Breaking Practice and the Olympics
These images are part of a work in progress project, documenting a breaking community in Bristol (@BristolBreakingSessions). The most consistent gatherings of the group are weekly practice sessions, run by Seba (@SebaTheAmoeba), which take place in the basketball court of a community centre in St Pauls, Bristol. These sessions are available for anyone who wants to learn and practise breaking, with Seba usually teaching with an offshoot group in a section of the court for an hour before everyone practises however they like for another hour, including a cypher in the centre of the court. Breaking was formed in the streets of New York around the 1980s when Caribbean migrants set up park jams along with their culture of sound systems. The public could happen upon these events and DJs (as they're now known) - most notably Kool Herc - noticed how people began to dance differently in the breaks of popular tracks [The break in a track is where the band playing the music would break down the tune, leaving the drums in a prominent position often using a new rhythm as a bridge to a different part of the song]. Herc found a way to loop and prolong these short moments in songs, and 'breaking' as a dance form developed alongside DJing and the rest of what would soon be called Hip Hop culture. Breaking will appear at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with events on the 9th and 10th of August. Though its place is yet to be solidified in the Olympics with it being overlooked for selection in the LA 2028 games. Being an improvisational art form developed on the street by largely poor and disenfranchised people as a way of coming together under racial and economic inequality, there is some controversy within the Hip Hop community about whether it's right that it should be in the Olympics. Some feel that Hip Hop culture's root essence of peace, unity, love and having fun are lost when it is co-opted by officials, commercialised and put through a rigid judging structure. While they certainly have a point, others also feel that it is an unfortunate necessity considering the opportunity for greater visibility and enfranchisement of the community as a whole. Breaking remains in the race for selection at Brisbane 2032.