“There were significant organizational and governance deficiencies that could have been easily remedied but unfortunately negatively impacted breakdancing’s first point of contact with a new global audience,” breaking officials said.
From the Australian with the meme-worthy ‘kangaroo dance’ move to the silver medal-winning Lithuanian with a ‘durag’, the Olympic breaking debut had some moments that made viewers wonder if they had gotten the point. essence in this way until from the hip-hop sphere in the Olympics from Paris.
Rachael Gunn, or ‘Raygun’, a 36-year-old teacher from Sydney, Australia, quickly rose to fame on the internet, but not necessarily for her Olympic prowess. She was swept from the group stage without winning a single point, and her unconventional movements They fell on deaf ears by not matching the skill level of their rivals.
At one point, Gunn raised one leg while standing and leaned back with his arms bent toward his ears. At another point, lying on his side, he grabbed his toes, turned around and did it again in a move dubbed ‘the kangaroo‘.
Gunn has a PhD in cultural studies, and her LinkedIn page notes that she is “interested in the cultural policy aspects of breaking.” “I was never going to beat these girls at what they do best: their power moves,” Gunn said. “What I contribute is creativity“.
Clips of his routine have gone viral on TikTok and beyond, and many cringed at seeing his moves displayed on the Olympic stage as a representation of hip-hop and breaking culture. “Is almost as if they were making fun of the genre“wrote one user on X.
Something “strange to see”
Many black viewers, in particular, criticized Lithuanian ‘b-girl’ Dominika Banevič, aka ‘Nick‘, silver medal, for wearing a ‘durag‘ in each of his battles.
The ‘durags’, once worn by enslaved Africans to tie their hair for work, are still worn by blacks. They became a black pride fashion symbol in the sixties and seventies and, in the nineties and early 2000s, in a popular hip-hop style element.
The 17-year-old ‘breaker’ finally obtained the silver medal after losing in the final against the Japanese ‘b-girl’ Ami, or Ami Yuasa.
For his part, Banevič has given credit to the ‘breakers’ from the 70s in the Bronx (los ‘OG’, o ‘gangsters originales’ del hip-hop, who created the dance) for his own success and breaking style.
“Es a great responsibility represent and raise the bar every time breaking is danced, because they did an incredible job. I have great respect for the ‘OGs’ and the pioneers who invented all those movements. “Without them, it wouldn’t be possible,” he stated.Without them, breaking wouldn’t be where it is today.. So I’m telling them grateful“.
Concern about losing the roots of breaking
“Friday night slips”may have alienated too many new viewers to get the expected response from our Olympic premiere,” said Zack Slusser, vice president of ‘Breaking for Gold USA’ and ‘USA Dance’.
“We have to change the narrative of the first impression yesterday about breaking as an Olympic sport. There were significant organizational and governance deficiencies that could have been easily reconciled but, unfortunately, negatively affected to breaking’s first point of contact with a new global audience.”
The challenge for the Olympic organizers was to bring breaking and hip-hop culture closer to a mass audienceincluding many spectators who were skeptical of the dance form being added to the Olympic roster.
Others feared that the subculture would be appropriated by the authorities, commercialized and subject to a rigid structure of judgeswhen the spirit of breaking has been ingrained in the local communitiesfocused on street battles, codes and neighborhood parties.
He hip-hop was born as a youth culture within the black communities of the Bronxas a way to escape conflicts and socioeconomic struggles and make a empowerment statement at a time when New York politicians called them lost children and outlaws.
