Short answers, pulled from the story.
Breakdancing originated in the Bronx borough of New York City, developed by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the 1970s and early 1980s. A key early event was a back-to-school party thrown by Cindy Campbell on the 11th of August 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, where her brother Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell DJed.
No single person invented breakdancing, but Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as a central figure in its early development and in bringing it out of private parties into public spaces. He is also credited with coining the terms "b-boy" and "b-girl" to describe the dancers at his parties, and with inventing the break beat technique of looping drum breaks.
Breaking debuted as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee announced on the 7th of December 2020. Japan's Ami Yuasa won the women's gold medal and Canada's Philip "Phil Wizard" Kim won the men's gold medal.
The four primary elements of breakdancing are toprock (standing footwork), footwork or downrock (floor-based movement supported by hands and feet), power moves (acrobatic spins and rotations such as the windmill, head spin, and flare), and freezes (held poses executed off the ground using upper-body strength).
Battle of the Year (BOTY) was founded in 1990 by Thomas Hergenröther in Germany and is the first and largest international breakdancing competition for crews. It holds regional qualifying tournaments in countries including Zimbabwe, Japan, Israel, Algeria, Indonesia, and the Balkans, with the final championship held in Montpellier, France.
Many practitioners in the culture prefer the term "breaking" or "b-boying" over "breakdancing," arguing that breakdancing was a media-coined term used to commercialize the dance. Major competitions including the Olympics, Red Bull BC One, and World Breaking Classic use the term "breaking." Breakdancing is also sometimes incorrectly applied as an umbrella term for other funk styles like popping or locking, which are distinct dances.