Canadian B-boy Phil Wizard at forefront of breaking movement amid new Olympic era
CBC
The phrase "battling for Olympic gold" will take on new meaning at the Paris Games in 2024.
The world's top B-boys and B-girls will descend on the French capital to engage in a series of unprecedented breaking battles, using their skills, technique and style to defeat opponents in head-to-head matchups.
While breaking, commonly known as breakdancing, has been around for decades, these battles will mark a historic new chapter for the sport — its debut on the Olympic stage.
Vancouver's Phil Kim, known as Phil Wizard, is one of the world's top breakers. The 27-year-old reigning world champion is one of the name's expected to make noise in Paris, with a versatile style built for the Olympic format.
But the B-boy is just as excited about what the Olympics can do for breaking as he is about the chance to win an Olympic medal. The art form will be on full display for more people than ever before, with the potential to inspire a new generation.
"I think that's one of the biggest pulls of this. I think the idea is that we can reach a wider audience that we typically do not have access to because the Olympics has millions of viewers," Wizard told CBC Sports. "There's so much buzz around [breaking], and I think it's going to draw a lot of attention. That's the hope and dream."
Wizard looks forward to breaking becoming a more accepted athletic path as a result of the Olympic exposure and added validity. While breaking has been around since the 1970s, the competitive sport version only began to take shape in the 1990s.
The further popularization of breaking from the Olympics will help make it a household sport, marking a major step forward from the kinds of concerns Wizard's parents expressed when he told them he wanted to be a professional breaker.
"I want kids to be able to see breaking at the Olympics and be excited, and for their parents to be excited to support them as well," Wizard said.
So how does it all work?
An inseparable part of hip hop culture, breaking revolves around the music. A competitive dance sport blending dynamic athleticism, performance and improvisation, breaking allows each competitor to shine with a unique style.
The breaking competition in Paris will feature a men's and women's tournament, with 16 competitors in each. Breakers will improvise to the DJ's music and use a variety of moves to outperform their opponent each round, with judges comparing the competitors to determine the winner.
"There's criteria in the judging system that speaks to the artistic, interpretive and physical values of dance, where each component is equally weighted," said Geoff Reyes, president of Breaking Canada.
"It's not necessarily someone who is entirely powerful and physical [that will win], it's someone that can present several facets of the dance in an overall fashion. That's why Phil is considered a well-rounded dancer, because he can do everything."
