Oleh Kuznetsov, who goes by B-boy Kuzya, performs the freeze aspect, freezing for just a few seconds in uncommon and intensely tough positions.
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WARSAW, Poland — A rocking beat of energetic music fills each nook of a spacious, sun-drenched sports activities complicated within the Polish capital. After some stretching and warming up, three breakers and their coach are training complicated dance and acrobatic strikes.
Breaking, often known as breakdancing, is making its Olympic debut as a sport this week in Paris. A group of feminine and male Ukrainian athletes, referred to as “B-girls” and “B-boys,” have gone by means of a three-year choice course of on their strategy to the Summer time Video games and at last bought collectively in a coaching camp right here final month.
Kateryna Pavlenko, 29, or B-girl Kate, checked out herself within the mirror as she danced, a glance of rising confidence on her face. “Once we simply knew that breaking goes to be within the Olympics, I had little question I will do every thing to finish up there,” she mentioned.
Kateryna Pavlenko, 29, aka B-girl Kate, was born in Kharkiv and moved to the U.S. in 2021. As quickly as she came upon that breaking could be within the Olympics, she knew she could be there.
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Pavlenko, one other Ukrainian b-girl, Anna Ponomarenko, and two B-boys got here right here to coach for the Olympic Video games. In a one-on-one breaking competitors, two dancers take turns showcasing their expertise, strikes, character, type, and musicality, every making an attempt to outshine the opposite. After all of the rounds are accomplished, the judges decide the winner.
Ukrainians have identified breaking since Soviet instances, when authorities disapproved of it, which gave it a particular attraction as a type of cultural forbidden fruit. They normally first found it due to video cassettes of flicks equivalent to Breakin’ (1984) that have been introduced house by residents, usually diplomats, who had the correct to journey overseas.
After the Chilly Warfare ended, many youngsters watched battles — or competitions — of American B-boys and B-girls on pirated hip-hop music movies, pausing them to study the strikes and elegance.
Georgii Matiukhin, the group supervisor, was a kind of teenagers.
“We have been a era with none faculty,” Matiukhin mentioned. “We discovered VHS tapes, watched them, and tried to repeat. The primary tapes we watched have been American breakers, Rock Regular Crew from New York and elegance components from the West Coast.”
Breaker Kateryna Pavlenko (from left), group supervisor Georgii Matiukhin and coach Denys Semenikhin present their satisfaction in representing Ukraine on the Olympics.
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Within the early 2000s, Ukrainian breaking made its strategy to worldwide battles and championships, the place Ukrainians confirmed good outcomes.
Matiukhin mentioned he believes breaking has gained such reputation and improvement in his nation as a result of dance “has at all times been within the blood of Ukrainians.”
Breaking, which was born within the Bronx, now reveals many cultural influences, notably from South Africa and Brazil. Ukrainian people dances, such because the arms-crossed, foot-kicking hopak, are additionally an inspiration to many — particularly the three athletes coaching right here.
Denys Semenikhin, B-boy Gimnast, is the coach of the Ukrainian Olympic breaking group. He began breaking in 2001 and was born and lives in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine. He says the psychological state of athletes isn’t any much less necessary than the bodily. The chance to symbolize Ukraine through the battle is a good honor but additionally a problem for the athletes, he says.
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Oleh Kuznetsov, or B-boy Kuzya, age 34, says his footwork demonstrates how classical components from Ukrainian people dances might be interpreted in fashionable breaking. For him, representing Ukraine is a good honor.
“I need to present that now we have good huge and glossy souls and that I’m representing my nation and my tradition,” he mentioned.
On the Olympics, Ukrainian breakers will compete in teams of athletes in a battle format. The 9 judges will consider the athletes in keeping with standards together with originality, method and “vocabulary” or the number of dance strikes deployed.
Not like in determine skating, the place athletes follow the identical choreography for months, even years, in breaking the athletes have no idea the music upfront. So the power to adapt and improvise is vital.
Oleksandr Gatyn-Lozynskyi, B-boy Lussysky, the group reserve (left), and Oleh Kuznetsov, B-boy Kuzya, work out and stretch as a part of their preparation for the Olympics.
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Denys Seminikhin, the group’s coach, says the breakers’ psychological state isn’t any much less necessary than bodily health, emphasizing that representing the nation through the battle is a good problem for the athletes.
“Shining is extra necessary than profitable,” Pavlenko mentioned. Along with her efficiency, she says she needs to return the world’s consideration to Ukraine.
“In fact, I need to win a medal,” she provides. “I really feel proud to symbolize my nation and I need to make my folks proud as nicely.”
Oleh Kuznetsov, B-boy Kuzya, trains for the Paris Video games. “I need to present that now we have good huge and glossy souls and that I’m representing my nation and my tradition,” he says.
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