One year before Breaking makes its debut at the Olympic games, Busta Rhymes in a new documentary on Red Bull TV, ‘Pushing Progression: Breaking’ unpacked how Breaking went from the Bronx to the world stage.
‘Pushing Progression: Breaking’ explores how breaking emerged as a dance style from the Bronx in the late sixties, making its mainstream debut in 1984 when 100 breakers performed at the opening ceremony of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Breaking set foot in Mzansi over 20 years ago and has thrived in leaps and bounds with various competitions taking place, including Red Bull BC One, which crowned its first SA champion in 2007.
The competition has evolved into the largest one-to-one breaking battle hosted in a different major city each year, where thousands of B-boys and B-girls compete for a chance to be crowned World Champion.
Since its arrival in Mzansi, Red Bull BC One has unearthed and spotlighted the country's top B-boys and B-girls such as Vouks, B-boy Benny, B-boy Meaty, B-girl Courtnae and B-girl Mids.
This year, following a five-month-long search, b-boy Toufeeq and b-girl Keisha were crowned the 2023 champions and will head to Paris to represent SA at the world finals.
“The first Red Bull BC One South Africa was in 2007, and the b-girl category was introduced in 2019 and now we are going to the Olympics, that just shows that the sport is progressing.
“Being in the Olympics is also taking our culture, our dance to another level where there is a huge appetite on a global scale,” commented b-girl Courtnae.
“Breaking was the highest-watched sport at this year’s Youth Olympics and that shows that there is interest. I hope that the sport will remain in the Olympics beyond 2024,” she added.
Red Bull BC One South Africa has helped women break barriers by playing a pivotal role in not only highlighting but validating South African B-Girls and B-Boys across the board.
“We don’t have as many eyes on us as the global scene, so it’s great to have a quality platform such as Red Bull BC One that can open doors and give us something to work and aspire towards.”
Red Bull BC One is a global one-on-one breaking competition. Every year thousands of breakers compete for a chance to represent at the World Final.
Courtnae shared her hopes to get onto a more level playing field with the rest of the world, allowing for a fair advantage.
“Africa has been at a disadvantage due to access, lack of infrastructure, financial support, as well as not being catered for on the Olympic qualifier schedule.”