'Breaking' into the Newest Olympic Sport
Dhwani Shah
September 16, 2024
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4 min read
Who remembers the raw energy and the creative spirit of the dance battles in the Step Up movies? Channing Tatum’s breakthrough performance, Moose’s moves in the water, and the thrilling street dance scenes captured the essence of breaking and its powerful impact on youth culture. Now, this dynamic dance form is literally ‘breaking’ new ground and is all set to transition from the silver screen to the biggest stage in the world—the Olympics. Yes, you heard it right! Breaking, aka breakdancing, is all set to make its debut in the next couple of days at the Paris 2024 Olympics. So, grab your boombox, put on your freshest kicks, and join us as we dive into the electrifying world of breaking and its journey to the Olympics.
Breaking is a high-energy dance style characterized by stylized footwork and acrobatic, athletic movements, including spins and flips, derived from sources including martial arts and gymnastics.
The term "breaking" comes from the dance's early days, when dancers would perform during the instrumental "break" section of a song that DJs used to loop for them—the part where the music would strip down to its most rhythmic elements. The term “breakdancing” was coined by the media to popularize the dance style. Individuals who practice the dance of breaking are referred to as B-Boys and B-Girls.
With roots in the hip-hop movement, breaking originated in the Bronx borough of New York in the 1970s. Over the decades, it has evolved from neighborhood dance battles to global competitions such as Battle of the Year and Red Bull BC One. This unique dance form has always been popular among the youth, and with the International Olympic Committee looking out for new sports to attract younger audiences, breaking was introduced at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Following its highly successful debut, the IOC decided to add it to the program for the 2024 Paris Games, strengthening its attempt to make the Games more inclusive and youth-centric. From the streets of the Bronx to the dazzling lights of Paris, breakdancing's journey is a testament to its dynamic and transformative power.
At the first-ever Olympic edition of breaking, 16 B-Boys and 17 B-Girls (one from the Refugee Olympic Team) will compete in one-on-one battles in two events—one for men and the other for women. The women's event takes place on August 9, followed by the men competing on August 10 at the Place de la Concorde, the largest public square in the city, which is also the venue for other ‘cool’ urban sports like BMX freestyle, skateboarding and the 3x3 hoops.
The women’s event begins with a pre-qualifier battle which eliminates the loser, with the 16 remaining B-Girls qualifying to the round-robin. The men and women events then kick off with a round-robin: the competitors are broken up into four groups of four athletes each, and each breaker battles the other dancers in their pool. The two best breakers in each pool advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals and onwards, competitors face each other head-to-head in best-of-three rounds, each round being no more than 60 seconds. Dancers are expected to, quite literally, ‘think on their feet’ as they improvise their moves and skills to absolutely no previous knowledge of the DJ’s tracks.
The judging panel, composed of nine experienced experts, will evaluate the dancers on five performance factors to determine their final score:
Judges will score the battles using a digital slider, sliding it in real-time towards the breaker who is outperforming their opponent in a particular category. Pretty fancy, right?
As the sport of breaking makes its highly anticipated Olympic debut in Paris, several standout B-Boys and B-Girls are poised to capture the world's attention. Among the boys are Japan's Shigekix and USA’s Victor Montalvo, for whom breaking is a family legacy passed on from his father and uncle to him and his siblings. On the women's side, keep an eye out for USA's 21-year-old Logan Edra, aka Logistx, and Sunny Choi, who gave up her multi-figure executive position at Estée Lauder to focus on dancing. All 33 breakers, with their unique styles and relentless dedication, are sure to deliver electrifying performances that will elevate breaking to new heights on the grandest stage in the sports world.
Breaking, with its combination of complex footwork, slick spins, and stylized freezes, has a parlance of its own. Let’s brief you on some basic breaking jargon:
These explosive moves that 'make your head spin' (again, quite literally) are more than just dance and art; they are a manifestation of science. Breaking combines many concepts of physics like friction, the center of mass, momentum, and rotational motions. Each movement and technique involves precise calculations of balance and force. For instance, dancers manipulate their center of mass to maintain stability during intricate footwork and gravity-defying power moves. The friction between their hands or feet and the floor provides the necessary grip to execute controlled spins and slides. Momentum and angular velocity are harnessed to achieve the breathtaking rotations seen in windmills and headspins. By intuitively adhering to these scientific principles, breakers turn raw physicality into a captivating display of human potential and creativity.
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Including breaking in your dance school curriculum can be a game-changer, offering numerous benefits that extend beyond the dance floor. Physically, breaking is essentially a full-body workout to music. Every maneuver engages core muscle groups and challenges the body’s limits, enhancing strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular health. Mentally, it promotes cognitive skills such as coordination, memory, mental agility and focus while fostering creativity and self-expression. For the youth, breaking is an engaging and empowering activity that builds confidence and resilience and offers a sense of community and belonging. By integrating breaking into your dance program, your dance academy can cultivate a holistic environment that supports students’ physical and mental health, while actively engaging and inspiring the next generation. Who knows, you might nurture the next breaking superstar!
As the unique blend of athleticism, creativity, and cultural heritage gets ready to take the stage and ‘turn heads’, we're reminded of the universal language of dance, which transcends boundaries and unites us all. So tune into the breaking battles as the Olympics stage assumes the form of a dance floor, and let's cheer for our modern-day gladiators who dance to the beat of their own drum.
If you are a dance academy committed to foster creativity and holistic well-being, Classcard is here to help you in this wonderful journey! Our intuitive and practical dance studio management software allows you to schedule classes, manage bookings and payments, track attendance and much more, so you can ‘put your best foot forward’ and nurture talented and confident dancers.