At last, breaking will compete in the Olympics. How are the rivals going to be assessed?
PARIS (AP) — New Olympic rules are needed for a new sport. Furthermore, even though breaking, also known as breakdancing, has been around for many years, Olympic judges are still relatively new to the field of breaking.
Hip-hop has four fundamental parts; breaking is one of them. The 50th anniversary of breaking was commemorated last year. The battles, maneuvers, and culture are not new.
The international tournaments are also not new; the sport attracted a younger audience during the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The Red Bull BC One World Final has been held for 20 years. Attending the last few days of the Paris Games, many people are still dubious about the Olympic addition.
Breaker Ronnie Abaldonado, also known as b-boy Ronnie, has been competing, judging, and teaching for 31 years.
He said, "I think the naysayers have a notion about breaking still being something from the '80s or something that is just in the streets, and I do not think they appreciate how much it has developed.
" One of NBC's authorized pundits for the breaking competition is Abaldonado.
"Once they witness it on the grand stage and witness the spectacle, the caliber of skill, and even the extreme difficulty, it will be irrefutable," he declared.
It is comparable to gymnastics, in a way.
Breaking is fundamentally an art form that unites the body, mind, and soul.
The Trivium judging system, developed for breaking's debut at the Buenos Aires Youth Games, will be used by judges to assign points to breakers.
Each of the nine judges' scores—which make up 20% of the total—are based on the following criteria: technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality, and originality for each breaker.
Because breaking originated as an art form, it is evaluated qualitatively.
Judges score each round and battle using a sliding scale, shifting the scale in favor of the breaker who is winning in each of the aforementioned categories.
An emcee will provide remarks and excite the audience during the entire event.
The Olympic competition's judges are still unknown to the general public.
"The power moves, like the 'air' moves, the head spins, and the ground power, which are like the windmills and freezes, are what looks so alluring to the human sight," Abaldonado remarked.
"What is visually pleasing is the strength, control, and quickness." But the technical aspect—“which is like the footwork and dancing on the music or beat, since it is like the DNA of breaking,” according to Abaldonado—will be judged.
Furthermore, improvisation is necessary, he noted, as it contributes to the creativity score.
The music is chosen by the DJ; the breakers are not aware of the soundtrack they will be competing to until they are on the dance floor.
"We have to improvise and adjust on the fly, but we also have to practice and rehearse everything," Team USA member Victor Montalvo, commonly known as "b-boy Victor," said.
"We attempt to avoid having a completely practiced round because it often appears robotic.
" Seeing breaking leave its mark on the world stage is gratifying for Bronx native Tony "Mr.
Wave" Wesley, who rose to fame with the New York City Breakers decades ago. He is currently attempting to impart his institutional expertise by developing a virtual lesson plan for the Quizlet digital learning platform that contains flashcards on breaking's vocabulary and aspects.
We did not seem to do enough for the younger generations, in my opinion. Then I witnessed my classmates passing away and leaving us with nothing but their stories, which they took with them.
Thus, that story needs to be written by someone, Wesley remarked. Below is a summary of the five standards that judges will use to assess breakers:
Technique
Maintaining physiological control while focusing on athleticism, form and spatial awareness.
Vocabulary
The range of moves that display variation and the quantity of moves, ideally with minimal repetition.
Execution
The ability to land and perform moves smoothly, without falls or slips and while maintaining consistency and flow.
Musicality
The ability to stay on beat, syncing movements to the rhythm of the music.
Originality
The capacity for improvisation, creativity and maintaining spontaneity with style and personality.