Breaking: everything you need to know about this sport

In Paris, it will be the first time in history that breakdancing (or breaking) will be present on the program of the Olympic Games. It appears as an additional sport along with surfing, skateboarding and climbing. It is also the first time that a sport dance discipline has joined the program. The organizers recognize the success that the discipline experienced during the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, Los Angeles has already indicated that breaking will not be on the program for the 2028 Olympics.

The discipline, culturally associated with hip-hop, was born in the 1970s in the United States, more precisely in the Bronx district of New York. There are individual and team competitions, but at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the individual format was chosen. There will be two events, one for men and one for women, with 16 men on one side, 16 women on the other.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will award the first Olympic gold medals in the history of the discipline. There are therefore no reigning medalists yet.

There are two tournaments of global significance, the Red Bull BC One ('unofficial' world championships) and the world championships (official, initiated by the World Dancesport Federation).

Among the best b-boys, let us mention the American Victor Montalvo (Victor, world champion in 2021 and 2023, winner of Red Bull BC One in 2015 and 2022), the Canadian Philip Kim (Phil Wizard, world champion in 2022, finalist of Red Bull BC One in 2021 and 2023), the Japanese Kim Hong-Ul (Hong 10, winner of Red Bull BC One in 2006, 2013 and 2023) or the Dutchman Menno van Gorp (Menno, world champion in 2019, winner of Red Bull BC One in 2014 and 2017). The Japanese Shigeyuki Nakarai (Shigekix, winner of Red Bull BC One in 2020) is always one of the favorites for each men's tournament.

On the b-girls side, we will have to count on the Lithuanian Dominika Banevic (Nicka, world champion in 2023), the Japanese Ami Yuasa (Ami, world champion in 2019 and 2022, victorious in Red Bull BC One in 2018 and 2023) and the Dutch Dewi Sardjoe (India, European champion in 2022 and victorious Red Bull BC One in 2022). The Chinese Liu Qingyi (671) and the Belgian Maxime Blieck (MadMax) are other stars of women's breaking.

Among the French, Danis Civil (Bboy Dany) was the first to qualify for the Games by winning the gold medal at the 2023 European Games.

Two breakers face off in a duel. One performs, then his opponent responds. Five judges score them on six criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performance and musicality.

The athletes perform figures and steps, standing or on the ground, while adapting and improvising to the sound of the DJ.

B-girl, B-boy: Names given to breakdancers, or breakers.

Battle: name given to the duel between two breakers or two teams of breakers.

Crew: team to which a breaker belongs.

Cypher: circle formed by breakers, within which one of them occurs.

Top Rock: moment in the performance where the breaker dances on his feet.

Go Down: moment in the performance when the breaker goes to the ground to perform other tricks.

Footwork: footwork in French, it's the style, the DNA of a breaker.

Powermoves: Acrobatic tricks that require endurance, strength and flexibility. B-girls and B-boys usually rotate their entire body. We can cite for example domes or six-steps.

Freeze: movement which consists of remaining in balance and freezing for a few seconds, in a rather unstable position.

The breakdance tournament at the Paris Olympics will take place at Place de la Concorde, in the heart of Paris, on Friday August 9 and Saturday August 10, 2024.

The final list of participants will be closed on July 8, 2024.