10 important points before watching Breaking at The Olympics

Important things to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics

As you will know by now, Breaking (or ‘Breakdance’) is coming to the Paris 2024 Olympics. For many of us, this is cause to celebrate while some of us might be surprised people are still doing this dance!

For many, there may be a number of questions related to this event so today we’re going to cover 10 interesting things that are important to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics. Without further ado, let’s begin!

A Brief History of Breaking

Breaking is a dance style born out of New York, specifically the South Bronx around the early 1970s. This particular dance form is pretty combative and was created by Afro-American and Puerto Rican kids from that borough. In a period of gang culture and and territorial pride, Breaking also became an outlet for settling differences. The perfect vehicle for an Olympic event!

Breaking is also one of the five HipHop elements which include:

• Breaking
• MC-ing / Emceeing
• DJ-ing
• Graffiti
• Knowledge

We’ll expand on this more later but, for now, that’s the brief history of Breaking

What ISN’T Breaking?

Breaking isn’t Popping, Waving or Robotics

Breaking isn’t Locking

Despite being an element of HipHop culture, it isn’t ‘HipHop Freestyle’ (confusing, I know)

It isn’t Capoeira or a Martial Art

At its essence, it isn’t Gymnastics either

However, all of these things and more can contribute to one’s Breaking style.

Breaking is born out of Latin and Soul / James Brown footwork driven by Funk and Latin music. Later we’ll touch on the drum breaks in this music from which Breaking takes its name 🙂

As we dig deeper into things to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics

Why isn’t it ‘Breakdancing’?

We don’t use the term ‘Breakdance’ because it doesn’t really reflect what Breaking is.

‘Breakdance’ is a commercial term for the form which, unfortunately, also became interchangable with a number of the other styles listed above. Once the term ‘Breakdance’ gained popularity in the early / mid 1980’s, it became extremely difficult to inform the wider world of the correct terminology and history.

Having Breaking at the Olympics means that the word ‘Breakdance’ is probably going to start being used less and less, but time will tell. As phrases like B-Boy, B-Girl, Rocking and Cypher become more commonplace, as a community we can more readily inform the general public on this amazing culture.

So what does the ‘Break’ in ‘Breaking’ mean?

There are two schools of thought on where the term ‘Break’ comes from.

• The most popular school of thought is the drum breaks in the music are the source of the name. When you listen to the music that B-Boys and B-Girls dance to, the section of the music where there is a breakdown is typically where one would ‘throw down’.
  
  In good Breaking, you’ll definitely see a change in energy when that drum break hits. This drum patterns appear in Latin, Funk and even Rock music and it’s the DJs job to find the illest breaks to inspire the dance athletes.
  
• The term ‘Breaking’ could also reflect your ‘Breaking Point’ or your point of no return. As was mentioned earlier,
  in the South bronx where Breaking and HipHop culture come from, the social circumstances weren’t that great. Where life pressures are hard it can cause some people to ‘break’ or reach their ‘breaking point’.
  
  Applied to the dance, when you hear that music and you just can’t contain yourself anymore, you reach your ‘breaking point’ and you’ve got to throw down!
  
  For further insight on these theories, check this clip from Freshest Kids

Breaking Moves – The Terminology

Let’s talk about some terms!

• Top Rock – The ‘standing up part’ of Breaking before you get down to the floor. ‘Top’ means ‘Standing’ and the ‘Rock’ is the groove of the dance. Foot movement may look loosely inspired by Salsa and other Latin dances or ‘The Goodfoot’ and other Soul and Funk dances.
• Go Down / Get Down – Getting down to the floor from Top Rock
• Footwork / Down Rock – Movements on the lower level, typically supported by hands and feet.
• Freezes – A freeze is a position that you can hold in different shapes. Freezes may be on the hands, elbows, bak head or pretty much any body part. They are best performed at the beginning of a musical phrase for emphasis (i.e. On the ‘1’ of the music)
• Power moves – Typically moves that are continuous circles and what most people picture when they think about Breaking
• Flavour – Not a ‘move’ but more each dancer’s individual personality and presentation of the elements listed above. In a highly competitive space, how you put things together will make all the difference.

What’s the difference between a Cypher and a Battle?

A Cypher is a circle of people who are dancing, usually one by one, in the middle. What’s special about the Cypher is that it’s kind of a conversation betwen all those involved. I liken it to a town hall where all citizens get a chance to say their piece and, in turn, respond to what others have said OR change the subject completely.

It’s not really a place to practice and is not necessarily a competitive space (but it can be both of these things, organically).

In the Cypher you are responding to the music, the moment and also the vibe of the Cypher. You may do your own interpretation of a move / idea that someone has performed before or you may deliberately try to one-up that person. There are few rules, but ‘no touching’ and ‘no hogging’ are easily understood best practices. Cyphers really are the heartbeat of Breaking.
interaction and experience

Then you have Battling. Not ‘a dance-off’!

In a Battle, usually one person would dance, facing their opponent, then their opponent would dance. After a fixed number of rounds, the judges would determine the winner.
The premise of the Battle is to defeat the other person using the ‘Breaking Moves’ we covered earlier and to be judged accordingly on how you do a combination of those things ‘better’ than your opponent.

In order for us to continue the list of important things to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics, we have to now touch on the judging system.

Judging

Now we’ve spoken about a few different things that make up Breaking but how, exactly will it be judged?

At time of writing, the judges will be using the WDSF judging system which is loosely based on a system called Trivium. This system is centred around these values:

• Fairness
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Transparency and
• Statistics

Using this system, judges can gauge, in the moment, how one competitor is faring against the other. Using a simple ‘Body’, ‘Soul’ and ‘Mind’ method, here is a more in-depth look at what they’re comparing:

Body – What and Where?

The Physical Quality

• Technique: Athleticism, Body Control, Dynamics, Spatial Control
• Variety: Vocabulary, Variation

Mind – How and Who?

The Artisitc Quality

• Creativity: Progression from the Foundation, Response, Improvisation
• Personality: Stage Presence, Character

Soul – Why and When?

The Interpretive Quality

• Performance: Composition, Impact, Authenticity
• Musicality: Coherence, Texture, Rhythm

In each of these qualities, the former (e.g. Performance) carries up to 20% weighting, while the latter (e.g. Musicality) carries a weighting of up to 13.3’%.

Form, execution, spontanaeity and other organic factors are also considered. As you can see, the judging criteria is extensive! Below is a video which explicitly explains the judging system including examples. We hope you’ll enjoy it!

As we draw towards the end of our list of things to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics, we have to give a shout out to..

B-Girls

At the time of reading this, it may seem obvious but there will be many viewers who know nothing of the flourishing global B-Girl (or female Breakdancer) scene.

Having 16 B-Girls travel to Paris to compete for their countries, crews and, of course, personal recognition, is likely to send positive shockwaves around the globe. B-Girls have ALWAYS been present and prominent in HipHop culture and this Summer the world gets to find out quite how much!

Believe it or not, some folks are still completely unaware that girls Break too. At the forthcoming games, Elmamouny, Anti, Syssy, Logistx and the rest of the competitors have the opportunity to become household names. They may also, in turn, inspire a new generation of female-presenting artists to connect with this amazing Dance Sport. While we’re on the subject…

Is Breaking a ‘Sport’ or an ‘Art’?

This is a question that a lot of people ask: Isn’t Breaking an artistic dance form? If so, then how is it in the Olympics as a sport?

I don’t think we need to draw such a distinction between these two things.

Yes, it’s a dance as it has artistic aspects, but it can also be deemed a sport because it is a scored, physical pursuit. One has to train super hard and you’re definitely an athlete if you can compete in this discipline at a very high level.

It has been mentioned that this event is unlike anything that we’ve ever had at the Olympics before and that it shouldn’t be part of the games. However, if you look at synchronised swimming, figure skating in the winter olympics and pretty much everything in the gymnastics floor section of the games, it’s all pretty much choreographed,
physical, high-powered artistic movement.

So, in essence, for decades we’ve had dance or artistic sport* at the Olympics and this Summer one more will be added to the program.

*Dressage, Anyone?!

A question that may have sprung to mind before watching Breaking at the Olympics is…

Why is Breaking coming to the Olympics now?

Some ask, “Why is Breaking coming to the Olympics now? Isn’t it, like, 40 years too late?”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Breaking has been seen at the Olympics. You’d have to go all the way back to 1984 for that.

More recently, however, Breaking was trialed as an event at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in Argentina.
at the youth olympics
There the B-Boy competition was won by Bumblebee from Russia and the B-Girl competition was won by Ram from Japan so the judging system and the organisation is already in place.

This is an amazing time to have Breaking feature at the major games and really draw attentionto this beautiful art and sports form so, yes, it’s time to get excited!

Finally, the question many of us will want answered before watching Breaking at the Olympics..

Who’s going to win?

Of course, this is impossible to say, but here are some interesting considerations:

• B-Boy Shigekix from Japan took bronze in the Youth Olympics (pictured above) and has qualified as Asian champion recently for the Paris games
• Hong Ten (South Korea) and Menno (The Netherlands) have both qualified and for Paris and they are the most crowned B-Boy champions at Red Bull BC One. This is possibly the highest current accolade in solo Breaking and they hold 4 & 3 titles, respectively. They KNOW how to win when the lights shine brightest
• B-Boy Lee (The Netherlands) took gold at both of the final 2 Olympic qualifiers so will have real momentum going into the games
• Victor (USA) is possibly the most versatile B-Boy, whilst Phil Wizard (Canada) was the highest scoring B-Boy across Olympic qulaification for several consecutive months. And who can forget host country favourite, Dany Dann, whose musicality, power, control and charm are a deadly mix for any opposition

• Among the B-Girls, 17 year old Nicka from Lithuania has shown a maturity and consistency that will truly be daunting for any opposition
• 2 time Red Bull BC One winner, B-Girl Ami, took gold at the final qualifier and led a Japan 1-2-3 on the podium. Alongside compatriot, Ayumi, they will present stiff competition for all other challengers
• 671 (China) seems destined to make te highlight reels as her explosive, yet sometimes playful, style will draw a lot of new fans
• France’s very own Syssy and European champion, B-Girl India (The Netherlands), add two more major names to the list of real contenders. This will not be a joke!

What’s certain is that we’re goign to learn new names, find new favourites and have our lives changed by this amazing cohort of athletes.

In conclusion

We hope you have found this guide of 10 things to know before watching Breaking at the Olympics useful. This was a little introduction to Breaking and what we might be able to expect at the Summer games and we hope you’re as excited as we are!

If you’ve enjoyed, please comment below anything that you think is important to share with others and let us know your favorite B-Boys and B-Girls.