When break dancing begins at the Olympics
Aug 1, 2024, 11:24 AM | Updated: Aug 2, 2024, 6:12 am
Well you have not missed a thing, break dancing, or breaking, is about to make its long-awaited Olympic debut in Paris. Dance fans are about to watch an entirely new event take the stage for the first time: The competitive dance-off known as breaking. Breaking is on the 2024 Paris Olympic schedule on Friday, Aug. 9, for women and Saturday, Aug.10. for men.
Breaking is more commonly know as breakdancing, is the only brand new event in the year’s lineup. This competitive dance form got it’s stat in New York in the 1970s. It’s an urban sport the takes inspiration from a multitude of cultures and dance styles, from Latin dancing to Kung Fu. Participants use complex footwork and acrobatics to perform flips and tricks like spinning on their heads.
Athletes, called breakers, compete by challenging another breaker to 1 vs 1 dance-offs, taking alternating turns, called throw downs to perform. Each breaker will have a set number of rounds to compete in, with most competitions set up with two or three throw downs per dance until the finals, which will have three to five. Each throw down lasts about 60 seconds, although there isn’t a penalty if a routine is too long or short. Once both breakers perform during their throw down, the round is over.
A panel of at least three judges scores a breaking match, called a battle, on six criteria; Creativity, personality, technique, variety, performance and musicality.
