Dance lovers are excited after Breakdancing made it to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Breakdancing is one of the newly approved Games of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, as a competitive medalist discipline. The information was revealed on December 7, 2020 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President -Thomas Bach.
Breakdancing to be called ‘breaking’ at the Olympics, evolved in the 1970s by hip-hop pioneers in the United States. It was proposed by Paris organizers almost two years ago after positive trials at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. Breaking passed further stages of approval in 2019 from separate decisions by the IOC board and full membership.
Breakdancing is one of the four disciplines added to the 28 Olympic summer sports. “There is going to be a breath of fresh air behind these new sports,” Paris-2024 Sports Director Jean-Philippe Gatien said during a press briefing. He hopes for great success for breakdance, or breaking.
To Bboy Lyricx, a dance instructor, “breaking being part of the Olympics is a great news to the Hip Hop culture and every Breaker’s dream to compete on a world class stage such as the Olympics.”
Characterized by its jerky body movements, its acrobatic styles and its figures on the ground, breakdance also called breaking, or b-boying is a style of dance that was first developed in New York City, USA in the 1970s.
The practice of this dance has spread throughout the world. And amateurs or professionals of breakdance or as they are popularly referred to, the ‘B-Boys’ compete through cities both in the USA and in Africa in competitions, Battles, where they express their talents.