Twin Cities dancers hope breaking’s Olympics debut draws support for their sport

Breaking — commonly known as breakdancing — made its Olympic debut in Paris on Friday with a packed stadium of fans cheering on the women’s competition. 

Twin Cities dancers hope that energy will help the scene grow. 

“For me, it’s how do we leverage this moment as a community to keep the momentum going once the games are done,” said Jake Riley, a breaker with 20 years of experience. 

Riley, who performs as B-Boy Boogie B, helped start House of Dance Twin Cities in 2014, a studio dedicated to teaching breaking and other hip-hop dance. At the time, the studio was the first of its kind in Minnesota. Around 200 youth now attend at any given time, according to Riley. 

Breaking originated in the Bronx in the 1970s and is tied to the birth of hip-hop. Started by Black people and further influenced by Latino communities in New York, it expanded across the country, reaching peak popularity from the ‘80s to early 2000s, including in Minnesota. In St. Paul, breaking would become synonymous with Hmong youth. 

Then, breaking kind of dropped off. Riley said that’s in part because people grew up and needed to pay the bills, but breaking didn’t offer much opportunity.

He said its connection to street culture may have lent itself to an untrustworthy reputation among the public and potential corporate sponsors. It also wasn’t super accessible to join — dancers typically got their start practicing with neighborhood breakers or after-school programs that no longer exist. 

He looks forward to seeing how the Olympics might change that for future generations. 

“The Olympics further legitimizes the dance, because it’s the only dance form that is in the Olympics, right?” said Riley, speaking to MPR News alongside his wife and studio co-owner Bao Riley.

They partnered with Breaking for Gold USA, the national coordinating committee for breaking in the Olympics, to host the Midwest regional Olympic qualifying competitions in Minnesota in 2022 and 2023.  

“We hope that through this platform, there’s more professional opportunities that you can make a 20-year, 25-year career out of it if you want. Because when I was coming up that did not exist,” said Riley.  

Elevating the scene 

“A lot of people perceive breaking as just like a hobby or just spinning on the ground, but it’s more than that,” said Lue Thao, founder of Cypher Side Dance Studio in North St. Paul. 

A surge of youth rush in on Wednesday evening for breaking classes, ranging from an introduction to power moves to an open jam for advanced students. Thao said it’s been rewarding to see young breakers build confidence over the years and, like Riley, Thao hopes to see more support for the arts in general. 

“Being in the Olympics, it can show people, like, it can be possible to do this as a living or as an art,” said Thao. 

Amelia Khang, 18, has been breaking since she was a little kid. She grew up with many uncles who used to dance and no longer do.  

“They’re always like, ‘Yeah, I used to break dance back then too. I was so good, I could do all this and this and stuff.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, really? Sure,’” she said with a laugh. 

The St. Paul teen appreciates the community she’s met through breaking and thinks the Olympics will drive more interest in it. She said it’s important for younger generations to get involved “to keep the culture alive.” 

“It’s going to bring everything back. Our community is going to grow even bigger than how it is right now, and I feel like a lot of people will definitely be amazed. And, you know, get to know how disciplined these people are and how long they train just to be that good,” said Khang.  

Two b-girls and two b-boys make up Team USA: Sunny Choi, Logan Edra, Jeffrey Louis and Victor Montalvo. They will be judged under the Trivium judging system based on five criteria: technique, originality, execution, vocabulary and musicality.

Atari Ernst, 16, said it’s great that breaking is getting more recognition with the Olympics. A former skateboarder, he said he’s benefited from the hard work, community, and self-expression that comes with the movement. 

“It’s helped me like just focus on myself and how I can improve myself as a person. Like the community helps you connect with people and work on your social skills, and then also, it helps you become stronger. You definitely just get better at all these things,” said Ernst. 

Japan’s b-girl Ami won gold on Friday, b-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania took silver and China’s b-girl 671 (Liu Qingyi) took the bronze. 

Men’s breaking begins at 9 a.m. CDT on Saturday, with quarterfinals at 1 p.m., semifinals at 1:47 p.m., and finals at 2:19 p.m. 

The Associated Press contributed in reporting this story.

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