How The Community Is Moving Forward

At the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, break dancing made its debut as an official competitive sport worthy of the gold, silver, or bronze medals. 

In its inaugural year, most of the worldwide attention was not due to the intricate skills exhibited by the athletes as they showed pride in their respective countries, or the cultural commentary on the Hip-Hop pillar evolving from its humble cardboard box beginnings. Many of the conversations about the Olympic Games focused on a competitor named Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, representing Australia, whose routine sparked discussion for all the wrong reasons. 

As she stepped onto the floor, Raygun was prepared to go for the gold with her creative choreography; however, her awkward moves were far from the pristine performance expected of an Olympic-level dancer. After social media backlash, including a confused reaction from Dr. Dre and legendary B-Boy Crazy Legs, the 37-year-old issued an apology to the breaking community. 

While Raygun has since retired from competitive dance battles, b-boys and b-girls across the globe have continued to practice, learn, and compete. The breaking community united through dance before the competition and will continue, no matter the fate of the Hip-Hop pillar as an Olympic sport.

“Olympics were a different experience. I think I’m not used to that type of support for the battles. It was fun, honestly, for me, I had a lot of fun,” explained Logan “Logistx” Edra, a member of the United States breaking team roster from San Diego. She also won the women’s competition at the Red Bull 2025 BC One tournament in Denver this spring. “It was still such a fun experience, and it did make me more motivated after.” 

She continued to explain, “For me, obviously, it’s frustrating for a lot of us, the fact that the high-quality breaking was overshadowed by certain things, but I think if anything, having eyes on us, it’s still an opportunity. I think it’s still good to use that moment to say what we want to say, and we already do that.” 

“If you noticed, the person that got the most feedback and publicity was someone who wasn’t doing very well. So I don’t know, per se, if it got more hype behind it,” added Esita “Flyya” Calhoun.

“I feel like the people who have been doing it, it’s always been hyped for us.” Although the Dayton, Ohio native did not compete at the global games, she has been breaking for over 14 years after having been introduced to the dance style through martial arts. 

While breaking will not return for the 2028 Los Angeles games, there is hope among dancers, artists, and fans alike that it is not counted out permanently. Artists such as LL COOL J agree that the sport deserves another chance. 

“I think it was cool. The music was very authentic, and they stayed true to that. I really wish that they would’ve taken it to the 2028 Olympics, when it’s coming back to America, because that would’ve been nice to do it where it originated, like we’re bringing it back to America, but it’s okay. I think it was a good opportunity for the people who got to go,” explained Flyaa to VIBE.