Paris Olympics 2024: Indian breakers wait for their big break
₹7000-10,000. Local jams and a handful of pan-India events, by private organisers, keep the breakers going but they still don’t have enough avenues to test and tweak, learn and grow. Unlike other performance sports like gymnastics at the Olympics, where participants can practice and perfect their routines, a breaker has to improvise and jam in sync with the beats provided by the DJ.
Despite the persistent problems, there is a sense of pride in the Indian community as breaking approaches its Olympic breakthrough moment. “Since breaking started it has always been evolving. It started on the streets, then it came to the clubs, then it came to studios, then stages and now it’s at the Olympics." says Chaudhary, 26, whose first dance studio was Mumbai’s sidewalks.
“Earlier, a layman watching would think breakers are broke, or have nothing better to do. Even in Bollywood, breakers would be used as fillers. The hero is at the centre, the girls are around him and at the back some guy is doing a backflip.
But now that it is part of the Olympics, it has opened new doors for us. People look at us as athletes." There has been some interest shown by the Madhya Pradesh government as well. In conjunction with the MP state government, Chaudhary with B-Boy Kareem (US breaker Kareem Gwinn) have been holding 15-day breaking camps in Bhopal, about four times a year for the past two years.
Easy access to internet and social media has taken breaking to the masses. While the pioneering generation had to rely on videos and online tutorials, youngsters now have the benefit of player-turned-coaches, who know how tough the road ahead is. “Every time I enter a competition, I see at least three-four new faces.
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