{"id":39613,"date":"2024-08-09T12:19:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T16:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=39613"},"modified":"2024-08-09T12:19:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T16:19:22","slug":"cronkite-news-breakdancing-debuts-at-2024-olympic-games-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/08\/09\/cronkite-news-breakdancing-debuts-at-2024-olympic-games-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Breakdancing debuts at 2024 Olympic games in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Team<\/a>
From left to right, Victor \u201cB-boy Victor\u201d Montalvo, Logan \u201cLogistix\u201d Edra and Sunny Choi field questions about the history and growth of breaking. Photo by Sydney Lovan \/ Special for Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
L.A.\u2019s decision to snub breaking in 2028 Olympics will follow likely show-stopping effort in Paris<\/div>\r\n
Friday, August 9, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Melanie Hogue<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nPARIS, France — Snoop Dogg isn\u2019t the only one looking forward to breaking\u2019s debut at the Olympics this year. Unfortunately for the darling of the Paris Games, he won\u2019t get to see the sport in 2028 when the Summer Games land in Los Angeles, his home city.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe inclusion of sports such as breaking are part of a flexible process to align with the goals of each host city\u2019s organizing committee, which \u201cproposes events that it feels are fit their vision for their specific edition of the Games,\u201d an IOC spokesman said in an email.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nInstead, Los Angeles selected cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball\/softball. In addition to breaking, karate, motorsport and kickboxing were rejected.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCompetition for 16 \u201cB-girls\u201d is scheduled for Friday, while the men will battle Saturday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDespite the disappointment from fans about the 2028 Games, the breaking community appears unfazed.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI\u2019m just focused on the Paris 2024 Olympics,\u201d said Team USA\u2019\u2019s Victor Montalvo, or B-boy Victor. \u201cFor us, it was shocking that we were even in the Olympics because we never expected it at all. So, we\u2019re just appreciative.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\n \"Logan<\/a>

Logan \u201cLogistix\u201d Edra, member of Team USA breaking, prepares for competition in the much anticipated and highly scrutinized breaking event that starts Friday. Photo by Sydney Lovan \/ Special for Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFor Montalvo, the highest ranked U.S. male breaker in the world and the first person to qualify for Team USA breaking in the Olympics, the announcement that the sport would debut in Paris couldn\u2019t have come at a better time. Although winning any type of medal would be a success in Montalvo\u2019s eyes, his ultimate goal remains bringing breaking to a larger audience and inspiring new generations.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cSo, I just want to make sure that everyone understands what this dance is about and what hip hop is about,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s all about peace, unity and having fun.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSet at Place de la Concorde, this year\u2019s breaking competition should be memorable. With street dancing\u2019s popularity in France, and the sport\u2019s debut at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Argentina attracting over one million viewers, it\u2019s no surprise that breaking has been added to this year\u2019s Games.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nEdson Magana \u2013 also known as B-boy House \u2013 an accomplished breakdancer and assistant clinical professor at Arizona State\u2019s School of Music, Dance and Theatre, insists the Ollympics\u2019 knowledge of breaking, isn\u2019t entirely new. Instead, he sees this year\u2019s Olympic debut as a strategy to revive engagement with viewers and attract new generations, making breaking\u2019s inclusion both exciting and controversial.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAlthough breaking\u2019s Olympic debut offers a great opportunity for the athletes, its exclusion from the Los Angeles Games is concerning, Magana said, considering breaking originated in the United States.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI think the Olympics needs us more than we need them,\u201d Magana said.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nFrom Red Bull sponsorships to Samsung marketing campaigns, breaking has found global success, with championships held around the world.Yet Magana worries the Olympics might impact the very essence of breaking.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWith a culture that was built on offering a voice to the voiceless, being accessible to everyone and prioritizing inclusion, some in the breaking community worry the Olympics might impact its message, though others remain hopeful about its positive impact.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\r\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Meet\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMeet the 16 B-Boys Battling for Olympic Gold at Paris 2024! \ud83e\udd47\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

Let me introduce you the World first and maybe only Olympics bboys.This weekend August the 8th and 9th, Breaking will make it’s grand entrance to the Olympic…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"YouTube\"\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
Meet the 16 B-Boys Battling for Olympic Gold at Paris 2024! \ud83e\udd47<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nJeffrey Louis, or B-boy Jeffro, a member of Team USA\u2019s breaking team, understands the community\u2019s concern but remains optimistic.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of skepticism about will breaking take away from the culture, being in the Olympics, will it take away from the core, the essence of breaking,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we have the right representatives, it\u2019s not going to take away, it\u2019s only going to push it in the best light possible.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nTyquan Hodac, the executive director of Breaking for Gold USA, believes Team USA has the right representatives.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThese four (competitors), I call them the chosen ones,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re really the ones to represent us on this platform. As you all know, the story of hip hop is basically a story of hope and these four are really representing that type of hope for the youth, for the culture, they\u2019re the voice of the voiceless.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWhile Team USA breaking is optimistic about the culture being preserved, viewers familiar with breaking competitions should anticipate a few changes at the Olympics.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nUnlike typical indoor events, the breaking competitions will take place outdoors. The judging panel will consist of nine judges all adhering to a scoring system based on originality, technicality, vocabulary, execution and musicality.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nFor more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Snoop Dogg isn\u2019t the only one looking forward to breaking\u2019s debut at the 2024 Olympics.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,21,23],"tags":[5239,38,46,4600,349],"class_list":["post-39613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-sports","category-world","tag-breakdancing","tag-california","tag-cronkite-news","tag-france","tag-olympics","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/09\/teamusa.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-aiV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39613"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39621,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39613\/revisions\/39621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}