Once you heard {that a} sport referred to as breaking was making its debut on the Paris Video games, your first thought would possibly’ve been, What’s that? In reality, you most likely understand it by one other identify: breakdancing, a.okay.a. busting out flips, handstands, headspins, and different robust strikes to hip-hop songs. Now, 4 years after the game was first featured on the 2018 Summer time Youth Olympic Video games in Buenos Aires, it’s going to come to the bona fide Olympic stage for the primary time in Paris.
Since breaking is an entire new Olympic sport—and since you won’t be aware of it to start with—you most likely have loads of questions. For all of the vital intel like when and the place competitors will happen, the way it’ll be scored, and what performers will likely be battling it out, carry on studying. And get psyched to catch plenty of brand-new motion on the Paris Video games.
First off, what precisely is breaking?
The Olympics group describes breaking as an city model of dance rooted in hip hop tradition. (In reality, breaking isn’t simply a dance model, both: It’s one of many 4 pillars of hip-hop, together with DJ’ing, MC’ing, and graffiti.) It originated within the Seventies within the Bronx and later expanded internationally, with the primary international breaking competitions held within the Nineties.
It’s primarily a dance-off-style competitors the place athletes showcase a combo of acrobatic strikes, fancy footwork, and stylized improv. A giant part of breaking competitions is the DJ, who’s in control of the music. Athletes should adapt their dance strikes on the fly to no matter beat the DJ drops, which brings a component of novelty and shock to every showdown.
What are B-boys and B-girls?
The phrases B-boys and B-girls confer with the breaking performers themselves—female and male performers, respectively. The suitable title can be utilized earlier than a performer’s stage identify—as in “B-girl Logistx hopes to medal on the Paris Video games.” However it’s also possible to use the gender-neutral “breaker” as a substitute.
How is breaking scored?
Breaking competitions contain athletes going up towards one another in a one-on-one battle format. Principally, they take turns performing their strikes in what’s often known as a throw down. These are transient—roughly 60 seconds—and every athlete often executes about two to 5 of them in a contest.
Dancers carry out three kinds of actions: high rock (standing strikes), down rock (ground strikes), and freeze (held poses).
A panel of judges, who’re often breakdancers themselves, evaluates the throw downs and charges them on six standards: creativity, character, method, selection, performativity, and musicality. After each spherical, the judges share their scores. In the long run, the dancer with essentially the most factors wins.
On the 2024 Video games, 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls from all over the world will compete for medals, with separate competitions held for the women and men.
Who’s competing in breaking at its very first Olympics?
Out of the 32 whole athletes competing, 4 dancers (two males and two girls) are from the US. They embody Victor Montalvo, Jeffrey Louis, Sunny Choi, and Logan Edra.
