Breaking, also known as Breakdance, breaking, b-boying or b-girling, is a hip hop street dance performed by African-American and Latino youth in the South Bronx of New York City in the early 1970s. This dance is often performed to funk or hip hop music that has been remixed to lengthen the breaks. (according to wikipedia)
Breaking requires breakers to have a long training process, flexibility, muscle strength and great musical sense. The dance was then quickly responded to by hip hop enthusiasts and developed strongly, spreading to many countries.
By the 1990s, international breaking competitions were held, gradually bringing Breaking to the same level as other sports such as skateboarding or rock climbing.
In these competitions, breaking athletes, called B-boys and B-girls, participate in “one-on-one” dances, inspired by many different dance styles. The judges will score while the DJ selects the music.
Breakdancing was introduced at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018. After collaborating with the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the International Olympic Committee announced the addition of Breaking to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games schedule.
The introduction of new sports to the Olympic program is always controversial, and breakdancing is no exception, and there has been much controversy.
The Breaking competition will take place at Place de la Concorde over two days, with two categories for men and women. 16 female athletes will compete on the first day, August 9, and 16 male athletes will compete on August 10. All matches will be head-to-head.
The breakers will compete based on dances and acrobatics to the music of the DJ and the coordination of the MC.
The 16 athletes will be divided into 4 groups, each group competing for a place in the semi-finals and finals. The two with the best results will advance to the quarter-finals. Each match will have three rounds, with each round lasting approximately 60 seconds.
The judges will score the solo matches based on criteria such as: Creativity; personal style; technique; diversity; performance; musical ability.
After each match, the judges will give their own scores to find the winner.
There will be an element of surprise because the athletes will not know in advance which song will be played, which means they need to prepare practice exercises in advance as well as practice improvisation skills.
Currently, B-boy Victor Montalvo and B-girl Nicka, also known as Dominika Benevic, are highly regarded at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
