Breaking Makes Its Debut In The Olympics 2024: Here’s What We Know
It looks like dancing is becoming part of the Olympics known as the Breaking Category in Paris 2024!
We’ve always said that dancing is a good form of exercise and some even get competitive with dance tournaments! But it looks like dancers are now being elevated to the bigger stage with the new Breaking category for the Paris Olympics 2024. By combining athletic skills and rhythm, dancing has now become more of a sport that emphasizes superhuman levels of agility, rhythm, and flexibility.
And for the many moms and dads with kids who love to dance, here’s what we know so far:
1. Breaking is a solo-flight competition
Our kids usually don’t dance on stage alone; they usually dance with a troupe or a group to do coordinated stunts to wow the judges.
However, Breaking — based on the Olympics’ official YouTube channel — is a “one-on-one” battle wherein dancers will be pitted against others in a Round Robin set-up. Competitors will be dancing alone and combining not just dance movements but gymnastic stunts as well. Similar to Gymnastic’s floor exercises, Breaking emphasizes more on rhythm and musicality.
2. 9 judges, 5 criteria
So, how does Breaking work as a competition? The Olympics revealed that 9 judges will oversee the competition to judge the execution of the routines. They’ll judge the routine on five criteria: Technique, Vocabulary, Execution, Musicality, and Originality. However, unlike the usual dancing routines, breaking will require more stunts and a mix of Top Rocking (how dancers usually start their routine) and Down Rocking (the floor stunts we usually see).
3. Two divisions: B-boys and B-girls
Breaking (also known as Breakdancing) has a culture and the Olympics follows its naming: B-Boys (the men’s division) and B-Girls (the women’s division). As of now, there are no mixed matches.
B-boys and B-girls describe the dancers who live the Hiphop Culture, improving their dance vocabulary daily to participate in Breaking Throwdowns — or what many laypeople commonly call “dance-offs.”
4. Its first debut was in 2018 at the Buenos Aires Olympics
While Breaking made its debut in 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it only officially made the line-up on December 7, 2021. According to the Olympics’ officials, they wanted to add a sport that would “appeal to younger audiences.” During the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, it proved true and amassed over 1 million views.
5. Some Filipinos are competing in the Breaking category.
While the Philippines may have no official roster for the Breaking category, Filipinos are making waves. Team USA’s Logan Edra is one of them, born in Chula, California to Filipino immigrants. She was considered a prodigy at 7 years old, joining other Pinoys who created their own Breaking scene.
16-year-old Jeff Dunne is also Filipino, born in the Philippines in 2007. He was then adopted by an Australian family and took up Breaking after watching his sister’s classes. He also goes by another name when he dances — J-Attack.
Breaking as an Olympic category has certainly raised a few eyebrows
Breaking had become such a controversial category in the 2024 Olympics that the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics elected not to make it part of the line-up. Some raised concerns that making “performative value” and “arts” a major grade would “destroy” or “make a mockery” out of the Olympics — which many always see as a test of physical skill.
Others feel that it would destroy the culture that Breaking stands for in favor of mass appeal. Breakdancing has been the language and battle for the streets, often deciding territories for groups without the need for weaponry. It was also something that brought everyone together and celebrated creativity, not about who was better.
But for the kids who dance, there’s always that dream to dance on the global stage. To express in ways that words cannot, to surrender themselves to the music — and for parents whose kids dance, they’ll all tell you the same thing, “dancing is one of those moments where they see their kids happiest.” And hopefully, the Olympics will find a way to make sure that Breaking remains a category to be the global stage that kids dream of.
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