What is breaking? A guide to the new Olympic sport
(and Macquarie University lecturer) Rachael Gunn
On August 9 and 10, I will join men and women from around the world as we compete in a series of solo battles.
These battles are part of the latest sport to feature in the Olympic Games – breaking (or "break dancing" as you might know it).
I will be representing Australia in the women's ("bgirl") event, and "J-Attack" (Jeff Dunne) will be representing Australia in the men's ("bboy") event. We are Australia's first Olympic breaking athletes.
Who are the medal contenders?
It's likely that in the women's event, there will be at least one Japanese bgirl on the podium, and on the men's podium there will be at least one North American bboy (Phil Wizard from Canada or Victor from the United States).
Other nations to look out for are France, the Netherlands and China.
We are certainly underdogs going into this event.
Many of you probably haven’t watched the sport before – so, where did breaking come from?
Why has breaking been included?
Breaking's Olympic inclusion is due to a broader shift by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include more youth-oriented urban sports, such as skateboarding and BMX.
With no global breaking sporting association in place, World DanceSport Federation became the sport's governing body at the Olympics. The Olympics is considered by some breakers as merely the next step in breaking's ongoing sportification.
Breaking made a successful debut at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, and given the popularity of breaking in France, it is unsurprising it became part of the program for Paris.
How is breaking judged?
A new judging system has been created for the Olympics which is more transparent for competitors and audiences.
Breaking is judged using a comparative system – that is, one dancer is directly compared against their opponent.
At the Olympics, the judges are looking at five criteria, with each accounting for 20% of the score:
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Once a judge has finalised their decision, their overall vote will be displayed on screen along with the other eight judges and the dancer with the most votes wins that round.
All this is done within seconds – there are no breaks between rounds.
The openness of this judging system means judges are not looking for specific moves and dancers must display variety and spontaneity. As such, audiences can expect to see a range of approaches, specialisations, and new moves at the Olympics.
How will the event run in Paris?
The breaking event will be a series of "battles" (or matches), which features 2-3 rounds per dancer.
Rather than prepare a set routine to a piece of music, dancers do not know what will be played, and must perform to music mixed live by a DJ (such as DJ Fleg or Nobunaga).
The ability to show musicality and to freestyle are key elements the judges are looking for.
Each dancer takes turns performing to the DJ's music. Once both dancers have performed it is called a "round", which is immediately assessed by nine judges.
In the next round the DJ changes the track and the dancers go out again in the same order, and the dancer who has won the most rounds wins that battle.
If it is during the round robin group stage and there is a tie, the dancer who has won the most votes overall wins the battle.
In Paris, the event will begin with a pre-qualifier with b-girl India from the Netherlands battling b-girl Talash from Afghanistan, who is part of the refugee Olympic team.
From there, it will proceed to a round robin group stage, where each dancer battles everyone in their group (two rounds in each battle).
The top two dancers from each group of four will advance to the knockout stage.
The knockout stage will feature three rounds each for every battle, which means at the end of the day, those on the podium will have done 15 rounds, or potentially 18 rounds if it is someone who did the pre-qualifier.
What are the kinds of moves to look out for?
Breaking requires anaerobic fitness, strength and power, as well as a mastery of the different types of movements of breaking.
Toprock
Footwork
Power moves
Freezes
Toprock is the standing component of the dance, usually performed at the start of a round and is a key way breakers show their musicality and personality
Footwork are movements that stem from (though not limited to) a squat and table top position
Power moves are the more acrobatic moves such as a headspin or windmill
Freezes are a pose held, typically in a difficult position (such as on one hand).
Depending on the breaker, they prepare and approach battles in different ways.
On one end of this spectrum are the breakers who may completely freestyle the whole round, relying on their improvisational skills where their habitual moves and sequences are performed but with minimal planning.
On the other end are the breakers who may prepare a completed set, with choreographed moves from start to finish that they adjust to the music they're hearing for the first time.
In the middle, where most breakers usually sit, is the preparation of sequences of moves or "combos" to perform – a breaker has this in mind as they start the battle, or after they've seen their opponent's round, and they freestyle between these combos.
What are the pathways to elite breaking?
Australia has not benefited from the same level of investment (in areas such as sponsorship and high performance expertise) in breaking as some of the other nations.
For example, my strength and conditioning program only started in February this year, while other countries have had strength and conditioning, coaching, sports psychology, physiotherapy, travel expenses and living expenses covered for years.
In Australia, we are in the process of building the pathways to elite breaking.
With seven out of the eight top breakers at the Oceania Breaking Championships from NSW, the first step would be to get rid of the ban against breaking in NSW schools. As the only state with a ban in place, the ban was introduced in 1999 due to "the assessed level of risk involved".
Due to the number of independent competitions, there is no singular pathway to elite breaking.
Young breakers might begin with entering local junior competitions, such as the AusBreaking under-15s, then competing in overseas junior events, such as Outbreak, IBE, and World Kidz Breaking Champion.
Often these will have different brackets such as under-13s and under-16s.
In saying this, all competitions are open to kids, and kids are often encouraged to enter adult events to gain more battling experience.
While competitions are becoming increasingly important, there are other cultural practices that are just as important.
"Cyphers" (circles) and jam sessions allow for breakers to connect with one another and exchange ideas through dance.
The creativity of breaking, the opportunities for innovation and individual expression, attracts a wide variety of people. This includes those not into "traditional" sports, but also those excluded from sporting institutions due to economic and socio-cultural constraints.
While breaking is in the Olympics, most breakers around the world will still be practising in public spaces – in train stations, outside courthouses and museums.
It is the global community of breaking – the "peace, love, unity and having fun" ethos of hip hop culture – that must be remembered as the world sees breaking in the Olympics.
