I wouldn't have given Breaking a look had not there been a Lithuanian girl in the mix. She went by the name of Nicka, short for Dominika, and has gotten a lot of attention here. It was fun seeing Snoop Dogg lead the contingent of b-girls out into the ring for the final elimination round, although he's an LA boy, not a NY boy, which is where break dancing originated back in the late 60s. I thought it had been forgotten until Millennials and Zoomers picked it up and turned into an international "sport," making its first appearance in the Olympics.
Sad to say the Americans were woefully presented in the early rounds by an Asian-American girl named Sunny, who kept getting in Nicka's face for no reason that I could see. Nicka had to shield herself from one of Sunny's flying kicks at one point. Maybe the badass American girl had confused breaking with capoeira? It didn't matter, Nicka won her group and booked her place in the finals.
They staged the event like prize fights. I don't recall this being the format of break dancing. I remember guys walking the streets of Georgetown with their giant boom boxes, and when the mood hit them would set the giant stereo players down and break into a dance. They usually had a few sheets of cardboard to lay on the ground so as not to get their expensive tracksuits dirty.
Nicka had two Chinese girls to overcome to face the vaunted Ami in the final match. Ami hailed from Japan and was undefeated in international competition. At 25, she had 8 years on Nicka. Personally, I thought Nicka outperformed her but Ami edged her out on the judges' scorecards, which were flashed in red and blue across a huge board shaped like a vintage boom box behind the nine judges. Nicka had to settle for silver. She seemed happy just the same.
Unfortunately, she won't have the opportunity to build on her performance because LA has nixed Breaking from the 2028 Olympics, despite a great turnout in the ring and a large television audience for the event. I guess with no notable American star, what's the point?
However, I think there might be some renewed interest after the controversy the b-girls stirred. Australian breaker Raygun looked woefully out of place among Zoomers. The 36-year-old was painful to watch as she clearly didn't have the moves to compete at this level, but made the most of it with her "kangaroo" pose. Kevin Fredericks took exception to Nicka's durang, which he considered to be cultural appropriation, but Nicka was probably the closest to the origins of the dance style and credits the OG's for inspiring her moves. The Chinese girls looked like converted gymnasts doing floor exercises set to rap music. Ami also stuck to the roots of the dance and wore a more safe baseball cap in her final match with Nicka.
Not everyone was miffed by the Breaking. Ice T found it exciting to see Breaking back in the limelight and gave praise to the b-girls on X. It's funny to see this iconic African-American dance picked up by so many people around the world, much like rap. One of the more poignant moments was when refugee breaker Talish donned a cape that read "Free Afghan Women." She fled Afghanistan in 2021. Unfortunately, she was disqualified for making a political statement so she never got to dance.
If nothing else, Breaking gained a bigger audience at the Olympics. There were b-boys too but we didn't watch them. The American fared much better in this competition, taking home a bronze medal. Maybe Australia in 2032. I just hope no more kangaroo poses.
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