Bionic Breakers break it down

HI-TEC security technician Marlin Elbrecht eagerly awaits a call-back from the popular reality show SA’s Got Talent. Fitting alarms by day, he leads the seven-man breakdance group Bionic Breakers by night.

Monkey flares, broken bananas, baby freezes, bullets and hop turtles were just a few of the acrobatic moves performed in their recent audition in Port Elizabeth.

The group runs a breakdancing academy on the dusty pine floors of Princess Alice Hall three times a week. “This place is perfect,” says Elbrecht, showing off a bullet, a move where he spirals on his head like a spinning top as the hip-hop bassline vibrates through the walls.

Then he demonstrates a windmill, twirling his legs over his head in a V shape while rocking on his
back, very much like spinning a maths compass in your hands.

The 21-year-old recalls when he started performing 10 years ago in a marquee in the township on concrete floors covered with carpet and linoleum.

In 2002, 2004 and 2005 the group attended the African hiphop indaba in Cape Town to showcase their skills. Elbrecht considers Cape Town and Johannesburg as the hubs of hip-hop culture and breakdancing. Also known as b-boying or breaking, breakdancing is a popular style of street dance.

It’s aggressive and physical, yet the circular motions are smooth and expressive. The dancers have powerful upper bodies to propel themselves into momentum.

The moves are unnatural and the dancers spend more time off their feet balancing their body weight in extreme positions.

It looks completely impulsive, unstructured and improvised and at times even the observer becomes dizzy watching someone spin endlessly on their head with their feet vertically above them.

But don’t be misled: breakdancing is about complete control of every muscle in the body and every move is a defined routine.

For these young men, it’s one of the most accessible hobbies. “It keeps me out of trouble,” says Elbrecht. “Just a little music and everything is sorted.”