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No one expected breakdancing—the street dancing style that incorporates head spins and freeze moves—to ever become an Olympic sport. Even members of the World DanceSport Federation, the governing body of competitive dancing, were surprised to learn in 2020 that “breaking,” as it is called, had been added to the lineup for the 2024 Games in Paris.

“It was a shock to everybody,” says Martin Gilian, a member of the World DanceSport Federation, and one of nine judges who will score the Olympic breaking competition on August 9 and 10. “We had no idea how we got into the Youth Olympics in 2018 and suddenly we were finding out we’d be in Paris.”

The truth is that breaking has resonated with younger audiences since it was born on the streets of New York City’s South Bronx more than 50 years ago. In fact, as an original element of hip-hop—alongside deejaying, emceeing, and graffiti—breaking has never stopped pushing boundaries. Is it an art form or a sport? Debate it all you want, but to me, it’s clear that breaking is both.

Breaking’s inclusion in the 2024 Summer Games is nod to the graffiti we see in Europe’s first collection of modern and contemporary art at Centre Pompidou in Paris; and to the rap of this year’s Olympic hype men Snoop Dogg and MC Solaar of France. I’m pretty much obsessed with breaking’s Olympic debut. Drawn to its combination of history, physical strength, and creative expression, I’ll be in the stands at the Paris Olympics on August 9, cheering on the athletes, which fans call “B-Girls” and “B-Boys.” On La Concorde in the heart of Paris, next to BMX freestyle, skateboarding, and 3X3 basketball, in one big “hip hop celebration” breaking will take place outdoors in an urban park. Here’s what to know about the newest Olympic event:

How the Competition Works

Breaking’s top athletes draw from thousands of tricks, and they improvise signature moves never performed by anyone in competition until the Olympics. Athletes will be judged on their technique, dance vocabulary, execution, musicality, and originality, with each category counting for 20 percent of overall score.

On August 9, 17 B-Girls will face off in one-on-one 60-second dance battles. Among them will be 35-year-old American Grace Sun “Sunny” Choi, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s business school. Also in the lineup is 21-year-old Manizha “Jawad” Talash, a refugee and Afghanistan’s first female breaker who fled the Taliban, as well as Italian Antilai Sandrini, who goes by the name “B-Girl Anti,” and is an artistic gymnast and cheerleader-turned breaker who is also a competitive Kung Fu athlete.

Then, on August 10, 16 B-Boys will follow the same format, laying down flips and flares. According to Gilian, the event borrows some DNA from martial arts and gymnastics. “Breakers are always trying to evolve and make their own signature moves,” he says. In this evolving and improvisational sport, breakers introduce personalized moves from the main elements of standing moves, called “top rock,” floor moves, called “down rock,” and freeze, which is holding a pose in an unusual position.

“It’s about improvisational storytelling, following a concept throughout the entire round. For example, a dancer could hold his chin the entire round, even while going down on the floor in a power move (a twist and spin)” says Gilian. “Or he might hear the sound of a bird that inspires him to express the sound throughout the dance. It’s as creative as possible.”

In a round robin, the top two from each of the four men’s and women’s groups will advance to the quarterfinals, then semis, and a best-of-three final for the medals, putting on a show for the Olympic audience while they can. Sadly, breaking is expected to be left off the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Getting fired up is necessary at this new Olympic sport that relies more on audience participation than other Olympic events.“One of the most important things to the sport is creating an atmosphere so the dancers can interact with the audience,” says Gilian “We don’t want you to just come and watch. You really need to be involved if you’re there and make some noise because the better the atmosphere, the better the performance.”

Breaking is also the only Olympic event where the judges get to perform. “We’re paying a tribute to hip-hop culture, so at the end we’ll dance to a live rapper, while the DJ spins the music,” says Gilian, who goes by the breaking name B-Boy MG—all the judges double as breakers and Gilian, who used to compete, is also a rapper.

The Hip-Hop History

Gilian first witnessed breaking in 2004 in a Run DMC MTV music video as a student at Florida International University (Florida, a breaking hub, is also home of Olympic medal hopeful B-Boy “Victor” Montalvo). But of course breaking dates back to the 1969 gang activity in the South Bronx, when instead of taking a swing at each other, each side would pretend to fight in a dance battle.

As the story goes, on August 11, 1973, a Jamaican immigrant who went by DJ Kool Herc—the godfather of hip hop culture—was performing at an apartment and invited party goers to dance during percussive “breaks’ in his music. From the Black and Latino neighborhood street culture in New York City in the 1980s, the term “breaking” evolved in the media into “breakdancing” after the popular Rock Steady B-Boys and the B-Girls rose up in pop culture while touring the world stage. And as breaking faded from urban America in the 1990s, it was picking up in its first organized competitive world circuit heavily centered around Europe—with the first major global “Battle of the Year” in Germany in 1990, followed by the first Red Bull breaking competition in 2001.

An Olympic Underdog

In 2016, the World DanceSport Federation proposed several competitive dancing styles to organizers of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The federation hoped that one would be chosen, and Gilian and others believed that Latin dancing might be singled out. When the International Olympics Committee, which oversaw the event, chose breaking “it came as a surprise, but was extremely popular for some reason,” Gilian remembers.

In 2020, when breaking was officially added to the 2024 Paris Games, the decision drew some pushback. Critics argued that dancing wasn’t a sport. It wasn’t the first time the Olympics had to consider art as competition. Between 1912 and 1948, the Olympics included competitive events in the artistic categories of architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.

Officials with the IOC and World DanceSport Federation faced plenty of hurdles to get breaking ready for the Olympics: standardizing rules and judging while maintaining the sport’s artistic side. Rules require DJs to pick the same song at random for both dancers. The hosts, who narrate the competition on the mic, maintain a central role as physically close to the breakers on the dance floor as possible.

“We made sure that the audience could get as close as possible, so they could feed off the energy of the crowd and maintain the true essence of breaking. The IOC really came through and we’ve accomplished that,” says Gilian. He says that breaking has experienced a resurgence in popularity since it was announced as an Olympic sport.

“We’re seeing all around the world that parents are more motivated to get their kids into the breaking—and nine and 10 year olds are learning basic moves in as little as two days that took me 10 or 11 months to master,” says Gilian. “There’s been a huge growth in the last few years all around the world, especially in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.”

Breakers to Watch in Paris

The B-Girls

B-Girl Sunny: Grace Sunny Choi is a former gymnast who picked up breaking as a student at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. After graduating, she began battling in world-wide competitions, going on to win silver at the 2022 World Games.

B-Girl Ayumi: With a recent win at the Olympic Qualifier in Shanghai, 2021 world champion Fukushima Ayumi of Japan is one to watch out for. At age 41, this veteran has the dynamics (transitions between down and up rock) and the experience to go far.

B-Girl Ami: Ami Yuasa, of Japan, was introduced to hip-hop at age six. Today, the 25 year old is known for her footwork and flow (the art of combining moves in a creative and rhythmic way), after taking world championship titles in 2019 and 2022 and making the Red Bull BBC One World Final in 2023.

B-Girl India: India Sardjoe, of the Netherlands, has been breaking since age 7—while also playing football as the only girl on an all-boys’ team. Today, she’s fearlessly competing at age 16 as one of the youngest Olympic Athletes, after winning gold in the 2023 European Games.

B-Girl Nicka: This Lithuanian breakdancer is only 17 years old yet she’s the current world champion. Dominika Banevic has it all–vocabulary, dynamics, flavor, and form and could take the win.

The B-Boys

B-Boy Victor: Victor Montalvo, 30, is living the dream of his father Victor Bermudez and his uncle Hector Bermudez—twin-brother breaking pioneers who helped popularize the sport in Mexico in the 1980s. After growing up in Florida, he’s the current world champion. Expect traditional style with loads of signature moves.

B-Boy Hong 10: Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Kim Hong-Yul, 40, is a three-time Red Bull BC One champion with experience on his side. Loaded with an arsenal of innovative moves—arguably the most original in the game—he’s one to watch.

B-Boy Shigekix: This Olympic flag carrier from Japan is a Red Bull BC One All Star and the 2020 Red Bull BC One champion. Shigeyuki Nakarai is a former freestyle dancer known for his control and fast power moves (using the whole body in a rotational move while balancing on the hands, elbows, head, or shoulders).

B-Boy Phil Wizard: Canada’s Philip Kim was once a kid watching breaking in the street shows of downtown Vancouver. He took up the sport and went on to win gold at the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 Pan American Breaking Championships, also taking silver in the 2023 World Championships.

B-Boy Lithe-ing: China’s Qi Xiangyu, 19, is the new kid on the block coming up quickly after becoming runner up at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai and taking fourth at the 2023 World Championships.