breaking
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Exactly one new sport will make its debut at the Paris Olympics: breaking, an evolution of the phenomenon of B-Boys whirling and spinning in the Bronx during the early days of hip-hop breakdancing in the ’70s and ’80s. It’s a complicated, difficult sport, and star athletes such as Canada’s Phil Wizard train to move just about every part of their bodies, improvising instantly to tracks and beats they have no idea are coming. “We were more culture, now we’re sports,” says Victor Montalvo, 30, one of the U.S. breaking team’s four members, by phone from Philadelphia, a few days before departing for Paris. “Breaking has evolved. It’s way different now.”
The breaking events, which kick off Aug. 9, involve one-on-one battles during which hip-hop DJs provide the beats and competitors take 60-second turns known as “throw downs.” They choose from three broad categories of moves: “top rock,” or standing dances; “freeze,” a halted position on heads or hands; and “down rock,” or flashy, acrobatic spins. In a competition last year, Jeffrey “B-Boy Jeffro” Louis, 29, now on the U.S. team, repeatedly twirled his body while upside-down, feet in the air – balancing himself alternately on his head, upper back and a single forearm.
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“His style is super-musical. He goes off feeling. He has a lot of character, showmanship, stage presence,” Montalvo says of his teammate. “He just brings it all to life.”
Breaking, the sport, took off in the early 2000s when Red Bull sponsored events such as Lords of the Floor, treating the competition not like an old-school throwback but a series of hyped-up wrestling or boxing matches. Back then, Montalvo was learning his moves on his driveway with a cousin, and Louis’ older brother, Kenny, was teaching him and another brother, Pierry, how to do it. Today, they’re two of the 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls who will battle for Olympic gold. They spoke with Billboard in separate interviews a week before today’s opening ceremony.
Jeffrey “B-Boy Jeffro” Louis
How familiar are you with the competition? Are you scouting?
We’ve been competing against these guys from the beginning of 2022, so we’re pretty much familiar with everybody. We know what everybody’s going to throw out and what they’re going to do. But everybody has a strategy, and we’re trying to strategize based on their strategy. It’s like a game of chess. At the end of the day, I know my moves. The judges might see my moves falling in a different category than what I believe my moves fall in — so you’re trying to understand the judging system, but you’re also trying to understand where you fall in that judging system, and analyzing your strengths and weaknesses within that judging system. It’s maintenance work right now.
What do you mean by maintenance?
Strength and conditioning. Doing physical therapy on my groin, because I had an injury a couple years ago, so I’m just trying to make sure I don’t strain it or injure myself. A lot of breakers are getting hurt because they’re overtraining and pushing themselves. It’s just getting into that mindset of don’t overdo it.
How does physical preparation for breaking compare to a traditional sport?
Everybody has their own style, so you want to train the way your dancing is performed. Some people live on their hands. They can walk, flip, spin — and stay on their hands the whole time. I’m more of a grounded person, so my training’s going to be different. I train through my fitness program, FitBreak, where I take breaking moves and combine it with traditional exercises.
How much do you study old-school hip-hop breakdancing?
I have to study everybody. If you’re involved in breaking, you have to go back. You have to know the history. There are a lot of moves back then that are not used right now. People might see it as “they’re basic,” but when you haven’t seen something in forever, and something reappears, people say, “That’s a classic move.”
Will your brothers be in Paris?
They’re part of my crew. Both aren’t able to make it, but one of them is — Sweet P. That’s [Pierry’s] breaker name. He was with me at the last qualifier in Budapest. He was there when I qualified to make the Olympics, and just having him there was such a boost. My personality shined more, my character shined, my mindset, feeling like I didn’t have to prove myself.
Any opponents you’re especially focused on?
Everybody’s high level. One person I would love to met in the competition would be Phil Wizard. Everybody’s saying this is the guy to beat. And my friend, Dany Dann, he’s from France, we just have one of the most natural connections whenever we battle.
What is your battle plan?
When I try to think of moves, it hinders my style. Going back to the beginning of how I started dancing — why I fell in love with breaking — it’s that freedom of movement. My goal in Paris is to get into that traditional Jeffro style of just moving and listening and connecting. When I’m that free, I’m unstoppable.
It’s like you’re describing a jazz musician improvising.
Yeah. You have to be able to connect with your whole surrounding, whether it’s the floor, the music, the DJs on set, the crowd. Because if you’re not, you can tell, there’s some unbalanced factor in your dancing. You have to have a conversation with your opponent through moves, and if you’re not doing that, then you’re just showcasing.
Victor Montalvo
How are you training for the Olympics?
For now, I’m simulating the battles. I’m doing a lot of breaking interval training, which requires 30-to-40-second rounds and 30-second rest.
Which competitors are you thinking about as you’re prepping?
There’s been a couple athletes that are in the same bracket as me, so I have to watch out for them. I’m just worrying about myself for now — bettering my style and moves and concepts.
How surprised have you been that breaking turned into an Olympic sport?
I feel like the whole community was shocked. We did not expect it. This was out of our heads. It was really cool, like, “This is a new goal we can achieve.” We’re stepping into the sports world. We’ve never had that opportunity to show the dance, and now we do. It’s really cool to see the positive reactions and the support we’re getting. There are a lot of people supporting me who haven’t seen breaking — or haven’t seen it since the ’80s.
Which members of your family are coming to Paris to watch you compete?
I have my cousin. He was the one who taught me breaking — my first ever power move, which was the windmill. From there, it never stopped. He’s coming to the event. He’s not going to be in Paris the entire time. He’s going to be there for my event, then heading back to the U.S.
Where do you get inspiration for your moves?
You see someone you look up to and you create your own path. It’s all about taking, but recreating. Most of the moves we’re doing are from tribal dances, martial arts. It’s a melting pot of inspirations.
What do you want viewers to know about this new Olympic sport?
We can’t repeat in our competition. Let’s say in figure skating, you have a full routine that you have to practice, and it’s like two minutes. In breaking, we have 15 full routines, 15 signatures that we rehearse, and we can’t repeat them. So once you do that one signature, you can’t repeat it the entire event. Because you get points taken off, you’ve always got to come up with new things each round. It’s all based off of improvising and adapting in the moment. You never know what’s going to happen.
How challenging is it to train for this type of improvisation?
Even with your moves rehearsed, you’ve got to have your moves in your head. You might forget [during] the third round, so you’ve got to adapt. It’s all like a mind game.
That sounds tough.
It’s just competing. I’ve been doing it for so many years — I’ve been competing internationally for 12 years, but in total, I’ve been competing for 18 years — and you just start understanding the formula and start having this muscle memory from all the dancing you’re doing. It comes alive without even thinking. It comes out of nowhere, like your body knows what to do.
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Source: James Newman/Red Bull / Red Bull
Red Bull Lords of the Floor, the renowned 2 vs. 2 breakdancing competition, will be returning in 2024. On Thursday, December 7, Red Bull announced the event will be going down on April 6 at the WaMu Theater in Seattle, Washington.
Source: Red Bull / Red Bull
Seattle is where the event first took place in 2001, and 2024’s will feature the globe’s best breakers including 2024 Olympic dance athlete B-Boy Victor. The MC for the evening will be comedian Jo Koy, who was once a b-boy (always) himself.
“As a former b-boy, it is a true honor for me to host Red Bull Lords of the Floor, an event that has been so influential to the culture,” said Jo Koy in a statement. “While I look forward to reuniting with some of the crews who competed in the original Red Bull Lords of the Floor, what makes this reprise exciting is the international aspect of it. Red Bull will be flying in some of the best breakers in the world to compete, and we will all get to witness new history in the making.”
Lords Of The Floor is the successor to Red Bull BC One, and the former’s 2v2 format is credited with spawning the rise of breaking competitions, culminating with the art being part of the 2024 Summer Olympics. On tap for Red Bull Lords of the Floor 2024 will be breaking crews from the 90’s and that first 2001 event like Massive Monkees, Skill Methodz, and Style Elements, who will battle international competitors and be judged by a panel of veteran b-boys and b-girls,. All in all 16 teams of b-boys and b-girls will go for the title.
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“The breaking scene has evolved so much in twenty-three years, and the return of Red Bull Lords of the Floor will be proof of that,” said Red Bull BC One All Star and 2021 B-Girl Champion Logan “Logistx” Edra in a statement. “We will get to witness some of the most dynamic, international pairings and watch OGs battle next-gen breakers who might have not even been around for the first event, myself included.”
Tickets are already on sale at www.RedBullLordsOfTheFloor.com and if you can’t make it to Seattle, it will live stream on YouTube and Red Bull TV.
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Red Bull BC One, the annual leading breaking competition in the world, will conclude its 2023 run in the States this month with some of the nation’s top competitors in yet another stacked field. On August 26, Fillmore Philadelphia will host a weekend of Red Bull BC One festivities, ending things off by crowning the National champions that will then go on to compete at the World Final in Paris, France.
Before Red Bull BC One gives up the stage to the B-Boys and B-Girls vying for the title, on Friday, August 25, Red Bull BC One Camp will host a series of seminars, events, and the like to bring the sport of breaking to the City of Brotherly Love. Menno, a three-time BC One champion, will host a battle workshop. There will also be a Pride in Break couch session with LGBTQ+ breakers, including B-Girl Rascal Randi, B-Girl Beta, B-Boy Dosu, and B-Boy Wicket.
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The competition will host the regional winners and runner-ups from Orlando, Minneapolis, and New York, along with several wild card contestants putting on their best moves in front of the judges and crowd. The new BC One B-Boy and B-Girl champions will head to Paris on October 21 at the Stade Roland-Garros Stadium to take on the global competitors.
This year’s National Final BC One will feature 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls from across the nation, along with returning 2022 BC One National Finalists B-Boy Ali and B-Boy Dosu. The judges overseeing the scoring for the competition are B-Boy Alien Ness, B-Girl Beta, Red Bull BC One All-Star and three-time Red Bull BC One World Champion B-Boy Menno, and Red Bull BC One All-Star B-Girl Kastet.
DJ Fleg will provide the backing beats and attendees will get a special performance from the talent quartet of MCs, Coast Contra, who recently torched their Red Bull Spiral freestyle session. Steve Believe & Myverse will serve as the hosts.
All of this comes as Hip-Hop celebrates its 50th anniversary this month on August 11, and Red Bull’s continued commitment to highlighting the music and pillars of the culture is appreciated here at Hip-Hop Wired.
To learn more, purchase tickets, and get a breakdown of the schedule, click here.
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Photo: Red Bull
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SNIPES, the leading one-stop shop for fresh apparel and footwear, has long kept shoppers looking fly when it comes to the latest in streetwear fashion. SNIPES is now putting its support behind the Pro Breaking Tour, which just announced a 12-city nationwide tour featuring some of the best breaking dancers from around the world.
The Pro Breaking Tour is one of the leading breaking competitions, expanding its reach around the globe. Working with big sponsors in the past, the tour is excited to name SNIPES as a sponsor given the connection to street style and fashion.
The tour will make its first stop at Massive Monkees Day in Seattle, Wash on May 28. Most major markets will be included on this tour before it ends this fall in Los Angeles.
Beginning on May 27 during Memorial Day Weekend, preliminary competition battles will take place at Pier 62. The main event takes place on May 28 at the Neptune Theatre. The following day (May 29), Massive Monkees, one of Seattle’s most legendary breaking crews, will host a youth battle at Seattle Center followed by a community party and BBQ at Jefferson Park the same day.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Pro Breaking Tour,” Paula Barbosa, VP of Marketing for SNIPES, said in a statement. “Breaking is an essential part of our culture and the sneaker community. Our passion for style and self-expression aligns with the spirit of breaking. Our partnership is a natural fit, and we can’t wait to see what we will achieve together.”
“Breaking has always been an art form that reflects the diverse cultures and communities from which it originates,” Chris “Cros One” Wright from the Pro Breaking Tour, added in the statement. “We are excited to partner with Snipes to bring our events to even more fans across the country. Together, we will continue to elevate breaking to new heights.”
These days, Breaking is more than just a street dance art form that got its start in the early 1970s as part of Hip-Hop’s continuing evolution. Breaking will now be seen on the world stage in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a medal event, pushing the style of dance to heights never before achieved.
The tour dates are listed out below. Learn more about the events at this link or on the Pro Breaking Tour Instagram page.
· Massive Monkees Day – Seattle WA – May 28th
· Rock City – Los Angeles, CA – July 1st
· United Styles – Boston, MA – July 16th
· Deuces Wild – Atlanta, GA – August 19th
· Who Got the Props – Detroit, MI – September 2nd
· Philly Open – Philadelphia, PA – Sept 9th
· Bboy City – Austin, TX – Sept 23rd-24th
· Pro Breaking Tour Invitational – Miami, FL – TBA
· Pro Breaking Tour Open – New York, NY – Oct TBA
· Temple Rock – Miami, FL – October 21st-22nd
· Freestyle Session World Finals – Los Angeles, CA – November 11th-12th
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Photo: Alberto Menendez / Getty