Breaking: the latest Olympic sport

The 2024 Olympic Games in France will mark the debut of 'breaking' as an Olympic sport: an athletic, competitive dance form that originated in hip hop culture, soon to be on display at Amare during the Breakin’ Convention.

Breaking (also known as breakdancing) evolved in 1970s New York. It is characterised by acrobatic moves, amazing footwork and the presence of a DJ and MC (Master of Ceremonies), who play an important role in breaking battles. This dance style is one of the fundamental elements of hip hop, alongside DJing, graffiti and music (rap music in particular). 

Over the past five decades, breaking has pushed beyond the USA’s border to conquer the entire world. The Olympic Games’ official YouTube channel published various fascinating reports about crews and breakdance/hip hop culture in various parts of the world under the title Breaking Life.

Dance and breaking as a sport

Over time, the dance moves performed in breaking grew in complexity, and the dance became increasingly competitive. Competitions have been organised around the world since the 90s, helping to spread breaking’s appeal to a wide audience, with the Olympic Games as the absolute cherry on top. A detailed article about the development of the competitive side of breaking can be found here.

Dance continues to evolve, and with its athletic and free-spirited nature, breaking has all the potential to become a popular Olympic sport. Here in The Hague, we will be paying special attention to the event, because the first B-Girl (in which the B stands for “breaking”) selected for the Olympics is India Sardjoe, a native of The Hague who dances with Haags HipHop Centrum and won the Breakdance World Championship in New York in 2023 and the European Championship in Manchester in 2022.

What to expect at the Olympic Games

Sixteen B-Boys and sixteen B-Girls will be participating in the Olympics, in two separate categories. Breaking duels take the form of one-on-one solo performances, with one breaker showing their stuff before the other responds in kind. The judges rate the participants on six criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality. The competition will be held on 9 and 10 August at Place de la Concorde in Paris.

From the street to the stage

No bones about it: breaking is a spectacular competitive sport. But let’s not forget that it is also a form of artistic expression and, like other hip hop elements, a way to observe, celebrate, experience, understand, confront and comment on life and the world. In other words: hip hop is a way of life, a worldview, a culture.

Breaking is an artistic expression of the dancer’s personality, and there are therefore many dancers and choreographers who do not engage in the competitive aspect of breaking.

Hip hop and hip hop elements are increasingly common in theatres, leading to a remarkable degree of cross-fertilisation in the evolution of the dance form, with inspiration being drawn from a variety of contemporary dance forms and other forms of movement (Brazilian capoeira, for example). In turn, these developments in hip hop dance are influencing the dance styles more traditionally associated with the theatre.

Choreographers bringing hip hop to the theatres

Some splendid examples of Netherlands-based choreographers who incorporate breaking in their theatre creations include Marco Gerris and his ISH Dance Collective, Shailesh Bahoran and his Illusionary Rockaz Crew (whose accolades include the 2023 Swan award for Most Impressive Performance with REDO) and Lloyd Marengo, who won a Golden Swan award in 2023 for his great and unique contribution to dance in the Netherlands, and for his efforts to pave the way for the Dutch hip hop community. 

In 2021, the Dutch public broadcasting organisation NPO dedicated an episode of its series Dans met mij (Dance With Me) to the influence of breaking on contemporary dance. Internationally famous examples include Anne Nguyen and her Compagnie Par Terre, and Kader Attou with Cie Accrorap, both of whom performed in Lucent Danstheater and Amare in recent years.

Breakin’ Convention presents local and international top performers

You won’t have to wait long for the next opportunity to be dazzled by hip hop and dance: the newest edition of London’s revolutionary hip hop festival Breakin’ Convention is coming to Amare!

Expect spectacular and fiery performances by internationally famous poppers, lockers, B-Boys and B-Girls and discover local talents at this unique festival. Among the Breakin’ Convention NL Tour’s headliners are France’s Antoinette Gomis and the Ghetto Funk Collective. Jonzi D, British hip hop theatre legend and the artistic leader of Breakin’ Convention, is bringing DJs, workshops and freestyle sessions to take over the entire theatre. Join us and celebrate the versatility of hip hop culture!

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