The Olympics are constantly expanding to include new sports rising in popularity. Recently, that has meant opening up the program to urban sports. At Tokyo 2020, we saw the introduction of sport climbing, skateboarding and BMX freestyle. Now at Paris 2024, breaking is about the become the latest sport on the program.
Breaking is essentially a slang term for breakdancing – the kind you’ve likely seen in Step Up – but don’t make the mistake of calling it that. “Breaking itself is a slang term, it was just one of a few names for the dance in the early days,” says Rachael Gunn (AKA Raygun), Australia’s representative in breaking at the 2024 Olympics. “But then it exploded in the media in the early ‘80s and the media came up with the term ‘breakdancing’. It’s not actually a term that’s ever really been used in the community or culture.”
Originating on the streets of New York City in the 1970s, alongside the birth of hip-hop, breaking has grown to become a globally practised sport, although its competitors – who are known as B-Boys and B-Girls – will tell you it’s as much of an art form as a sport.
So, with breaking about to fill your social media feed this weekend, it’s about time you got up to speed on the ins and outs of the sport. Don’t worry, we’ve tapped B-Girls Rachael Gunn (Raygun) and Magdalena Vásquez (Mags) to assist.
How does breaking work?
At its core, breaking is about expressing yourself through dance, so how does it become a competition? “The traditional essence of breaking is maintained through direct battles,” says Vásquez, who won the 2022 Red Bull BC One competition. “In the early days, battles were more street-oriented and almost driven by honour. Nowadays, there are judging panels.”
At the Olympics, 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will face off in one-on-one battles, which are divided into three rounds called throwdowns. In each throwdown, a breaker has 60 seconds to complete their routine, before their opponent responds with their own routine. At the end of the battle, judges award qualitative scores and a winner is declared.
What’s the most important breaking terminology?
INSTAGRAM | @_breakingforgold
B-boy/B-girl: A break boy or break girl; a breakdancer. ’Breaker’ is an acceptable alternative, as is ‘athlete,’ although the latter especially should be used sparingly.
Crew: A team of Breakers. There can be any number of Breakers in a crew, from two to 60 or more.
Cypher: A circle that breakers form and dance in. Breakers take turns dancing to the music and can also battle each other.
Downrock: Downrock (also known as footwork or floorwork) is used to describe any movement on the floor with the hands supporting the dancer as much as the feet.
Freezes: A freeze is a pose in which the dancer stops moving completely in the middle of a set. The freeze provides the perfect opposite to the Breakers moving action.
Toprock: With toprock, all moves are performed standing up. When toprocking, athletes are preparing to go down to the floor. Most Breaking solos start with toprock. The attitude of the athletes during this phase of a Breaking set is to be presented with intention. The most frequently used steps in toprock are the Indian or Outlaw Two-Step and the Crossover Step.
Powermove: Power moves are a complex set of movements in which the play with gravity is enhanced through centrifugal force – it is the velocity and the dynamic appearance of a power move that gave rise to this descriptive term. They are therefore considered the most dynamic element of Breaking. All power moves have a spinning motion. With a pure power move, the athlete’s feet seldom touch the ground. Some of the most frequent power moves are derived from air flares, windmills, and floats, each of which represents a family of moves.
Set: A set is a Breaker’s prepared round or combination of moves. A set can be a whole round or a combination of moves, but most Breakers do some form of set – long or short – especially at major competitions where winning the title can take up to 15 rounds.
Throw down: When a b-boy or b-girl hits the floor and starts breaking, they are doing a throw down.
What’s the breaking scene like in Australia?
Image courtesy of Red Bull
Breaking has grown into a global phenomenon that we expect will receive a major popularity boost after the Olympics. Despite this, it hasn’t quite reached the mainstream yet in Australia, according to Vásquez. “The breaking scene is Australia is still relatively small. Generally there aren’t many events and we still have a very foundational HipHop culture so it’s harder to foster a broader and more diverse community in terms of style,” Vásquez, who is originally from Chile but is based on the Gold Coast, explains.
“On a micro level, each city still has its own niche and crews, where people can develop and find their community. I’m a member of Team Cream, one of the prestigious crews in Australia known for nurturing one of the strongest new generations of B-boys and B-girls,” Vásquez continues. Jeff Dunne – or J-Attack – another member of Team Cream, is competing in Paris at the Olympics.
The diverse and supportive community that Vásquez speaks of is a big reason why breaking is growing in popularity, and it’s something that helped Rachael Gunn overcome some initial barriers to entry. “I had been dancing on and off my whole life in a studio in a class of 30 all learning the same choreography. Whereas in breaking, you’re all doing different things and training on your own,” Gunn says. “[My husband would] try to teach me something and I’d be so intimidated and overwhelmed that I’d go to the bathroom and cry. He would be like, ‘Come on, no one cares what you look like’. It wasn’t until I was 24 that I started going, ‘I’m going to train in breaking seriously’.”
While it is a highly competitive sport, breaking isn’t just about winning or losing, says Gunn. “It just feels so nice to just express myself and find that freedom in the movement and to let my body go in unexpected ways. I love the mastery of breaking – just constantly learning, constantly improving, constantly finding new connections and new possibilities. When it works there’s a sense of freedom for me.”
The breaking scene also comes with its own distinct styles, particularly in clothing. “I dress very differently to how I once did,” Gunn says. “I remember the first time I wore a high-necked T-shirt to training – until then all the T-shirts I wore were low-necked, and I felt weird and like I was going to school camp. But it’s so much more practical for breaking. Now all I wear is T-shirts. I could never wear a low cut, it’s just totally not my style anymore.”
How can you train to be a breaker?
Like any other sport, breaking requires an intensive training routine to ensure breakers are at the top of their games and able to pull off moves that any regular person wouldn’t dream of attempting. “It demands consistency, creativity, strength, power, agility and more. It’s also crucial to understand the fundamentals of the discipline,” Vásquez says.
Following the inclusion of breaking on the Olympic program, breakers are being called ‘athletes’ for the first time, according to Vásquez. We personally think that’s long overdue. Breakers train like any other athlete and apply as much dedication to their craft as a runner, swimmer or cyclist would. Mostly, the training involves repeatedly practicing different moves over and over, to the point of mastery, but it’s not all physical.
“My path has been more about art, personal creation, and a lot of personal research, including travelling around the world and doing workshops with internationally renowned dancers,” says Vásquez, who is proof of the artistry, as well as physicality, that goes into breaking.
When can I watch breaking at the Olympics?
View this post on Instagram
Olympic organisers are making us wait right until the end of the Games for breaking, and that isn’t lost on competitors. “The breaking is right at the end of the Olympics schedule on August 9th, so my biggest challenge is how to not eat croissants every day in the lead-up,” Gunn says.
Find the full breaking schedule, with dates and times relevant to AEST, below:
August 10th, 12:00am – B-Girls round robin
August 10th, 4:00am – B-Girls quarterfinals
August 10th, 4:47am – B-Girls semifinals
August 10th, 5:29am – B-Girls final
August 11th, 12:00am – B-Boys round robin
August 11th, 4:00am – B-Boys quarterfinals
August 11th, 4:47am – B-Boys semifinals
August 11th, 5:29am – B-Boys final
Are there other breaking tournaments?
Yes, breaking doesn’t just happen at the Olympics. There are breaking competitions and tournaments all over the world, the most prestigious of which is the Red Bull BC One. This year, Red Bull BC One is taking place in Australia throughout August, with events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane leading up to the final on August 25th at Sydney Metro.
Image courtesy of Red Bull
How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics?
Over the weekend, you may have come across some online discourse/viral memes about Australian B-Girl Rachael Gunn, otherwise known as Raygun. Raygun’s performance in the breaking events in Paris were not well received. In fact, her lacklustre display has become the talk of the Olympics. So, how did Raygun qualify in the first place?
Let us preface this by saying that Raygun was not just the only person who tried out and had no prior experience in breaking. She’s ranked 22nd in the world, so clearly she is capable of competing with the very best. That being said, Raygun likely wouldn’t have qualified without being the continental champion. The 36-year-old won the Oceanian breaking championships in late 2023, which booked her a place in Paris. While winning the Oceanian championships is no small feat, the competition has a significantly lower standard of quality than other continental qualifiers, meaning that whoever won it was always going to be ranked considerably lower than the other breakers in Paris.
Has Raygun said anything since the Olympics?
For the last few days, Raygun has been copping intense scrutiny online. So, how has she responded. Raygun is yet to make any official statements since finishing her event with zero points, besides a lone Instagram story with the caption “Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the bboys wear tomorrow.”
Raygun did speak to reporters shortly after completing her final battle though, providing some explanation for her routine. “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?”
