Breaking, a relatively young but widely recognized dance style, has risen from the streets of New York to the world stage at the Olympics in just 60 years. It is evidence of the influence and power of the art form and culture that relies on both physical and creative abilities. Its journey from the streets to the global stage happened slowly, with major milestones hit along the way. Below, we’ll explore the timeline and key moments that led to breaking’s Olympic debut in 2024.
Photo by Tucker Good on Unsplash
Breaking’s Origins
The early days of breaking can be traced to the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Bronx, where it’s speculated the dance form was used to resolve disputes between gangs. However, for many, it was a form of self-expression and an outlet amid the urban decay that dominated the Bronx neighborhood. It was also an essential component of shaping hip-hop culture. The style was used by African Americans and Latinos in the neighborhood and emphasized high-energy, dynamic moves.
These early days were also linked to a musical revolution where a new DJing style began, using two records to create a strong, continuous beat that allowed dancers to showcase their skill as much as possible. The DJ style also delivered breaks in the rhythm, contributing to the improvisational style of the sport and leading to the dance style’s name. DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) pioneered this unique musical styling that has now become a globally used technique.
Breaking Moves into the Mainstream
By the 1980s, the dance style had made its way into popular culture when the likes of Michael Jackson applied breaking style elements to their stage presence. The most notable of these was the phenomenon of Jackson’s now iconic moonwalk, which still impresses today. Other music sensations picked up the dance style but gave it a “cleaned-up” or “more wholesome” look to make it more broadly appealing.
The cleaned-up styles brought iconic dance moves into the mainstream, including head-spinning, dance freezes, intricate footwork (called top rock), and complex floor moves (called down rock), which use both hands and feet.
Breaking Competition’s Begin
As breaking’s mainstream presence continued, with more people engaging in the style, breaking competitions were born. The first organized competition, the international Battle of the Year (BOTY), was held in 1990. In 2013, the World DanceSport Federation launched an international breaking competition. These major events require qualifying competitions, leading to many smaller-scale breaking events, allowing the sport’s presence to grow worldwide, so much so that it’s become a popular sport to bet on through the types of gambling platforms compared on casinos.com.
These early competitions, notably the World DanceSport Federation event, are credited with bringing the dance style to the attention of the International Olympic Committee, as they gave the dance form recognition as a sport requiring athletic capabilities and as more than a fad. This helped lay the foundation for when the sport would be officially added to the Olympic sports lineup.
Breaking Becomes an Official Olympic Sport
Breaking appeared in the Junior Olympics in 2018 at the Buenos Aires Games. The sport drew an audience of more than a million people, and two years later, the IOC announced that breaking would join the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.
The addition of this sport is part of the Olympic objective of appealing to younger demographics and recognizing new urban sports. In recent years, the Olympics have also brought other sports, like skateboarding, BMX freestyling, and surfing, to the games in the name of reaching new audiences.
At the Paris Games, the sport was scored based on each dancer’s technical abilities in performing a variety of moves (including top rock and bottom rock moves), creativity, personality, and musicality. They could also be penalized or disqualified for misbehavior, which could reduce scores from 3% to 10% and, if severe enough, have the competitor disqualified from the competition entirely.
The Olympics held two competitions for the dance, one for men and the other for women, with 16 breakers (also called b-boys and b-girls) performing in each. The first athletes to win the Olympic competition were from Canada, Japan, France, Lithuania, China, and the United States, giving these countries an addition of several medals for their total count and history-making records as having the first-ever Olympic medal-earning breakers.
Breaking’s Current State
Now that breaking has earned Olympic recognition, it has gained more attention as a serious sport, which has also led to criticism. Before breaking debuted at the Paris Games, there were concerns that it didn’t belong in the Olympics. However, many supporters of breaking pointed out that the Olympics have long responded to shifting interests to stay current and relevant, and they highlighted the athletic skill required to excel at the sport.
After the Olympics, there was significant debate about whether the Games successfully represented the culture of breaking. Many raised concerns over the appropriation of the sport, citing Lithuania’s b-girl Nicka’s wardrobe styling and Australia’s b-girl Raygun’s “interesting” performance. Fears of breaking being whitewashed and its history and origins being erased are prevalent—and well-founded.
The early efforts to “clean up” the style indicated a removal of the social and cultural significance of this core hip-hop element. Many who have studied its history highlight the importance of understanding who formed this dance style and its significance to marginalized groups. These experts point out that true breakers immerse themselves in the history and origins of breaking.
The future of the sport at the Olympics is still being determined, with it not being included in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games. However, the continuation of breaking in communities seems set to continue to be an important form of self-expression.
Conclusion
Breaking’s need for athletic skill and creativity, alongside its appeal to younger audiences, helped it earn a place at the Olympics. But even without Olympic status, breaking has been an influential activity from its humble beginnings. While it’s uncertain whether breaking will remain an official Olympic sport, it remains as influential and important today as it was in its earliest days.
