The Olympics have been around in one form or another since 1896, and this year, four new sports have been added into competition, not least among them breaking. But what is breaking exactly? Well, it’s a little complicated, since most people probably think of breakdancing (word to the wise: Don’t call it that if you want to be taken seriously by its fans) as dance, not sport. Below, find everything you need to know about the Summer Olympics’ first competitive dance category.
What are the origins of breaking?
Breaking grew out of the South Bronx in the late 1970s and can be traced back to a number of sources of inspiration, including the music of James Brown, the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, and the stepping traditions of Black fraternities and sororities in the US. Many credit Jamaican American DJ Cool Herc with helping to develop the distinctive dance style when he began mixing between two copies of the same record on two turntables, thus allowing for an extended “break” in which dancers could show off their various moves.
What are some famous examples of breaking in pop culture?
Breaking reached a pivotal inflection point in the US in 1983 when the movie Flashdance featured the Rock Steady Crew—a Bronx-based breaking and hip-hop group created by B-boys Jimmy Dee and Jimmy Lee—and set the scene for their recording contract with Virgin the following year. Michael Jackson’s famous moonwalk, which the singer also performed for the first time in 1983,has also been credited with helping to define the breaking genre; the following year, the Joel Silberg film Breakin’ notably beat out John Hughes’s Sixteen Candles at the box office, and the art form has remained prominent in the pop-cultural imagination ever since.
How will the breaking competition work at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
According to the Olympics website, the breaking portion of the proceedings will be divided into two events, one for men and one for women. Each event will feature 16 different contestants facing off one-on-one and improvising to music played by a DJ; whoever windmills, six-steps, and freezes best (yes, these are all breaking terms) will take home the very first Olympic medals in breaking. Judges will evaluate breaking contestants on six criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and musicality.
Who will be breaking at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
The “B-boys” and “B-girls” (another breaking term of art) who have qualified to compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics are Sunny Choi, Logan Edra, Jeffrey Louis, and Victor Montalvo for Team USA. The four Team USA athletes had a decidedly uphill road to Paris, as each of them was required to prove themselves at three different competitions—the 2023 WDSF World Championships, the continental championships and the four-month-long Olympic Qualifier Series—before officially qualifying to break at the Olympics.
How did breaking make its way to the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Breaking was first featured at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, and it was such a hit that many attendees lobbied the International Olympic Committee for its continued inclusion in the Games. Indeed, current Team USA B-boy Jeffrey Louis wrote a letter to the IOC, about which he now laughingly says: “I didn’t get a response back. The email was probably poorly written, but I tried. I wanted to be a part of it somehow.”
How can I watch breaking at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
This year’s men’s and women’s breaking events will take place on August 9 and 10, and can be watched on NBC and E! (or streamed online on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com or the NBC app.)
Editor
Emma SpecterCredit
Lead image: Getty Images
