Olympics changing breaking in sport’s debut as dancers must put scores above art

PARIS — The Olympics changed breaking. There’s no other way to describe it. 

And maybe not for the better, according to the United States' Sunny “B-Girl Sunny” Choi.  

“Breaking for the Olympics has changed the way some people are dancing,” Sunny said after she was knocked out of the 16-person round-robin Friday. “I came in thinking I really wanted to be true to me, not compromise anything, and then just leave it all out there on the floor. 

“My generation of breakers, it was all about being unique, it was all about showing your personality and being true to who you are. That was my purpose coming here.” 

Somewhere along the way, Sunny said, that didn’t become the top priority for other dancers. With its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breaking became, naturally, about winning. Impressing judges. Putting scores above the art. 

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Dancers were “jam-packing” rounds with moves, Sunny said. Whoever moved the most aggressively – power moves, they are called – for the longest typically won the judges’ favor. 

“There’s a lot of fluff in there,” Sunny said. “There’s a lot of basic moves.” 

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Sunny said she has those types of moves at her disposal. Maybe she’s just old-school, she said. At 35, Sunny does what she wants and doesn’t listen to anyone. 

“I just choose not to do them because to me, they’re boring,” Sunny said. “I’ve already done them.

“Because it’s an art form, because it’s a very creative dance – or sport – it’s about finding yourself as a person, that personal development, that growth, and showing up for yourself.”

Over the decades, breaking has undergone its transitions. The younger generation always has new ideas, and the previous one typically stays rooted in the way it came up. 

Breakers adjusted their routines in the lead-up to the Games, so this came as no surprise, Sunny said. It’d been trending in that direction over the years at world circuit events, she said, and it’s a natural progression when high-stakes events – let alone an Olympics – are judged. She added that she wasn’t above doing the same thing at points during her career. 

“I just feel like now it’s about having fun,” Sunny said. 

Sunny said that Olympians from other sports were excited to meet the B-Boys and B-Girls in the athletes village. She’d previously had reservations about that because she feared they wouldn’t see them as equals. 

“It’s a community first,” Sunny said of breaking, “and then I think a sport second.” 

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The party at Place la Concorde started with Snoop Dogg performing the pre-competition tradition at every Games event called the “les trois coups, s'il vous plait," which directly translates to “the three hits, please” (a celebration of France’s theater culture). 

Once a light rain came, however, Snoop bounced. But he did snap a selfie with all 16 B-Girls before the action.

The competition closely mirrored those from the Olympic qualifier series in recent years, the competitors agreed. 

“Of course, we know it’s the Olympics and it’s different,” said B-Girl India of the Netherlands, who finished fourth. “But I tried to keep it as normal as possible.” 

Australian B-Girl Raygun said that for World DanceSport Federation (the international governing body that oversees breaking) events, the Olympics stage wasn’t much different. Other events might have more space and time for breakers to “jam” and “cypher” on the side. But the athletes felt a bit more pressure and intensity given the higher stakes, she said. 

The vibe was “actually not bad,” American B-Girl Logistx said. The Olympic competition reminded her of the Red Bull BC One competition in New York in which she participated. She thought the crowd would be crickets for her since she was going against B-Girl Syssy, who represented France. But Logistx saw lots of U.S. support in the stands and connected with the fans; nonetheless, she still wished the crowd had more energy overall. 

Logistx said she isn’t privy to conversations behind the scenes but that there were drastic improvements compared to the qualifier series. “I love and I appreciate the work that everyone has done and the compromise that has happened,” she said. 

B-Girl Kate of Ukraine said she wanted to represent her country and be part of the historic event. “Now I’m here and the stage is great, people are great … everything feels good,” she said. 

A more athletic approach was required for the Olympic competition, Kate said. “Your stamina has to be way better than the regular events,” said Kate, the wife of U.S. B-Boy Victor Montalvo. “Just a more athletic, sport approach – more moves.” 

For Sunny, the competition felt like any other large-scale international event. “I’m not saying it wasn’t epic,” she said. “But I got up there and just felt comfortable and it felt very familiar.” 

Judging will always be question mark in breaking

Nine judges determined the results. They picked a winner for each round based on five criteria: technique, originality, execution, musicality, and vocabulary (the variety of moves, styles, and transitions). 

Judging is always subjective, Logistx said. She thought she smoked Nicka, the silver medalist from Lithuania, in the first round of their battle. She said she’ll have to watch the battle back to see if she agrees with the judges. 

“When I saw the votes I was like, ‘the (expletive)?’ ” she said. 

Sunny had no comment on the judges’ performances. She wasn’t that familiar with them, she said. “I don’t know the judges, so I’m not sure,” Sunny said. 

Improved music options helped B-Girls show out

One improvement universally noticed by the competitors was the music. During the qualifier series, the B-Girls said they struggled to find rhythms. Because of the musical restrictions placed on DJs, the beats felt foreign to them while dancing. 

That changed in Paris. 

“Now that we had no music restriction, I’m like, ‘I’m really happy about that,’ ” Logistx said. “It’s been a messy process, roller coaster, up-and-down, but I’m just so happy with what everyone fought for on this journey because I felt like the culture pulled through.” 

B-Girl Kate loves hip-hop and was happy there was more music she actually knew at the Olympics. Sunny said she didn’t necessarily love all of the songs played for her, but having classics and true hip-hop approved for competition made a huge difference and helped the dancers showcase their skill sets better. 

“It’s been better than some of the (other) events,” she said.

Follow Chris Bumbaca on social media @BOOMbaca

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