Justin Saichek
Justin Saichek breakdances Wednesday, July 13, 2022, under the Rockford City Market pavilion. He plans to compete in the Battle at Levings on Sunday, July 24, at Levings Park. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Mary Sisk
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Breakdancing isn’t a just hobby for Vic Rivera; it’s a therapeutic and creative outlet too.

“It’s so challenging that it’s just hard to give up because you’re always reaching new heights. You’re always reaching a new goal, even if it’s small,” Rivera said. “It’s very rewarding.”

Rivera, 35, is a Rockford artist who balances his day job with creating music and strengthening the local breakdance scene.

Now he’s hosting a breakdance competition called Battle at Levings with monetary prizes, live dancing and more at Levings Park, 1420 S. Pierpont Ave., in Rockford. It will be both a showcase of skills and a measure of how the culture around breakdancing is flourishing in the city.

“The true test of that will be at the Battle at Levings Lake on Sunday,” said Justin Saichek , a 35-year-old from Rockford who will compete Sunday. “This being the first big breaking battle in Rockford after the start of the pandemic, it will really be a test of where the culture is currently at.”

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Breakdancing has evolved beyond its early reputation as a trend in the 1980s. It now has more widespread appeal and attention, and it’s set to debut in the 2024 Olympics.

“There’s multiple different aspects of how that will affect the culture. It will likely make it more visible but potentially also disconnect people from the roots of the culture and their community,” said Saichek, who has been breakdancing for two years after several years in the hip hop scene as a rapper and spoken-word poet.

Saichek was among a group working on the craft under the Rockford City Market pavilion last week. A handful of b-boys laid down a vinyl floormat, set up a speaker and eased into a free-flowing session (or cypher, in breakdance terms) that blended rhythm and athleticism.

“It’s a subculture … I didn’t know about it for years. You have to be around the right people,” said one of the men in the cypher, who goes by the b-boy name Strezz. “Once you know you’re like, ‘wow, this is a whole different world.’ It’s like, I can’t believe this stuff happens here. There’s so much talent in your own city that you would never even notice.”

Carlos Lopez Flores gets into some groundwork on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, during a breakdance session at Rockford City Market pavilion. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Saichek said learning dances is easier in the internet age than it was at the dawn of breakdancing’s popularity in the late ’70s and early 80s, when people either had to connect in person or dig up VHS tapes. But experiencing dance on the internet isn’t the same as tapping into the local culture in person.

“I think the most important thing is to get out and expereince and be a part of it with people who are doing it,” Saichek said.

Rivera also hopes events like his own entice new participants. He encourages more people to try breaking, for exercise, hobby or as a therapeutic outlet.

“When you see the movements and literally feel the energy and the rhythm, it does something to you I think,” Rivera said. “I just think it’s a great outlet.”

Rivera is heavily involved with the Rockford art scene, but he didn’t always feel like breakdancing was respected as the art form it is.

“Myself and all my friends are all minorities, so we weren’t really looked at as artists,” Rivera said. “I didn’t associate it with art until I was a lot older in life.”

His interest began with seeing someone breakdance as a kid and then Rivera began to try to copy the moves from memory.

Getting his friends involved in breakdancing and later meeting more like-minded people also strengthened his passion to learn.

A breakdancer who goes by the name Strezz works on his craft Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at Rockford City Market pavilion in downtown. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Rivera, a Jefferson High School graduate, attributes some of his inspiration from Midwest breakdancer Sengvilay Aphay, or Kid Jungle as he’s known, who became a close friend and will be a judge in Rivera’s event.

When Rivera was 18, he began to compete in breakdancing, or breaking, competitions the Midwest and felt like this art form united various people groups.

“It was one of the most beautiful times in my life to be honest,” Rivera said. “That’s one of things I really have always appreciated about dance is that despite the backgrounds or religions or whatever, it really brings us all together.”

In 2007, Rivera hosted his first breakdancing competition and has tried to host them a few times yearly. He felt that there was a lack of events for breaking and wanted to fill that gap.

“I used to be this person — a lot of people are that person — where they’re like ‘oh Rockford doesn’t have this,’ or ‘Rockford doesn’t have that,’ but you start to realize that you kind of are Rockford,” Rivera said. “If you want to see something done, then you kind of have to do it,”

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Battle at Levings will be hosted by Vic Rivera and Rockford Park District at Levings Park. Contestants can sign up until the day of the event by reaching out to Rivera here, with the first place prize totaling $300 and second place $175. 

Know before you go | Battle at Levings

Where: Levings Park,  1420 South Pierpont Ave., Rockford

When: 5-8 p.m. on Sunday, July 24

Admission: Free

More information: More information about the event is available here.


Kevin Haas contributed to this report.

This article is by Mary Sisk. Email her at msisk@rockrivercurrent.com or follow her on Instagram at @maryrrcurrent

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