THE RHYTHMIC REVOLUTION: BREAKING THROUGH PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS OLYMPIC GOLD

But breaking’s arrival on the Olympics represents something radical and something traditional – something both new and under threat. Phillip Kim, a Canadian B-boy who goes by the name of Phil Wizard, is preparing to set the stage in Paris 2024 as a major contender for the first ever gold medal in breaking at the Olympics. Philip Kim, or Phil Wizard, right, competing at the R16 World Final 2015 in Montreal.Breakdancing’s path to the Olympics was driven by cross-currents of perceived legitimacy and cultural acceptance. It’s about shifting perceptions, and Kim’s journey to the Olympics serves as a microcosm for the growing shift toward cultural acceptance and what it means to have an Olympic sport. This is not the story of breaking in the broad sense, but it is a story about the significance and power of shifting perception itself.

PERCEIVING BREAKING BEYOND STEREOTYPES

Of all those triggered by the news of breaking in the Olympic Games, few have spoken as frankly as Phil Wizard, the battle-weary 41-year-old hip-hop MC, three-time world B-boy champion and chief advisor to the US Olympic Dance Training Center. 'Let’s be real,' he said after the announcement was made in December 2017. 'It’s not a battle when you’re on that floor. It’s not a battle when you have 10 judges. It’s not a battle when you have a three-minute time limit. It’s not a battle when you have a score. It’s not a battle when you randomly draw numbers. We have to recognise the battle is not just on the floor but against the neighbours, the people out there that want to ruin it – I’m calling them out right now!' Wizard is referring to those who have historically questioned the ‘legitimacy’ of breaking as a ‘real’ Olympic sport. While some might prefer to call it breakdancing (Kim prefers ‘breaking’ – both because of its authenticity and historical roots, and also because the term ‘dance’, in his view, ‘doesn’t reflect his style’), Kim pragmatically notes that 'breakdancing is like the #1 searchable thing … it definitely gets on Google more'. This is about semantics – reading the indicators and reflecting on how perceptions get refracted and refined (and sometimes just retweeted) in the online echo chamber.

FROM A WEDDING DANCE TO OLYMPIC HOPES: THE JOURNEY OF PERCEPTION

From the very start of Phil Wizard’s journey into the world of breaking, when he rocked the mic at Kim’s wedding and dazzled a 12-year-old future B-girl, something was stirring. When he was signed by sponsors such as Red Bull, it seemed to be a confirmation of the dedication and hard work needed to make it to this point. But it is the hope that he and his peers have that the Olympics will help change the way the world sees breaking – to recognise it as a powerful and serious sport – that will serve as a wider marker of legacy.

THE COMPLEXITY OF PERCEIVING ARTISTIC SPORTS

Kim points to the subjectivity in scoring a breaking competition. Unlike most sports, which award points according to objective scoring criteria, it requires a much subtler sense of what does and does not constitute creative, technical and musical excellence. This is similar to the longer-term problem of the scientific legitimacy of valuing and measuring forms of expression that fall outside the rigid parameters of Olympic sport.

BREAKING THROUGH THE PERCEPTION BARRIER

These obstacles aside, Kim is hopeful that the Olympics can foster a broader appreciation and comprehension of breaking. His story illustrates an important way in which breaking’s history and cultural significance are embedded in the story of the b‑boy’s formative sesh in the Bronx during the 1970s. As a historical context, that story enriches the contemporary one. It helps us understand the cultural and social dynamics that brought breaking into existence and transformed it into an international movement.

NAVIGATED PERCEPTIONS: THE CULTURAL ROOTS OF BREAKING

But at the centre of Kim’s tale is a respect for the cultural roots of breaking in Black and Latino communities, an understanding of his position as a guest in that culture, and a key conversation around appropriation, respect and the democratic sharing of cultural expression. The Olympics is a chance to educate and contextualise the world in the culture of breaking, a chance not only to present it on a global stage, but to change perceptions to one of recognition and respect.

BEYOND OLYMPIC GOLD: CHANGING PERCEPTIONS IN COMMERCIALIZATION

In similar vein, Phil Wizard reflects on the impact of breaking’s Olympic inclusion on the cultural and commercial climate: Breaking is art, but it was born out of a culture. The culture supports the art, and the art helps support the culture. So, when all of a sudden 'the art' goes and does things, it can make the whole world feel a little disconnected from what the culture has been about for a long time. There is potential for a great deal of discord to come out of all this. Right now, breaking has an opportunity to get a bunch of new, mainstream fans, but these people have no clue what the culture is. At the same time, we want those kids who just enjoy music and movement to keep doing ‘this thing’. We want them to become 'dancers' instead of 'breakers'. But when they start asking more questions about the game, what will happen?

THE VISION OF PERCEPTION: TOWARD A BROADER UNDERSTANDING

In the lead-up to breaking’s Olympic debut, the tale of a kid called Phil Wizard illustrates a story of grit, culture and reinvention. A story of breaking – and the role we all play in it: how what we see can limit what’s possible, and how what we see can expand it in unexpected ways.

REIMAGINING PERCEPTION: THE LEGACY OF BREAKING

The spectacle of breaking’s inclusion in the games of Paris 2024 is more than a milestone for the sport; it offers an opportunity to rethink, revalue and refashion understandings of what artistic sport, cultural contributions and Olympic legacy can mean. By putting forth an alternative, breaking and its patrons such as Phil Wizard invite us to reimagine the futures and contest the present of the sporting, cultural and global worlds of athleticism, athletic culture and global cultural heritage.

UNDERSTANDING PERCEPTION

Perception shapes and colours how we view things, the lens through which we see the world around us and the various components of life – and perceptions play a crucial role in the journey of breaking to the Olympics. It is the groundwork upon which the obstacles and possibilities of breaking’s future rest. It is the force that can turn breaking, on a fundamental level, from something misunderstood and esoteric into something that is widely supported and celebrated. Education, engagement and exposure can go a long way towards engaging the attention of the international sports community and audiences with the spectacular, cultural and athletic aspects of breaking. It’s more than recognition, however. A change in perception also adds to the perception of value, legitimacy and cultural reference on a global stage, a stage that is always changing.