An average person is good at breaking a vase, a computer or even a bone. These Klein Oak dancers break a little differently on the dance floor. Klein Oak hosted a break dance competition to make a mark in Houston just before Spring Break.

The 80HD kidz have been competing against some of the best b-boys in Houston for the last six years and were able to make it within the top eight.

This year the competition brought many who were older than these Klein Oak students putting them at a disadvantage in skill. Beating the competitors would give the kidz reputation and experience which are both necessary to be successful in the dance world.

“I will get there one day. It’s easier with local recognition and social media to get me on that state level,” senior Sam Salazar said.

Salazar is confident that he can make a name for himself and even participate in some big break dance opportunities.

Salazar, along with other dancers, is self-taught and make his own moves to break when the right time comes. Daily stretching and improvements of the routines is a necessity if these duos want to beat the competition.

An interesting concept is that its not just explosiveness that gets the attention in a dance fight but also the story that is being told. It’s normal to see rivals throw gestures at each other, especially when the dance fight gets heated.

“Hard work beats talent when talent isn’t working hard. Practicing. Tells a story,” senior Bruno Fajnerman said. “If someone is showing off, you have to match their energy. It’s that competitive.”

These actions are just another thing that these break dancers have to learn. Telling a story is something that the judges look for. Yet no stress is created before these dance fights. In fact you would see rivals playing basketball together, enjoying each other until later throwing dance insults at each other.

This competition had a few Klein Oak alumni from earlier years who were older and still competing, however, there were kids that are younger than 13 also competing against each other.

Salazar is an example of someone who takes these kids under their wings and coaches them to be better dancers. Currently, he is coaching a six-year-old boy some creative dance moves.

Members of the Break Crew said they are ready to get back to the studio but are able to dance at their homes until then.