It’s Saturday morning in Budapest and, though a lengthy summer thunderstorm has finally moved on, the city remains hot and sticky. At the Ludovika University campus something different is brewing. Nineties hip-hop is blaring out across the university gymnasium, where 80 breakdancers from all over the globe are about to battle for a prize that few could have imagined: a place at the Olympic Games.
On a stage that looks like a giant turntable, Belgium’s B-Girl Madmax (née Maxime Blieck) is doing a last-minute run-through of some steps with her coach. Courtnaé Paul, a b-girl from South Africa, paces back and forth absorbing the music. Others make TikTok videos or take pictures standing on the Olympic rings printed on the stage floor. For most, it’s as close as they will come to the biggest sporting show on earth. Only a quarter of those competing this weekend will make it to Paris.
Breaking — to use its correct name — began on the streets of the Bronx in New York more than 50 years ago. The energy-laced dance style combining athletic moves such as back spins with stylised footwork was tied to the rise of hip-hop in the 1980s and made waves across music, fashion and youth culture. Competitive breaking first emerged back in 1990, but it wasn’t until 2018 that it debuted at the Youth Olympic Games, as part of a push to reach the next generation of athletes and fans.