Breaking is already competing for places in the Olympics – 08/27/2023 – Sports

Nathana Venancio, 30, from Minas Gerais, says that her aptitude for breaking is in her blood. Born in Uberlândia, she started attending the city’s cyphers, as the circles where dance battles take place are called, in 2008, at the invitation of a former teacher.

Five years later, her mother told her a secret: it was on one of those wheels that she had met her father, who died when Nathana was still a child. “I didn’t think you would take it so seriously,” confessed the mother.

Without seriousness it would be impossible, however, to get where it is today. Competitor and judge of international breaking events, Nathana is among the 60 best b-girls in the world ranking of athletes in the sport, and is already competing, with the other members of the Brazilian team, for a place in the Paris Olympics, which will take place in less than of one year.

In the French capital, 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will compete for medals. The European country is entitled to two vacancies, one per gender. Another four spots are reserved for athletes from underrepresented countries at the Games, invited by a committee formed to ensure the principle of universality in the competition.

Athletes can claim the remaining 26 places in three different ways. The first is winning the breaking world championship, which takes place in September this year in Belgium.

The second is winning one of the five continental championships linked to the International Dance Sport Federation (WDSF). In the case of Brazil, this dispute is for the Panamericano, in November, in Chile.

The last chance to get a place in Paris is by accumulating points in the international events that have been taking place since September 2022 and will run until the end of this year. The top 40 in the world rankings will then compete in the three events of the Olympic qualifying series, in Paris, between March and July 2024. At this stage, the other 14 athletes (7 per gender) who compete in the Olympics will be selected.

The idea of ​​including breaking in Paris came from the French organizing committee itself, and was endorsed by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). The entity wants to renew the audience of the games and based its bet on the successful experience of the sport in the 2018 Youth Games.

Dance is one of the elements that make up hip hop culture, which emerged in the American ghettos 50 years ago. In cyphers, two or more dancers battle. In official disputes, there is an MC who introduces the duels. When the DJ starts the music, one of the athletes needs to enter the circle and present his sequence of steps. Then it’s the turn of the opponent’s replica.

At the Olympic Games, performances will be judged by a complex scoring system. In addition to body control, variety and clear execution of movements, the criteria also include the ability of the athletes to synchronize their dances with the music, the capacity for improvisation, spontaneity and even the personality of the dancer.

“It’s a subjective system. You don’t have mandatory moves, but you have fundamentals. [Numa batalha] you don’t have to jump if you don’t want to, but if you do jump, you have to jump in a certain way”, explains Lucimar dos Santos, coordinator of High Performance at the National Council of Sports Dance (CNDD), which prepares the selection for Paris.

The Brazilian team has six members, and was formed after the 2022 Brazilian championship. Nathana has a countryman, the b-boy Rato. From Pará, come b-girl Mini Japa and b-boy Leony. The b-girl Touquinha and the b-boy Luan San are the team’s representatives from São Paulo.

In order to satisfy the more abstract criteria of judging at the Olympics, athletes look to other disciplines and rhythms for inspiration. To escape with charm from a slip in the middle of an acrobatics, for example, Nathana’s way out is to remember the contemporary dance classes she attended before discovering breaking.

Leony, who was born in Ananindeua (PA), drinks from the region’s typical dances, such as carimbó and tecnobrega. “I look for concepts, you know? Carimbó has a lot of spins.

The b-boy is highly regarded as a medalist in Paris. Last year, he ended up ranked 29th in the breaking world. He won the Brazilian stage of Red Bull BC One for five years, one of the biggest championships in the sport, organized by the energy drink brand that also sponsors him.

Before being able to support himself with just breaking, the b-boy worked as a bicycle repairman, shop assistant, handyman on construction sites and street vendor. The man from Pará assesses that the debut of breaking in the Olympic Games opened space for greater financial gains for the athletes.

“Breaking is still breaking, but our media exposure has increased. A lot of people already knew what it was, but didn’t know how to name it.

The opinion that joining the Olympics was positive for the sport is shared by names historically linked to the practice, but the selection process did not happen without conflicts.

Created in 2013, the CNDD was recognized by the WDSF the following year as a representative of sports dance in Brazil. That’s what enabled him to be treated by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) as responsible for managing breaking in the country at an Olympic level, even without ever having organized any event specific to the modality.

The breaking department was created by the CNDD in January 2021, following the announcement of the modality’s inclusion in Paris-2024. But the Brazilian Breaking Confederation (CBRB), which already organized national championships, accuses the council of closing itself off to dialogue. In contrast, the CNDD claims that the process is democratic.

Despite the divergences, the CNDD says it is confident in placing Brazilian athletes in the Olympics. Dancers have received support from coaches, nutritionists and psychologists. “The expectation is great”, says Santos.