Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. During the Olympics, some of the sports can be intimidating, especially if you’re not super familiar with them. That’s OK because we’re here to help.
Breakdancing, or simply breaking, is set to make its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games. It was added to the Olympic lineup following success at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires.
Each team at the Paris Olympics could qualify up to four athletes — two each for the men’s and women’s competitions — and Team USA has a full team of four breakers: Sunny Choi and Logan Edra for the women’s competition and Victor Montalvo and Jeffrey Louis for the men’s event.
How does breaking work as an Olympic event? As Olympics.com explains: “Athletes will use a combination of power moves—including windmills, the 6-step, and freezes—as they adapt their style and improvise to the beat of the DJ’s tracks in a bid to secure the judges’ votes and take home the first Olympic breaking medals.”
Ahead of the Games, For The Win spoke with Choi and asked her to explain her top-3 things Olympics fans should know when watching breaking.
1. Breakers have no control over what music is played
“One of the biggest misconceptions that I have gotten along the way is that we choose our music; we do not,” Choi told For The Win. “The DJ picks the track for us, and we don’t know what it’s going to be, and sometimes it’s a brand-new track.
“When we walk out there, it’s definitely possible that the DJ is going to have new music produced for the Games that we’ve never heard before. And it’s not like we get it in advance. They just play it and you go, so I think that adds an element of suspense and excitement.”
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2. Breakers are improvising a ton when they’re competing
“A lot of us are freestyling a lot of our rounds,” Choi said. “Not everyone freestyles 100 percent, and there’s a wide variety. But you’re going to see, especially with the American breakers, freestyling a lot. So even we don’t know what we’re going to do.
“So not only doing not knowing music, but we also don’t really know exactly what we’re about to go throw because it’s dependent on the music. We really want to connect to the moment and to the music and then just go do what feels right. So I might kind of plan anywhere from like 20 to 40 percent of my round, but no more than that. Everything else is just what comes out in the moment.”
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3. Breaking competitions can seem like one big party
For athletes and fans watching, Choi said to just enjoy it and be present in the moment because breaking is a good time.
“Breaking has this energy that I feel like you don’t get in so many other sports,” she said. “It’s like a party. You have an emcee who’s hyping up the crowd. You’ve got a DJ, and then we’re dancing, you know? And so there’s an energy about it that’s so different from so much else that you’re going to see at the Games. And so I’m just like, go out there, be in the moment. Go scream for your favorite people, and have fun because I think it’s going to be a really great event.”
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