By: Elizabeth Kwan
Breaking is now an Olympics sport for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where b-boys and b-girls from over ten countries including the US, Japan, Morocco, and India improv various movements in the middle of spacious ground.
Originating from the streets and clubs of New York in the 1970s, breaking quickly branched out all over the world, becoming an urban-styled form of dance that caught the attention of the International Olympic Committee. Breaking spread to the world through a film called Flashdance that consisted of short breaking movements; consequently, breaking peaked in the 1980s. Breaking competitions rose in the following decade, including the renowned International Battle of the Year (BOTY). Various other breaking contests continued into the early 2000s. However, things took a turn in 2018 when breaking was first introduced at Argentina’s Summer Youth Olympic Games as a type of sport. A whopping total of 1 million viewers tuned in for the event.
Breaking in the Olympic Games appeals to a widespread audience and promotes more competitors of different ages. B-boys and b-girls in the Olympics range from late teenage years to early adulthood (17-27). “[Breaking is] reaching a different audience, a global audience…” b-boy Victor Montalvo, dubbed as the Michael Jordan of breaking, said to CNN En Espanol during an interview.
How will an artistic, personalized dance form be judged in a global game such as the Olympics?
Dancers will compete in one-on-one battles with each other in two 60-second throw-downs. A random song is played, and a dancer must improv their movements. After the 60 seconds are up, nine judges evaluate the dancer using a slider; the slider shifts closer to the winning participant throughout the breaking competition. Five types of criteria are considered: technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality, and originality, with each category accounting for 20% of points.
The first breaking medal will be given out in the 2024 Paris Olympics, with sixteen b-boys and sixteen b-girls competing.
“[The Olympic competitions are] going to be great for breaking as it gives us more recognition as a sport,” Karam Singh, a b-boy from the UK, explained to BBC Sport. “[They] will attract young people who may not follow some of the traditional sports.”