PORTLAND, Maine — Breakdancing made its debut as an official Olympic sport at this year's 2024 Paris Olympics, and breakers from the Portland area said they're happy to see the dance form that has given them a safe haven on the world stage.
"It allows us to step away from this system that we're kind of caught in to be ourselves," breakdancer Star Striker said.
Breakers from Portland all go by stage names, and they carry their breakdancing skills like badges of honor. The style of dance started in the late 1960s and early 70s in New York City.
"This was started by kids who didn't have anything material," breaker Thunder said. "All they had was their dance."
Dancer J Theory explained that he has tried several different sports and means to express himself in the past, but he said nothing ever made him feel as alive as breakdancing.
"It's like a fire that burns deep in you on beat. That's how it feels. And when the music stops, it stops," J Theory said.
The roots of the street phenomenon plant themselves deep in hip-hop culture. For breakers like Will Trix who was born in the Bronx and who grew up in Staten Island, hip hop and breakdancing have always been a shield. Trix said he saw a lot of people get caught up in the wrong crowds in his childhood, but he explained breakdancing kept him grounded.
"It's kept me out of trouble... it keeps a good mindset to myself," Will Trix said. "I was too tired breaking to be out on the block."
While breakers in Maine watch their idols represent the U.S. and share break dance culture with the world, they'll also be holding their breath, hoping Olympic game organizers highlight the style form without commercializing the art.
"Without watering down what it represents. Without trying to pull out the originality, the creativity," Thunder said.
Olympic judges have a responsibility to evaluate athletes who don't rely on routines, but instead on improv. Skills Will Trix said can't be tallied by a point system.
"What kind of style? Musicality? How is he hitting the beat? Technical. How are his moves hitting? There is a method to judging," he listed a few things that judges will have to consider.
Will Trix said he believes unifying through hip-hop, through dance is the answer to some of the trauma we all see in today's world.
"Breaking, for instance, is one of the most beautiful things to share," he said.
Portland's group of breakdancers won't be representing Maine on the national stage at this year's Olympic games, but they will be competing in the Maine Hip-Hop Summit on Aug. 31. For more information, click here.