U.S. break dancers prepare for their Olympic debut in Paris

Transcript

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

One of the newest sports at the Paris Olympics has historic roots here in the United States. Breaking, which was born in New York City, will be in the international spotlight when Olympic competition begins this week. Four breakers, better known as breakdancers, will represent the U.S. Our ALL THINGS CONSIDERED co-host Juana Summers caught up with some of Team USA's breakers at a practice as they wait to see whether their art will translate into sport.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

At a training facility outside Paris, Sunny Choi works with her coach on a practice mat in the middle of a big, empty gym. Hip-hop booms out of a large portable speaker. You can feel the percussion. Dressed in baggy cargo pants and an oversized Team USA shirt with a bandana on her head, she seems focused, body slightly responsive to the music like she's searching for something. Then Choi explodes.

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SUNNY CHOI: Personally, when I'm battling, I get into the zone. It's like that, like, flow state where nothing matters and I'm all of a sudden, like, just really, really free. And that feeling I don't get anywhere else in my life.

SUMMERS: Choi, or B-Girl Sunny, quit her corporate job to go all in on breaking and focus on the Olympics. She and fellow breakers Jeffrey Louis, Victor Montalvo and Logan Edra will be the U.S. faces for the sport's Olympic debut.

LOGAN EDRA: Whoa. That would be crazy.

SUMMERS: At practice, Logan Edra performs complex spins and flips.

EDRA: We're still athletic, but we're artists.

SUMMERS: Known as B-Girl Logistx, Edra grew up in Chula Vista, Calif. When she was young, her dad tricked her into trying out a hip-hop class at their church. She resisted but ultimately fell in love with it and started competing. Here in Paris, she is experiencing a roller coaster of emotions.

EDRA: Like, as dancers, we've always been, like, the bottom of the totem pole with, like, entertainment. We've never really been recognized as athletes. And then I remember this is the Olympics. This is, like, all of, like, the most high-level athletes of the world that are the best at what they do. It's like, damn, we're here.

SUMMERS: With its addition to the Olympics, there are questions about how breaking's roots mesh with breaking's future. It was a mainstay of early hip-hop culture. And some argue it's an art form, not a sport. Here's Sunny Choi again.

CHOI: Breaking has elevated a lot since the '70s. So a lot of people do have a misperception of what breaking is today or even, like, the culture and the community around it. So I'm like, you know, grateful and looking forward to sharing it with the world in the form and the shape that it is today. But there's always - if you're doing something good, there's always going to be haters, you know? So if we didn't have that, then what are we doing here? So...

SUMMERS: Sixteen b-boys and 16 b-girls will compete for the gold over two days at the Place de la Concorde, an open-air urban stadium. While the venue design is meant to evoke street culture, Choi says it'll be a different experience from the more intimate community jams that are her favorite.

CHOI: It's usually a little hot and sweaty. You have a bunch of people around you, can't really see. But the vibe is, like, really there. On the Olympic stage, it's, like, going to be huge and bright and open. You'll have some people, but the energy is, like, a little bit further away from where you're dancing.

SUMMERS: At the Olympics, breakers are scored on five criteria - technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. I asked b-boy Victor Montalvo what he's had to change to prepare for the competition in Paris.

VICTOR MONTALVO: Everything. Yeah. Like, the competition has got better. The dancers got better.

SUMMERS: Yeah.

MONTALVO: You got to get creative. You got to bring more innovation into your breaking.

SUMMERS: The Paris games could be these breakers' only shot at an Olympic medal. When the games come back to the U.S. in Los Angeles in 2028, breaking won't be a part of the program. Juana Summers, NPR News, Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS SONG, "LEAD ME HOME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.