Florida breaks, which may also be referred to as The Orlando Sound, Orlando breaks, or The Breaks, is a genre of breakbeat dance music that originated in the central region of Florida, United States.
Florida Breaks draws on hip-hop, Miami bass and electro. It often includes samples of early jazz or funk beats from rare groove or popular film. It often features vocal elements. The beat frequently slows and breaks down complex beat patterns and then rebuilds. Genre pioneer Eddie Pappa, influenced by nights spent at the Beacham, honed his skill at The Edge when it opened in 1992. In 1993, it gained prominence state-wide and, propelled by large events at the Edge, elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe.
There is only general consensus on the defining elements of the genre, which spawned regional and preference variations.
The genre received limited local radio play in Central Florida on radio stations WXXL (106.7 FM) The following year, Icey, Magic Mike, Kimball Collins, Baby Anne, and Jimmy Joslin headlined a Labor Day weekend dance party that Orlando Weekly described as a possible unofficial reunion of the Orlando breaks scene. Such events continued into 2025, when a Thanksgiving-eve party at the Beacham Theatre brought together a lineup billed as Orlando's veteran dance-music DJs.
A newer generation has also worked in the style. In 2025, Orlando DJ and producer Arina Krondeva, formerly of Rinas, released a breaks-centric EP titled Scattered.
Early Florida breaks venues
AAHZ at the Beacham Theatre (Orlando), Marz (Cocoa Beach),