Breakdancing in the Olympics? It’s happening in 3 years
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As the world’s eyes turn to Tokyo this week, some athletes have their sights set on the next summer Olympics: Paris 2024. That’s when breakdancing will debut as an official Olympic sport.
Dancers say they are waiting to see the International Olympic Committee’s effect on the sport and how the qualifying process will work.
On a recent morning in New York City, three of the world’s top competitive break dancers talked about their hopes of competing in the Olympics.
Dancer Fabiano Lopes, 33, is from Paraná, Brazil. Better known to his 500,000 Instagram followers as B-Boy Neguin, Lopes discovered breaking nearly 30 years ago when he caught snippets of b-boys doing windmills on television. He hopes to compete in the 2024 Olympics but realizes he can’t foresee his body condition in three years. He coaches other dancers and looks forward to the games as either a contender or a coach.
Break dancer Kateryna Pavlenko, 26, from Kharkiv, Ukraine, dances under the name B-Girl Kate. She says breakdancing has always been competitive since its earliest days of dance battles. She looks forward to seeing it elevated on a world stage in 2024.
Break dancer Victor Montalvo, 27, of Victor Montalvo, says he was inspired to breakdance by his father and his father’s twin, who used to perform in their native Mexico. Montalvo dances as B-Boy Victor.
Breakdancing videos on YouTube and social media garner millions of views.
Montalvo says that’s where he learned that people were breakdancing around the world in unique ways, so it’s a natural fit for the modern Olympics.
