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Flare (acrobatic move)

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File:Thai flare.JPG
A Thai teenager performs a counter-clockwise flair on the Bangkok Skytrain as his friend looks on.

The flare is a difficult breakdance power move borrowed from gymnastics. The breaker supports his body with his arms, swings his legs around his stationary torso in continuous circles, and never allows his legs to touch the ground. The move is also performed on a pommel horse or during the floor exercise in gymnastics, and is called a "Thomas flair" after its originator, American gymnast Lloyd Larson at Arizona State University. Gymnast Kurt Thomas learned the move from Larson and went on to take credit for its invention, and thus it's named after him. The move is commonly spelled flair in gymnastics.

Step-by-step

The description assumes counter-clockwise rotation

The left leg begins about 10 inches behind the right (not lined up). If the breaker already has momentum, he/she quickly puts down his left hand close to the left leg facing the fingers away from the body, towards the left. Next, the left leg is swung around as hard as possible while doing a jump. The breaker is prepared to put down the right hand. All of the breaker's weight shifts to the right arm, and he/she kicks the left leg up as high as possible. The right leg swings under the left and then the left hand comes down in front, such that both hands are now in front. Arching his/her back and without touching the ground, the breaker kicks the right leg up again and swings the left leg around low for another rotation.

Variations

There are several flare variants:

  • Elbow Flares - The lower arms (and thus the elbows) are used to support the body rather than the hands. Due to the low clearance of the legs this is a difficult variation.
  • Atomic Flares - begins with opposite hand normally used to beginning flare and starts from the back part of a flare.
  • Lotus flares - A flare with the legs in lotus position.
  • New York Flares - starts with the opposite hand than a standard flare normally would be started with. For example, if the legs are going to the right then the flares will start with the right hand placed on the ground first.
  • Chair Flares - a flare done exaggeratedly so the swinging motion to the front looks like an air chair freeze.
  • Double Chair Flares - a chairflare done with two airchair freezes (two bent arms), and no hops between the arm switch.
  • Circles/Virgin Flares - the legs stay together and straight. Many gymnasts as well as some B-boys can perform this move.
  • Hopping Flares/King Flares - hopping on the available (load bearing) hand as the legs swing through from the front to the back. C-zechin is required for this move. The breaker must Czech along with the hop in order to position himself properly to continue doing the flare.
  • Spindles - the body moves in the same direction as the legs.
  • Threaded flares - A unique flare motion where one uses the supporting arm (prior to supporting the swinging motion) to thread the two legs together. The legs become free as they swing through the front flare motion.
  • V-flares - An advanced flare style where the legs stay straight in a V-shape close to the body and all momentum is exerted from the hips, as the legs stays to unmoving and provides no basis of support. These are also known as 'piked flares'
  • British flares- A flare which comes from a handstand position (placing one hand on the ground you kick the opposite foot into the air letting it catch momentum then you kick it through, the other foot you kick when you are coming down to let it pass under. Its used when coming from Air tracks to flares.
  • Solar flares- A flare with the hips very high in the air and the legs piked together over the front torso (as if, the legs are flaring over the bboy's head and body). After switching from the starting arm to the opposite arm and when the torso is facing the ground, the hip pops out from under, giving the feel of the sun's explosive solar flare. It looks very similar to an airflare and a chair flare combined, but without the hop between the arm switch.

Air Flares

The Air Flare is an advanced move that is similar in concept to a flare or a windmill. While performing an Air Flare, the breaker is inverted with his torso at a 45 degree angle to the floor. (angle can differ. the smaller the angle, the greater the difficulty). his legs in a V-shape, and his arms straight. The hands are the only body part that touch the floor as the move is being performed. The bboy whips his legs, then arms around so that he travels in a circular path. Air flares are separate from air tracks. Though they appear to be the same, the concept is slightly different. Flares are a known power move, and when made higher and inverted, air flares are produced, with the legs never swinging over the vertical axis.Airflare and airtrack are the same thing, there is no difference apart from how one executes the move.

Variations

There are many variations of the air flare. Some notable examples include:

  • Elbow Air Flares - Using your elbows instead of your hands
  • Bent Leg Air Flares - One leg is constantly bent during the entire movement.
  • Jumping Air Flares - Both hands never touch the floor at the same time. A hopping motion is used to continuously hop from one hand to the other. The legs are usually bent in this variation in order to generate the hopping effect.
  • Tombstone Air Flares - The legs are closed and straight during the airborne phase of the movement
  • Lotus Air Flares - Same as a regular air flare but with the legs in lotus position
  • Toe Touching Air Flares - When one hand is on the ground, the other is used to touch the toes of either foot.
  • Clapping Air Flares -
  • Munching Air Flares - The "munch" effect can be achieved by positioning the legs in munch-mill position in mid-flight. In a more advanced variation the bboy keeps his legs in this position even when the hands are touching the floor.
  • Threaded Air Flares -
  • Walking Air Flares - At least one hand is always in contact with the floor, even during the airborne phase of a regular Air Flare. This variation requires great flexibility in the shoulders.
  • One-handed Air Flares - In this variation only one arm comes in contact with the floor, namely the arm that is the last to leave the ground during a regular Air Flare. Typically the body alignment is more vertical then a regular Air Flare in order to enable a faster rotation.
  • One and a Half Air Flares (also known as Air Flare 1.5) - The body rotates 540 degrees and the bboy lands on this back rather than on his hands.

See also

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