DALLAS — What started in the nightclubs and on the street corners of New York City is now an Olympic sport.
The art of breaking, aka breakdancing, will take the biggest stage possible this weekend in Paris for the first time ever as an Olympic sport.
But the craft, the culture and the competition still have roots in all the same places of its humble beginnings.
“It has been in my family for a while,” said David Jasso or B-Boy Soulbot as he is known on the dance floor. “I was going to weddings and quinceaneras and watching my uncles bust out a little.”
On Sundays, you can find David and other DFW area B-Boys and B-Girls (the term for breaking participants) practicing at Klyde Warren Park. But at the core of breaking is competition; which is why he thinks it will make the perfect Olympic sport.
“Everyone loves a competitive matchup," Jasso said. "How you present yourself, the personality you convey, the musicality foundation, style. That is what they are judging on.”
While the best of the best will battle for the gold medal in Paris this weekend, you do not have to go far to see similar competitions. Battle Grounds TX is a group that holds competitions in Deep Ellum. One competition, Ritual Warfare, is a high-level breaking competition scheduled for Aug. 24 at the Kessler Theater.
Like local competitions, the Olympic competitors will battle one-on-one in a tournament-style bracket. Nine judges will score their performance based on the elements of breaking, including top rocks, footwork, power moves and the freeze. The winner will advance to the next round.
Local performers expect the inclusion in the Olympics to create a noticeable increase in interest. The Dallas Mavericks introduced a breaking team into their arena entertainment two years ago.
"It is incredible to see a craft go from humble beginnings to a worldwide platform,” said Adriana Coronado, one of the Mavs breakers who started breaking after taking a hip-hop dance class.
The B-Girls will compete in Paris on August 9 and the B-Boys get their turn on August 10.