Ken Swift

Kenneth James Gabbert (born August 13 1966), better known by his stage name Ken Swift, is a second generation B-Boy, or breakdancer.

He was a longtime member and key figure in the Rock Steady Crew, and its former Vice President.

He is now President of the Breaklife and VII Gems Hip Hop movement in New York City.

Ken Swift began b-boying in 1978, at the age of twelve, when he was inspired by dancers on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Widely known in the breakdancing world as "the Epitome of a B-Boy," he is widely considered by b-boys to be the individual who has had the greatest influence on breakdancing.

Ken Swift is credited with the creation of many dance moves and terminology.

His original footwork and "freeze style" became a foundational part of breaking, which were considered new concepts at the time.

Ken Swift has several film credits to his name, including Style Wars, the first hip hop documentary, and the first hip hop major motion picture, Wild Style.

He started the Young City Boys in 1978 which included Doze Green, Dante, Deno Rock, Andy, Stevie D, and Disco C among many others.

YCB member Ty Fly introduced Ken to Frosty Freeze from Rock City Crew in 1979 and in 1980 they decided together to join the Rock Steady Crew as co-Vice Presidents.

The world renowned Rock Steady Crew (RSC) was the first group of b-boys to receive professional recognition from the media and their peers.

The Village Voice published the article "Breaking is Hard To Do," that included Ken and RSC which influenced a greater audience to garner an interest in hip hop and b-boying.

Along with several other members of RSC, Ken Swift performed regularly in local clubs at events such as Negril, Danceteria, the Kitchen, Studio 54 and the Roxy, and he participated in the world's very first International Hip Hop tour "New York City Rap".

They also appeared in television and film including Style Wars (1982), Wild Style (1982), Flashdance (1983,) The David Letterman Show (1983), and Beat Street (1982).

As a recording artist with RSC Ken received gold and silver records for the single "Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew."

His most famous movie was 1983's hit Flashdance, where his two-minute dance with several members of the Rock Steady Crew launched the hip hop scene into international attention.

Ken Swift also danced in the motion picture Beat Street.

He has since appeared on numerous music videos and documentary films on hip hop and breaking.

As a B-Boy, Ken's original stage name was "Ken Rok".

He used several other pseudonyms, including "Kid Zoom", "Ken Ski", and "Prince Ken Swift", before ultimately settling upon "Ken Swift".

(Virgin/Charisma, 1984) The album, Ready for Battle, which included two dance videos, reached out to a larger pop audience worldwide, brought about tours to Europe and Asia, bringing breaking to a world audience for the first time.

One hundred performances led to a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Choreography in the 1995–1996 seasons.

For these achievements, Ken and Ghettoriginal Productions Dance Company received a Bessie Award for choreography.

In 1996 Ken co-authored, co-directed, co-choreographed and performed Off-Broadway's first hip hop musical Jam On The Groove.

In August 1996, Ken Swift was on the cover of Rap Pages, making him the first B-Boy ever to be on the cover of a major hip hop publication.

The popular article, "Past, Present, Future: Ken Swift The Quintessential B-Boy" portrayed Ken Swift as a pioneer of b-boying and reaffirmed him as a fundamental figure in the hip hop community.

In 1996 Ken started a dance company called VII Gems, a company dedicated to the preservation of New York City's traditional dances, Breaking and Rocking.

In 1999, hip hop Culture was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for which Ken was asked to produce an installation.

In 1999 as part of the hip hop induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ken choreographed and performed in a world premiere dance piece for the ceremony entitled "Super Disco Breaks."

Ken became a member of the 1999 U.S. Team "1st Platoon," which took first place out of six other countries in a dance competition known as "The Korea World Cup".

At a local Manhattan elementary school, P.S. 84, with a grant from the New York Historical Society, Ken organized a course for 7–11 year olds entitled "The History of Hip Hop Culture in New York: Focusing on Dance" in 2001 and in 2008 directed and wrote curriculum for BEAT BREAKERS, a non-profit organization that teaches Breaking Fundamentals in after school programs at multiple schools in The Bronx, NY.

In 2004, Ken founded "The Ken Swift School of Hip Hop Fundamentals" at Breaklife Studios in Brooklyn, New York, to allow for an environment for others to learn the art and history of Hip Hop.

As of today, Ken Swift is heralded as one of the greatest influences on hip hop culture, and a legend in the b-boying community.

He travels regularly as a dance competition judge and conducts workshops.

He directed and choreographed the first ever Rock Dance theater piece entitled "Rockin It" that toured 8 cities throughout the UK in May 2009 sponsored by the Breaking Convention, a Sadler Wells Project.

The company is still active and consists of members whom average over 30 years of dance experience, authentic pioneer dancers from the early years of these dances.

The company is involved in numerous dance classes, lectures, demonstrations, performances, panels, film screenings, competitions, and workshops throughout the world.

He has participated in and judged dance competitions throughout the world in countries such as France, Switzerland, Sweden, China, South Africa, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, Norway, Germany, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Russia, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the throughout the U.S. Ken was a Scholar in Residence at New York University's Hip Hop Education Center from 2014 to 2015.

He was appointed as an Eminent Artist in the Dance Department at University of California Riverside for the Spring of 2016 and Spring of 2017.

Currently he has been appointed as a professor of dance at UCLA for the Spring of 2018 & 2019 and is completing his first book entitled, The Art of Breaking.