Breakdancing at the Olympics: What Is It, Why Is It Included, and How Does It Work as a Sport?
The competition starts Friday with the women at 4 p.m. in Paris (10 a.m. ET) and continues into the evening. The men’s event follows on Saturday. The bronze- and gold-medal "battles" — the official term — take place at 3:15 p.m. ET each day.
But no, you won’t see Olympic B-girls and B-boys dancing on cardboard boxes. Breaking has come a long way from its origins in 20th-century America. Here’s how.
Wait, breaking is an Olympic sport? Breaking began as an art form in 1970s New York, evolving from party scenes to the streets, becoming one of the four pillars of hip-hop. It hit the mainstream in the 1980s but then faded from the spotlight.
However, breaking didn’t disappear—it went underground and gained international traction. It evolved into a competitive sport, with breakers battling and being judged in organized events. Decades later, this competitive version has arrived at the Olympics.
Is it ‘breaking’ or ‘breakdancing’? To those in the community, it’s “breaking.” To others, especially those who remember the 1980s, it’s often referred to as “breakdancing,” a term popularized by mainstream American media. However, at the Olympics, and among the dancers — known as “breakers” or “B-boys” and “B-girls” — the correct term is “breaking.”
“I don't like the term breakdancing because that's what the media gave us,” said U.S. Olympic breaker Jeffrey Louis, aka B-boy Jeffro. “That’s what everybody knows, but it’s called breaking.”
What is breaking? Breaking is a dance style with four key elements:
- Toprock or Uprock: Breakers start upright before moving to the floor.
- Downrock: The most dynamic and fast-paced part of the dance, where breakers use their hands and feet to spin, twist, and contort their bodies.
- Power moves: These are the show-stopping, athletic maneuvers that require significant strength and agility.
- Freezes: Often at the end of a performance, a breaker holds a challenging pose, sometimes upside down, showcasing their control and balance.
How does Olympic breaking work? The Olympic breaking competition features a series of head-to-head battles, much like a basketball or soccer tournament. It begins with a round-robin group stage, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final.
Each round-robin battle consists of two rounds, while each knockout battle has three rounds. In each round, a breaker performs for about 45 seconds, after which their opponent responds. Judges evaluate the performances based on five criteria: execution, musicality, originality, technique, and vocabulary, to determine the winner.
So, how did breaking make it to the Olympics? Breaking was born in the Bronx, created by Black and Latino men and boys as a form of expression and a creative outlet. It was a spontaneous, acrobatic dance often performed during the “break” — the instrumental section of a song.
Breaking gained wider recognition through nationwide and international tours and films that helped popularize it. While it became less prominent in the communities where it originated, it found new life globally, particularly in countries like Germany, Mexico, and South Korea.
In the 1990s and 2000s, breaking competitions became more common, with events sponsored by brands like Red Bull. The turning point came in 2018 when breaking was featured in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where it was a hit. The Paris 2024 organizers then decided to include it in the Olympics.
Is Breaking a Competitive Sport Outside the Olympics? Absolutely. In addition to the Red Bull series, breaking has world championships and events across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. It’s also featured at the World Urban Games.
Does the Breaking Community Support Its Inclusion in the Olympics? The breaking community is divided on the Olympics. Some view the event as an overwhelmingly white, Western European institution commercializing an art form that Black and brown pioneers created but never fully profited from. They see it as a culture being co-opted.
Others, however, see the Olympics as a golden opportunity to showcase their culture on the world’s biggest stage, share the stories of the founding fathers, and “pay homage to the roots of hip-hop, pay homage to the elders of this dance,” as U.S. breaker Victor Montalvo puts it.
It’s tough to measure how the community is split, but the divide is clear. “You're either pro-Olympic or not,” said Jeffrey Louis. “[Some say], 'No, we gotta keep it hip-hop. We gotta keep it underground. All this is gonna mess it up.' I'm like, ‘Nah, it's only gonna bring light to it.’”
Why Did the Olympics Want Breaking? Breaking’s inclusion is part of the IOC’s strategy to attract younger audiences, particularly since traditional Olympic sports like weightlifting or equestrian don’t resonate as strongly with Gen Z.
Is Breaking Here to Stay in the Olympics? Not necessarily. Breaking won’t be part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program. However, if it’s a hit in Paris, it could make a comeback in 2032.
How Do You Become an Olympic Breaker? Breakers come from diverse backgrounds. Team USA’s four-member squad is a perfect example. Jeffrey Louis, a Black man from Houston, learned breaking from his brothers. Victor Montalvo picked it up from his father, who was a breaker in 1980s Mexico. Sunny Choi, the top-ranked American woman, is a Korean American who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She left a job at Estée Lauder to pursue breaking, a passion she “stumbled” upon as a lost freshman at Penn.
Who Are the Breakers Representing Team USA? Team USA is sending four breakers, the maximum allowed: Victor Montalvo (B-boy Victor), Jeffrey Louis (B-boy Jeffro), Sunny Choi (B-girl Sunny), and Logan Edra (B-girl Logistx). Montalvo and Louis were ranked fifth and sixth in the Olympic qualification standings for men, while Choi and Edra were ranked 10th and 14th for women.
How Do Olympic Breakers Train? Training for breaking involves both traditional athletic conditioning and dance-specific practice. Breakers lift weights, work on core and upper-body strength, and use plyometrics and yoga to improve explosiveness and flexibility. However, much of their preparation is rooted in the art of breaking, emphasizing improvisation and personal expression. Unlike gymnastics or figure skating, routines aren’t choreographed in advance.
“Style is a huge part of breaking,” Louis explained. “In hip-hop, you have your own individual style, and that carries into breaking. You want your own look, flavor, and it all translates into your performance.”
Do Breakers Choose Their Music, Like Gymnasts or Figure Skaters? No. Breakers don’t know what song they’ll be dancing to until they arrive at La Concorde, the Olympic venue. This unpredictability means they can’t script anything in advance. They hear the DJ’s track, may or may not recognize it, and have to connect with it on the spot.
How Is Breaking Judged? What’s the Scoring System? Breaking is judged comparatively, without a gymnastics-style point system. Judges evaluate two performances based on five criteria: execution, musicality, originality, technique, and vocabulary. There are nine judges, each voting after each round. The winner is determined by who receives the most votes.
During the group stage, breakers are ranked by the number of rounds won, with total votes as a tiebreaker. In the knockout stage, rounds won are all that matters—it’s a best-of-three, first-to-two-wins format.
That Sounds Subjective. Is It? Yes, breaking is inherently subjective. “It's so vague,” Louis admitted. “Everybody has their own style. How do you compare who connected better with the music or had better technique? Everybody’s movement is unique.”
Many judges are former breakers themselves, but even so, Louis acknowledges, “It's hard to trust the judging. Even though we try to make it objective, it’s still subjective. It’s art. You're judging art that’s transformed into a sport. But we do try to keep it as non-biased as possible.”
Do Breakers Ever Disagree with the Judges?
Yes, disagreements happen. “In breaking, it's a battle. It’s a battle culture—hip-hop is,” Louis said with a chuckle. “In breaking, we call out judges. If I feel wronged in a battle, sometimes I’ll say, ‘Hey, you gotta show me what you mean.’” However, such confrontations are unlikely to happen on the Olympic stage.
How (and When) Can I Watch Olympic Breaking?
Friday, Aug. 9: B-Girls Breaking
- Round Robin: Noon ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
- Quarterfinals: Starting 2 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
- Semifinals: Starting 2:45 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
- Bronze Medal Battle: 3:15 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
- Gold Medal Battle: 3:23 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
Saturday, Aug. 10: B-Boys Breaking
- Round Robin: Noon ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
- Quarterfinals: 2 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
- Semifinals: 2:45 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
- Bronze Medal Battle: 3:15 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
- Gold Medal Battle: 3:23 p.m. ET on E!, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com
