“Make noise,” shouted the moderator of the emergency meeting on Friday at the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris.

The crowd, still not full and confident of their cause, cheered timidly in return.

Then the DJ turned up the volume and the competitors known as B-Girl India (from the Netherlands) and B-Girl Talash (representing the Olympic refugee team) entered the dance floor, ready to compete.

And so the newest Olympic sport was opened, watched by, among others, the American rapper Snoop Dogg, who had previously performed on stage.

“It felt really good. I was happy to be the first” to win a breakdance battle at the Olympics, B-Girl India, whose real name is India Sardjoe, told reporters when DW asked her how it felt to make history.

“I tried to treat it like a normal competition. Of course, we know it’s the Olympics and it’s different. I tried to keep it as normal as possible,” she added.

Former world champion Sardjoe, speaking after the round robin phase, ended up in fourth place. Japanese B-Girl Ami won the gold medal by winning all three rounds of the final against Lithuanian B-Girl Nicka, who took silver. Bronze went to Chinese B-Girl 671.

“Once and done” with the escape from Los Angeles in 2028

The inclusion of the discipline of breaking, formerly known as breakdancing, in the Olympic programme six years after its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires is part of the campaign to attract a younger audience to the Games.

At first glance, this tactic seems to have worked. There were noticeably more children in the audience than at other Olympic competitions, including nine-year-old Fiep Neuteboom, who was watching with her parents and older brother from the Netherlands.

“It’s cool, it’s very exciting,” she said, clutching a poster with the name “India” on the Dutch flag.

Her mother, Maartje Neuteboom, agreed.

“The Olympics are entering a new era, and that’s why there are new sports like breakdancing,” she said. “It’s really great for the kids.”

This makes it all the more surprising that breaking is a one-off event. The sport was dropped from the 2028 Los Angeles Games to make room for baseball, softball and flag football, which bring more money and prestige to the US market.

“I’m a little sad, but at the same time I’m not convinced yet,” said Antilai Sandrini, also known as B-Girl Anti, from Italy. “I still don’t believe I’m here because breakdancing is so different. It’s not a real sport. I never thought I could be here at the Olympics one day. Unfortunately, it won’t be in LA. But it’s OK, I like my life.”

Olympia must break away from its roots

Of course, some have asked why breakdancing was included in the Olympic Games at all.

The grandeur of the municipal sports park at Place de la Concorde, with its 19th-century statues, is certainly a far cry from the roots of Breaking Bad as a cultural phenomenon that took hold on the streets of the Bronx, New York City, in the early 1970s, emerging from the poverty and racism experienced by the neighborhood’s black and Hispanic populations.

However, international breakdance judge Sophie Lindner is convinced that the sport deserves its place at the Olympic Games.

“Breaking had a very competitive energy from the beginning,” Lindner, who also studies dance and movement at the German Sport University in Cologne, told DW. “Breaking was invented by children who wanted to compare themselves.”

The sport has become much more professional in recent years. There are a whole range of competitions and companies such as Red Bull and Monster, both energy drink manufacturers, are involved as sponsors.

“People see themselves as athletes,” Lindner said. “They have sponsorship deals with brands that they can actually earn a living from.”

For bronze medalist Victor Montalvo, it’s all about proving people wrong.

“I’m just happy that the world is seeing breaking,” Montalvo, who competes as B-Boy Victor, told DW at the start of the competition. “A lot of people have stereotypes and misconceptions about breaking, as if it were just spinning on a cardboard floor. It has evolved.”

Culture vs. competition

Lindner is also aware that there are some in the community who fear that the soul of breakdancing is “dying out and becoming too commercial.” These people, she says, think breakdancing “should stay underground and not be an Olympic sport.”

For them, “getting to know each other and spending time together is the main focus,” added Lindner.

Nevertheless, she is confident that if handled correctly, both camps – the cultural and the sporting – can flourish with the sport’s new prestige.

“The Olympics have had a huge positive effect on the dancers,” said Lindner. “Breaking is respected as a profession and as a sport and is not just something bad kids do.”

“It crosses all boundaries. So many kids are starting to get over it. It’s wonderful. We want a lot of people to experience this art form.”

The World DanceSport Federation, which hosts the event at the Olympic Games, had previously said it was “deeply disappointed” that the sport was not on the Los Angeles program, but said it was “still in the running” for inclusion in the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

At the moment, people here in Paris are just trying to enjoy the moment and the experience that comes with it.

“I’m honestly not disappointed that it’s not going to be in LA,” Montalvo said. “We never expected that, that was never our goal. I just love getting started. At least we’re here.”

Edited by: Sean Sinico