I grew up in the 80's and I remember when everybody and they momma was Breakdancing or wanted to learn. We were Breakdancing at party's, Breackdancing at school, going to other hoods to battle their best Breakdancers. The Breakdance movies "Beatstreet" and "Breakin" were in the movie theater, the news and sitcom tv shows would joke about kids outside spinning on their heads. Breakdancing was everywhere and then BOOM... just like that... like a year later nobody was Breakdancing anymore. Breakdancing was played-out. Nobody was trying to get on the ground and do all that sh*t.
It was weird how fast the Breakdancing craze came and went. I would say Breakdancing was popular in the hood from mid 1983 all the way in to the summer of 1984 when all the breakdancing movies came out... but by the end of 1984 nobody was Breakdancing anymore.
To line it up with Rap music... by the time LL Cool J released his "Radio" album in 1985 nobody was breakdancing anymore. I think "Popping" lasted longer than Breakdancing did in the hood.
This video from 1983 is a good example of how popular Breakdancing was in the early 80's. What the hell would some Breakdancers be doing in a Gladys Knight & the Pips video? Breakdancing was so popular in the early 80's that r&b groups were putting Breakdancers in their videos to try and show that they were hip to the times and knew what was hot and what was going on in the streets.
And I remember in the late 80s when everyone and their momma were doing the Running Man and the Cabbage Patch. And just like breakdancing, they hit the scene hard, reached a peak, began to decline, and for the most part exited the zeitgeist.
This is what fads do, along with most other components of American popular culture. They come, they live, and then die out. From their they either go completely extinct or are kept alive by fringe pockets of society or they catch on internationally (especially in a pre-internet world).
I guess the point I'm trying to make is to ask you why does it seem like you're surprised that breakdancing had the same existence as every type of non-formal dance before and after it? Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to have a tone of bewilderment that breakdancing is no longer a popular form of dance / art even though it was pretty much played out by the time Mookie Wilson's slapper slipped by Bill Buckner's glove and Ray Knight crossed home plate.
THATS WHY THEY DID IT.
