Ken Swift

Ken Swift is a genuine pioneer acknowledged globally for his ongoing efforts over the past 45 years in promoting, performing, educating, and safeguarding the art form of Breaking. Known as "The Epitome of a Bboy," dancers globally have looked up to his style over time. Ken is recognized for introducing pivotal movements that are essential to the dance's core, through his unique style and techniques.

His impact is so noticeable that he participated in developing the accepted terminology for the form, now considered an Olympic Sport, and he is continually invited to attend, judge, and teach in competitions around the world.

Due to Ken’s contributions as a pioneer of B Boy Culture, he’s received several Lifetime Achievement Awards, one from The Mighty IV, a nationally renowned annual Breaking event in North California, and a Louis Reyes Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him at Amherst College. In 2007, Ken received an Appreciation Award from Seoul Arts College as well as a Hall of Fame Living Legend Award from the Korean Tourism Agency, which declared him as an Honorary Ambassador of Korea and positive influence on youth cultures worldwide. In 2009, Ken was awarded a Zulu Nation Achievement Award at the "Take 1" event in Belgium, as well as an Appreciation Award from Encountras las Ruas at the Joinville Dance Festival in Brazil. Kens' travels brought him back to the United States in 2010. While judging at "The Ultimate Bboy Championship" in Las Vegas Ken was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his preservation and dedication to Bboy culture. Also in 2010, Ken was acknowledged as an “American Master” by the National Endowment for the Art’s and received an American Masterpieces in Dance Award to reconstruct his choreography with olive Dance Theatre in a show entitled “Swift Solos: The Re-Construction of Ken Swift’s 20th Century Breakin’,” which toured 5 cities in the United States throughout 2010. In 2011, Ken Swift was voted the 2nd Most Influential Dancer of the 20th Century by CNN’s Icon Series, he was the only B.Boy to receive this honor amongst mostly ballet dancers. In France, Afrika Bambaataa along with Le CACDU and Zulu Nation France, honored Ken with an Ambassador of Hip Hop Culture award on the 30th Anniversary of Hip Hop Culture. In June 2013, as part of Sadler Wells' "Breaking Convention Festival" at NY's Apollo Theater, Ken was honored for his contributions to the dance of Breaking which included an exclusive short dance piece entitled "Chill Town, New York". In 2014, Ken received an Award of Honor from Style Elements crew in San Francisco, an Award of Honor from Batalla de Fuego in Columbia, and an Award of Recognition from Cultural Corporation of San Pedro in Chile. In 2015, Ken received a Living Legend of Hip Hop Award from Hip Hop International at the World Hip Hop Championships in San Diego. Ken was a Scholar in Residence at New York University's Hip Hop Education Center from 2014-2015. 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, as well as a professor of dance at UCLA for the Spring of 2018 & Spring of 2019. He is currently completing his first book entitled, "The Art of Breaking" as well as a contributor to the “Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Dance” to be published in 2021. Font: Breaklife

Street Dance Roots honors his life and legacy and proudly inducts Ken Swift into the Hall of Fame.