From street dance to Olympic sport, breaking dance will make its debut at the Summer Games in Paris.
The dance that emerged on the streets of the Bronx in the 1970s thanks to New York's African-American community will be making its way to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Breaking, also known as breakdancing by those outside the breaking community, is the only new sport to debut at the Summer Games in France. Here's everything you need to know about the sport.
What's breaking?
- Breaking is an urban, improvised dance technique, usually performed to hip-hop music and drum breaks.
- It consists of four types of movements: top-rock, down-rock, power movements and freezes.
- The roots of breaking are found in the emergence of hip-hop culture in the United States.
- The first international breaking competitions were held in the 1990s.
- Today, Red Bull BC One, which began in 2004, is the sport's most prestigious annual breaking championship.
- The World DanceSport Federation has been the official governing body for this sport since 2018.
- Breaking was introduced at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018.
Breaking terms you should know
- Automatic switch: A gender-neutral term for a breakdancer.
- B-boys and b-girls: Gendered words for breakers, short for break-boys and break-girls.
- B-boying and B-girling: Gendered words for the act of a breakdancer performing a break dance.
What will breaking competitions be like at the Olympic Games?
- Breaking will be split into two separate competitions, one for b-girls and one for b-boys.
- 16 b-girls and 16 b-boys will compete in solo competitions and improvise their moves based on the DJ's tracks.
- They will use power moves, “including windmills, the 6-step move and freezes,” according to the Olympic website.
What time are the Olympic break dancing competitions?
- The women's breaking competition will take place on 9 August from 16:00 Paris time (14:00 GMT) until the end of the day. The final round, the battle for the gold medal, will start at 21:23 Paris time (19:23 GMT).
- The men's breaking competition will take place on 10 August from 16:00 Paris time (14:00 GMT) until the end of the day. The final round, the battle for the gold medal, will start at 21:23 Paris time (19:23 GMT).
Where are the Olympic break dancing competitions?
The Olympic breaking competitions will be held at La Concorde in Paris, 5 kilometres from the Olympic and Paralympic Village.
⚽ Stay updated:
You can follow the action on Al Jazeera's dedicated Paris 2024 Olympics tournament page with all the news and features, as well as the build-up to the event and live text commentary on selected football, basketball, tennis and boxing matches.
