PARIS (AP) — Japan’s b-girl Ami received gold on the Olympics ‘ first breaking occasion by spinning, flipping and toprocking previous a area of 16 dancers Friday in a high-energy competitors that won’t return for future Video games.
Ami, legally named Ami Yuasa, received all three rounds in a battle in opposition to b-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania to clinch the gold, wrapping up an extended day of breakers placing hip-hop tradition on the Olympic stage with their move, rhythm and ability at Place de la Concorde stadium.
“Breaking is my expression,” Yuasa stated. It’s an “expression, an artwork, however I need to say that breaking additionally may very well be a part of sports activities.”
B-girls surprised the group with energy strikes like headspins, windmills and backflips. Followers remained energetic all through the competitors, which started within the afternoon and ended simply earlier than 10 p.m.
Starting within the quarterfinals section, eight b-girls from the unique 17 squared off in knockout battles of three rounds every to slender all the way down to the finals. Banevič received the silver medal, and China’s b-girl 671 (Liu Qingyi) took the bronze after battling with b-girl India (India Sardjo) from the Netherlands to “Growth!” by The Roots. Liu is a relative newcomer to the breaking scene.
“Olympics wanted breaking as a result of it’s like a breath of contemporary air,” Banevič stated. “Such an enormous quantity of individuals noticed breaking for the primary time, prefer it’s enormous. And I’m blissful that I used to be in a position to symbolize on the highest stage of the artwork kind for breaking.”
American disappointment at Olympic breaking
Each American b-girls have been eradicated within the first spherical, a blow to the nation representing the birthplace of hip-hop and breaking tradition. B-girl Logistx (authorized identify Logan Edra) and b-girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) each ranked within the high 12 internationally however got here up wanting the quarterfinals.
“I really feel like I nonetheless shined and I really feel like I nonetheless represented the dance and had some moments,” Logistx stated. “It was such an enormous alternative, it’s such an enormous platform, and I’m actually blissful that we’re right here.”
Breaking makes its Olympic debut
A panel of 9 judges, all b-boys and b-girls in their very own proper from world wide, scored the breakers based mostly on the Trivium judging system: on approach, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality — every accounts for 20% of the ultimate rating.
Every of the b-girls started by catching the beat as they danced whereas on their toes — a collection known as “toprocking” — earlier than launching into their footwork strikes on the ground. The soundtrack to their routines was a shock for every of them, as two DJs spun data on a turntable arrange behind the judges.
The judges sat between the round ground, modeled after a file, and an enormous reproduction of a boombox, in a nod to the musical root of breaking — the breakbeat itself — which is the second when a track’s vocals drop and the DJ loops the beat again and again. That enables b-boys and b-girls to make their mark on the dance ground.
Breaking is judged qualitatively due to its roots as an artwork kind, and judges use a sliding scale to attain every spherical and battle, adjusting the size in the direction of the breaker who’s successful in every of the above standards. All through, two emcees reply to the personalities and signature strikes of every of the breakers to hype up the group.
The problem for organizers was to convey breaking and hip-hop tradition to a mass viewers, together with many viewers who have been skeptical in regards to the dance kind’s addition to the Olympic roster. However after Friday’s marathon of battles, there’s no doubting the athletic capability and physicality.
Past their bodily capability, breakers had to verify to showcase their fashion and individuality — important to the tradition of hip-hop and breaking.
In all, 33 breakers representing 15 international locations and the Refugee Olympic Workforce made Olympic historical past on Friday. On Saturday, the b-boys take the stage in what could be their solely shot to battle it out for god on the Olympics within the foreseeable future. Breaking was added as an Olympic sport for Paris, however it isn’t on the slate for Los Angeles in 2028.
Earlier than the battle started, American rapper Snoop Dogg made a grand entrance into the stadium to the soundtrack of “Drop it Prefer it’s Scorching,” prompting cheers and dancing within the stands. The emcees launched the 17 b-girls competing on Friday, with the b-girls from France and the U.S. acquired the loudest applause from the group.
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Related Press Race & Ethnicity Editor Aaron Morrison contributed to this report from New York.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
