The athletic, gravity-defying art form you might know as breakdancing is making its debut in Paris as the newest Olympic sport. Its route to the world’s biggest stage began in the streets of New York, and runs right through the Bay Area. Here’s what to know about the dance, the sport, and the West Coast hip hop scene that made it what it is today.
You might know it as breakdancing, but to those in the know, it’s simply called “breaking” — and it’s about to be on the world’s stage in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Beginners learn how to break
Breaking as a sport: How does judging work in competition?
The basic elements of breaking
Local
The battle mindset
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A battle back then in the 80s - if I was to battle you and I knew you? I'd come to your house, knock on your door and ask your mom if you can come out...and we danced until someone stopped. There was no time limit. There were no judges.
Buddha Stretch, Hip-Hop Historian and Brooklyn native
Breaking began in New York, but it also has deep roots in the Bay Area. It began with the birth of hip hop, the worldwide movement that just celebrated its 50th birthday. It’s a movement with five foundational elements: MCing, DJing, B-Boying, Graffiti and the Knowledge of how they’re all connected.
What is a cypher?
Sometimes, you'll have an argument in a cypher - and that's what will spark a battle.
B-Boy Wicket, Team USA Breakers Advisor and Hip Hop Lecturer at Texas State University
Breakdancers are known as b-boys and b-girls in hip hop parlance, and since the early 80s, they’ve practiced and refined their art in our Bay Area neighborhoods, from garages to high school gyms, showing off their skills in community centers, malls and local talent shows. The power of the freestyle dance circle called a cypher, the finesse of footwork, and the very essence of what it means to be a b-boy or b-girl, have grown and changed over half a century, with the indelible marks of Bay Area culture forever imprinted on them.
Breaking as an art form
It's the freedom of expression, the creativity - just being able to sit in a room and move to whatever music I want to put on.
Team USA's La Vix, B-Girl from San Jose, CA
From the origins of breaking terminology to the music that drives it, and the intricacies of strategy in the heat of a dance battle, who better to be our guides than the very artists and athletes who’ve shaped this dynamic dance into the phenomenon it is today?
Origin Stories: Extended Interview
When I think of breaking, I think of family. I think of excitement, explosiveness, competitiveness.
Aki Starr, Founder of San Francisco's Renegade Rockers
As we move forward toward Paris, we’re talking to Bay Area breaking legends and rising superstars who understand this new Olympic sport in a way that few others can — and know how the threads of Bay Area culture are woven tightly through it. Stay tuned for more videos as we count down to the opening ceremony!
