Half a century after its appearance on the streets of New York, breaking dance is making its debut at the Paris Olympics on Friday. But is dance really a sport?
ADVERTISING
The atmosphere is heating up in Chateletand Parisian hip-hop culture hotbed. This week, while waiting for the tests of breakinghundreds of people attend the ‘battles’ organized by a major sports brand.
“The emergence of breaking in the Olympics will highlight a surprising and very physical disciplineThere are really nice movements, but the most important thing for me is the creativity“, explains Bboy Diego, a dancer who came from La Rochelle to take part in the event.
El breakdance, o breaking, Born in the Bronx, New York City in the 70shas experienced a meteoric rise worldwideToday, the world’s best dancers regularly compete in international tournaments, but for other members of the movement, competition does not fully represent the values of breaking.
“Breaking at the Games is great because you get noticed as a sport, but it’s above all an art. In its origins, it was practiced in the street and anyone could participate. For me, the core values son share and have fun, not to compete“explains Bgirl Vibe, a 16-year-old breakdancer based in Paris.
A new Olympic sport
“I’ve been in hip hop for 40 years, I come from culture, but now I represent sport. Sport or culture, it doesn’t matter“It’s great that we’re in the sport, because it’s a good promotion for breaking,” says OG SAMSON, a hip hop figure who has come from Slovenia to train several athletes participating in the Olympic Games.
16 male and 16 female dancers (or ‘breakers’) will face each other in battles of around one minute each, this Friday and Saturday in the arena built on the Place de la Concorde, in the heart of Paris. Two of them will win the first medals gold in breaking of the Olympic history.
After skateboarding and surfing in Tokyo, breaking has been chosen by the IOC to adapt to contemporary sporting practices around the world. Considered as an additional sport in Paris, The discipline was not selected for Los Angeles in 2028.
But is dance really a sportand untiland languageWhy is it danced all over the world? immersive exhibition in Paris entitled ‘Danser’ invites children and their parents to immerse themselves in the mysteries of this universal practice.
A matter of creativity
The danza has been the subject of numerous investigations over the centuries, from Darwin to neuroscientists who have recently demonstrated its benefits for the brainAccording to scientists, dance helps people discover their bodies, explore space and create social bonds.
“In all our projects, we can see that a bond is created between groups. People don’t know each other and suddenly a unity emerges, a union through dance” explains Vincent Delétang, one of the choreographers participating in the exhibition.
Families go through several spaces called “Walk”, “Spin”, “Jump” and then “Meeting” in a dance that takes place every half hour. The exhibition is more of a a matter of creativity that of an image. There are no mirrors and technology transforms visitors into avatars to work on movement and detachment.
“The danza es one of the first forms of expression “Dance appeared at the same time as human beings. Dance appeared as part of religious celebrations, entertainment and the desire to celebrate oneself… We can see it right now at the Olympic Games, when everyone claps at the same time to support a sporting movement, or when a wave is thrown in the stadium,” adds the choreographer.
“The motor skills of the children enters in play since birth“It’s when we grow up that inhibitions come into play, because it’s a question of image. But little by little we can put that aside,” says Delétang, who says she started dancing at family parties before enrolling in dance as a teenager and making contemporary dance her profession.
“The contemporary dance He overwhelmed me with his creative principleIt was crazy to discover that I didn’t have to repeat existing steps, but could invent my own vocabulary“, says the choreographer.
The ‘Dancer’ exhibition can be visited at the City of Science and Industry in Paris.
