Fans have been left ‘conflicted’ and ‘underwhelmed’ at the new sport for 2024 The Olympics in Paris with the introduction of Breaking.
This is the first dance sport discipline to appear in the history of the Summer Olympics and will take place at the Place de la Concorde from August 9 to August 10.
Not everyone is happy about breakdancing at the Olympics, and it has sparked much controversy and debate ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony.
Why is there so much talk about Breaking, what is it and what are the pros and cons of brining dancesport for the Olympics? Read on to find out…
What exactly is Breaking?
Breaking is a new Olympic sport for 2024. This competition has two medal events based on gender – one for 16 men and one for 16 women – and athletes known as ‘B-Boys’ and ‘B-Girls’, who will compete against each other in a battle alone.
The tie breaker with the most points and rounds scored by the judge against their opponent in a solo battle will advance to the next round.
Where did Breaking come from?
Breaking is an urban improvisational dance technique, usually performed to hip-hop music with drum breaks.
It includes four types of moves: top-rock, down-rock, power moves and freezes.
The roots of Breaking lie in the emergence of hip-hop culture in the United States.
Why are fans ‘conflicted’ and ‘underwhelmed’ about Breaking?
Some Olympic fans are ‘conflicted’ over whether Breaking should be classified as a sport in the first place.
Others have highlighted judging scandals that have plagued other events such as Gymnastics and Figure Skating in the past and are worried it could happen again.
One Olympic fan said he was uncomfortable watching the early Breaking events ahead of the Olympics, because the B-Boy or B-Girl he thought was supposed to win wasn’t.
Another Olympics fan added on Reddit: ‘I’m trying to watch. It’s not interesting and the judging criteria are all dead and subjective, I read the rule book and no thanks.’
Concerns from the hip-hop community in Paris
Mathi, a 16-year-old breakdancer based in Paris, told Condé Nast Traveler: ‘(It’s) good and bad at the same time. If we can’t do it the ‘right’ way, we’ll look bad.’
Anne Nguyen, dancer, choreographer and founder of Paris-based dance company Par Terre, added: ‘(B-Boys and B-Girls) will be strategic, planning everything from A to Z, to get high scores.
‘Less improvisation, fewer complicated figures, less risk-taking. It means less freedom.’
Bruce Ykanji, founder of Juste Debout, one of the biggest annual street dance events in the world, said: ‘Hip-hop, regardless of style, cannot be considered a sport because that means every physical art form should be called a sport. . The elites are doing this because they don’t respect our culture as it is now.’
Why did the Olympics introduce Breaking for Paris 2024?
Professor Claire Warden from Loughborough University, an expert in performance and physical culture, said: “I describe Breaking as both sport and performance art.
‘It is extremely athletic but also performative because it is artistic. There will always be events in the Olympics that look at who can run the fastest, who can swim the fastest, and so on, but I don’t think we should limit the sport to this type of event.
‘There are already sports in the Olympics at the intersection of sports and performing arts in the same way, so synchronized swimming would be an example, and rhythmic gymnastics. What we are going to see are the best breakers in the world. So, that sense of competition is still there.
‘The Olympics never stay the same. Time and time and time again, it has changed and changed, moving with the times and responding to culture to attract new audiences. I just see the addition of breaking as a furtherance of that narrative.
‘Yes, there are other sporting arts to choose from here, of course, but I think the Olympic committee has decided to take a break because it is so dynamic. It attracts a lot of people who probably wouldn’t be attracted to the Olympics by other things, and it’s a sport-art that’s popular around the world, so it appeals to a global audience.’
MORE: People take kit to take part in naked Olympics
MORE: Is Snoop Dogg set to become unlikely star at Paris 2024 Olympics?
MORE : Ben Proud’s GB swimming team aim to be third time lucky at the Paris Olympics
