapolis has been building quietly for years.

India’s story is one already in motion. At 18, she’s walking a path her father helped pave. In her early years, she studied tapes, training under Wicked with Phase Two, soaking up the history passed down by older generations.

“Being [in] a younger generation of breakers is really cool because you look up to all the older people,” she said. “When you have a chance to get mentorship from them, it’s super crucial, super refining — because they were here when breaking started.”

Her preparation stepped up this year: two practices a day plus muscle training, all in service of moments exactly like this. With fruitful results, her advanced training was not in vain. She came in third in the women’s round and has secured a spot in the next leg of competition.

Through rounds of complex floor work, spirited camaraderie, and jaw-dropping freezes, the Denver Cypher echoed feelings of sentimental joy beyond the intense competition. The culture surrounding breaking continues to evolve, and Aloz and India’s stories prove that it has not been erased.