Breaking is prepared for its turn in the spotlight. The sport will make its Olympic debut in Paris in 2024. B-boys and B-girls are participating as breaking (not to be confused with breakdancing) makes its official Olympic debut, with the women's and men's competitions held on August 9 and 10 in La Concorde.
Breaking blends art and athleticism. Participants in the newest Olympic sport must be able to do gymnastic flips, spins, and balances while moving to music. Those judges are also putting the breaking athletes against each other rather than a leaderboard. Unlike other graded sports, breakers compete in one-on-one confrontations to determine who is better.
The music is the second aspect of breaking that sets it apart. Unlike other sports with musical accompaniment, such as gymnastics floor exercise or figure skating, where competitors have little control over the music, a DJ picks and plays the music, setting the tone for the conflict and prescribing the rhythms and tempo to which the breakers must dance.
What is ‘Breaking’ as an Olympic event?
Breaking, sometimes known as break dancing, though that name is now considered archaic, is a kind of street dance that originated in the United States in the 1970s, primarily among African American and Latino populations in New York. It is one of hip-hop's original four disciplines, along with DJing, graffiti, and MCing, and is distinguished by acrobatic techniques and sophisticated footwork done to funk, breakbeats, and hip-hop.
The name is derived from "break," or the percussive outstanding element of a song. When hip-hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc realized that people were getting wild on the dance floor during breaks, he worked out how to stretch such sections.
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Breaking will become an official event six years after a great performance in the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is not scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028, but a strong debut in Paris may help it return for the 2032 Games. Although some breakers are concerned that becoming an Olympic event may dilute the creative essence and tradition of street battles and block parties, others see it as a positive development that breaking will acquire more respect as a sport on a global scale.
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Format of Breaking
There is a round-robin stage where the 16 breakers are divided into four groups and dance for one minute each against everyone in their group. The two best players from each group advance to the knockout stage. Most major breaking events have two or three throwdowns every bout, escalating to five in the final.
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The primary aspects of breaking have quite straightforward titles: Toprock routines are performed while standing up, downrock moves are performed while on the floor, freezes are performed by striking and holding an often gravity-defying stance, and power moves involve acrobatic actions such as spinning.
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Participation and Judgment
There will be 16 men (B-boys) and 16 women (B girls) competing. A round-robin will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal rounds. A best-of-three, one-on-one match lasting around a minute is played in each combat. One breaker finishes their round, and their opponent immediately launches into their fight routine. This procedure is repeated for three throwdowns, with one breaker proclaimed the winner in each.
Six criteria are used by a panel of nine judges to determine the b-boys and b-girls' scores: musicianship, performativity, technique, personality, and inventiveness. Because each category has a 20% weight, it is just as vital to demonstrate some sophisticated power techniques as it is to listen to music and follow up with certain instruments or beats. This is when the creative aspect of the sport enters the picture; winning is about more than just being the strongest or fastest.
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When and where?
Breaking will take place over two days, with women participating on Friday, August 9, and men competing on Saturday, August 10. Battles will take place at the Parc Urbain, which is built around the Place de la Concorde. The center of Paris' urban sport and culture will offer 3×3 basketball, skateboarding, and BMX freestyle.
La Concorde, the headquarters of urban sports at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will have an unprecedented Olympic debut. With a DJ providing the soundtrack, athletes will compete in head-to-head dance contests. To impress the judges, competitors must modify and innovate their maneuvers as rhythms flood the air at the end of the Champs-Elysées.
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