Breakdancers moved fluidly on a piece of cracked white linoleum taped to the ground on Turlington Plaza Wednesday afternoon.
More than 50 people stopped to watch UF’s Hip-Hop Collective perform for about 45 minutes.
Students circled around the linoleum pad, clapping to a makeshift beat bashed on a plastic trash can.
Vincent Alvarado, the group’s spokesman, said the group’s usual beatboxers and guitarists were unable to attend.
The group decided they would just improvise with a beat and a chant of “no music.”
“It’s all from the soul. It’s self-expression. It’s hip-hop,” Alvarado said.
UF freshman Joanne Millendez said she loved the jam because it displays an important part of hip-hop culture.
“It brings people close together,” she said.
The loose-limbed breakers included members of the organization and anybody else who wanted to jump in. Some flared their legs around them as they balanced on their hands. Some did handstands and froze, striking poses to the beat.
J.J. Richardson, an industrial and systems engineering graduate student, said each breaker’s style is different.
“It’s playing with the musicality and putting yourself into it,” he said.
Graduate student and Career Resource Center staff member Kevin Tate jumped in during the performance. He wore a blue button-down shirt tucked into his khaki pants and busted moves even after his change fell out of his pocket.
“Faculty, staff and students,” Richardson yelled. “That’s how we roll!”
