The story of breaking began in the Bronx and is now celebrating its Olympic debut
Londoner “B-Boy London” Reyes explains the origins of breaking in the Bronx and why he had his sights set on the Olympics from the start.
PARIS — The Olympic Games have fundamentally changed everything. There is no other way to describe it.
And according to American Sunny “B-Girl Sunny” Choi, it may not be for the better.
“The breakdancing program for the Olympics has changed the way some people dance,” Sunny said after being eliminated from the 16-person round-robin tournament on Friday. “I came here with the thought that I wanted to stay true to myself, not compromise and then just give it my all on the dance floor.”
“For my breaker generation, it was about being unique, showing your personality and staying true to yourself. That was my goal in coming here.”
At some point, Sunny says, that no longer became the top priority for other dancers. With his debut at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, breakdancing naturally became all about winning. About impressing the judges. About putting the score above the art.
The dancers packed the rounds with moves, Sunny said. Whoever moved most aggressively for the longest time – they are called power moves – usually won the judges’ favor.
“There’s a lot of filler in there,” Sunny said. “There’s a lot of basic movements in there.”
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Sunny said she has these kinds of moves under control. Maybe she’s just old-fashioned, she said. At 35, Sunny does what she wants and doesn’t listen to anyone.
“I just choose not to do them because I’m bored with them,” Sunny said. “I’ve already done them.”
“Because it is an art form, because it is a very creative dance – or sport – it is about finding yourself as a person, about that personal development, that growth and about standing up for yourself.”
Over the decades, breaking has gone through many changes. The younger generation always has new ideas, and the previous one usually stays true to the way it was created.
The breakers have been adjusting their routines in the lead-up to the Games, so this was no surprise, Sunny said. It has evolved in this direction over the years at international tournaments, she said, and it is a natural progression when judging high-profile events – not to mention the Olympics. She added that she has not shied away from doing the same at certain points during her career.
“I feel like it’s just about having fun now,” Sunny said.
Sunny said Olympians from other sports were excited to meet the B-Boys and B-Girls in the Athletes’ Village, but she had previously been apprehensive because she feared they would not see her as an equal.
“It’s about the community first and foremost,” Sunny said of breakdancing, “and I think the sport secondarily.”
Snoop Dogg: “Different” on the Olympic stage; “great” atmosphere
The party at Place la Concorde began with Snoop Dogg performing the pre-match routine of all Games, “Les trois coups, s’il vous plait”, which literally means “The three hits, please” (a tribute to French theatrical culture).
However, when it started to rain lightly, Snoop jumped. But he took a selfie with all 16 B-Girls before the action.
The participants agreed that the competitions were largely similar to the Olympic qualification series of recent years.
“Of course we know it’s the Olympics and it’s different,” said B-Girl India from the Netherlands, who finished fourth. “But I tried to keep it as normal as possible.”
Australian B-girl Raygun said the stage at the Olympics wasn’t much different for World DanceSport Federation (the international governing body that oversees breaking competitions) events. At other events, there might be more space and time for breakers to “jam” and “cypher” along the way. But athletes felt a little more pressure and intensity given the higher stakes, she said.
The atmosphere was “actually not bad,” said American B-girl Logistx. The Olympic competition reminded her of the Red Bull BC One competition in New York, which she competed in. She thought the crowd wouldn’t listen to her since she was competing against B-girl Syssy, who represented France. But Logistx saw a lot of US support in the stands and had a connection with the fans; still, she wished there was more energy in the crowd overall.
Logistx said she was not privy to the behind-the-scenes talks, but there have been drastic improvements compared to the qualifying series. “I love and appreciate the work everyone has done and the compromise that has been reached,” she said.
B-girl Kate from Ukraine said she wanted to represent her country and be part of the historic event. “Now I’m here and the stage is great, the people are great… everything feels good,” she said.
A more athletic approach is required for Olympic competition, Kate said. “The endurance has to be much better than in regular competitions,” said Kate, wife of US B-Boy Victor Montalvo. “Just a more athletic approach – more movements.”
For Sunny, the competition felt like any other major international event. “I’m not saying it wasn’t epic,” she said. “But I got up there and just felt comfortable and it was very familiar.”
The assessment will always be a question mark when breaking
Nine judges determined the results, choosing a winner for each round based on five criteria: technique, originality, execution, musicality and vocabulary (the variety of movements, styles and transitions).
Scoring is always subjective, Logistx said. She thought she outpointed Nicka, the silver medalist from Lithuania, in the first round of their fight. She said she would have to watch the fight again to see if she agreed with the judges.
“When I saw the voices, I thought, ‘What the hell?'” she said.
Sunny declined to comment on the judges’ performances, saying she was not that familiar with them. “I don’t know the judges, so I’m not sure,” Sunny said.
Improved music options helped B-girls show off
One improvement that was generally noticed by the contestants was the music. During the qualifying round, the B-Girls had difficulty finding the rhythm. Due to the musical restrictions imposed on the DJs, the beats felt foreign to them while dancing.
That changed in Paris.
“Now that we haven’t had any music restrictions, I’m really happy about it,” Logistx said. “It’s been a chaotic process, a rollercoaster, ups and downs, but I’m just so happy with what everyone fought for on this journey because I felt like the culture made it.”
B-girl Kate loves hip-hop and was happy that the Olympics featured more music that she actually knew. Sunny said she didn’t necessarily like all of the songs that were played to her, but having classics and real hip-hop allowed into the competition made a big difference and helped the dancers showcase their skills better.
“It was better than some of the (other) events,” she said.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on social media @BOOMbaca
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