COLORADO, USA — Breaking debuted at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday. The dance form is popular in Paris and is now on the biggest sports stage as a competition. Breaking, or breakdancing, is the only completely new sport at the Paris Games — but the artform is not new.
Breaking has been around for decades, and some call it the cultural dance of hip-hop. "I always felt that the world would embrace this dance," said Ian Flaws, owner and founder of Bboy Factory, a dance studio in Denver. "Even in the last 20 years it has grown so much globally, and that’s why you see dancers from all over the world in the Olympics.
It is a universal language and it allows us to connect despite language barriers or cultural barriers, we share this beautiful movement and that allows our people to connect." Even Flaws can admit that the news of it being added as an Olympic sport was bittersweet. "Honestly, I have had mixed feelings about it to be just truthful," he said.
"I’m super excited, I think breaking is such a dynamic expression of spirit and soul and I think it’s beautiful to see it reach this level. I just hope that we’re able to preserve the traditions of our culture." For many in the breaking scene, the culture is just as important as the moves.
"When you separate and just make it breakdancing, we’re talking about acrobatics, but when you’re talking about Bboy and Bgirl culture, there’s a whole other things that comes a lot with that," said Renee Harris, the co-direct.