Breakin’

Breakin’ did perhaps more than any other single work of art of any discipline to bring a marginal street dance form to the forefront of mainstream American pop culture—and to put spandex on the silver screen. Dated but still devastatingly entertaining, the film tells the tale of a struggling jazz dancer who, with the help of street-dancing friends, becomes the new sensation of the crowds, despite disapproval from her dance instructor and the bitter rivalry from another crew. A variety of hybrid breakthrough performances, alongside a fantastic soundtrack that included Ollie and Jerry’s “There’s No Stopping Us” and Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody,” made Breakin’ a major success for the iconic low- and medium-budget Cannon Films.

Screening in conjunction with the documentary The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films.