From the street to the Olympics

By Laura TomassiniLex Kleren Switch to German for original article

Since the 80s, breakdancing as a dance style has found its way to Luxembourg. In 2022, the local scene may have quietened down, but a few b-boys and b-girls are getting prepared for an event that could give breakdancing new momentum – they want to go to the Olympic Games.

Already in the hallway, the rhythmic beats of loud hip-hop music resound from one of the dance and fitness rooms. The door opens and with it a step into a world of its own. When it comes to the clothes, the style is reminiscent of the late 80s, but the movements have become faster since then, with more finesse and transitions. Partly on their hands, partly standing up, the boys of Break Even practise their moves, because in two years' time the b-boys want to be ready for the Olympics.

In 2016, the International Olympic Committee decided to include break dancing as a discipline in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The performances at the world-renowned sports competition were so convincing that adults will now also be able to demonstrate their skills at the 2024 Games in Paris. Some of Luxembourg's breakdancers, known as b-boys and b-girls in the scene, also want to take part. "We want to send at least one of our ranks to France to represent our colours there", says Brandon Konrad, who calls himself b-boy Be-One.

Question after question

Together with b-boy Spirito (Daryll Chimento), b-boy Sayan (Geoffrey Galland), b-boy Tarito (Taras Dooley), b-boy Igorzfeel (Igor Filimonov), b-boy HAT (Huitiang Zhan) and b-boy Daniel (Dooley), who still has to choose his final dancer name, the 29-year-old trains several times a week in the studio in Beggen to prepare for 2024. The group still needs many questions to be answered, as talks with the DanceSport Federation Luxembourg (DSFL) and the Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois (COSL), which is responsible for organising the participation of Luxembourg athletes in the Olympic Games, are still pending.

"If we want to compete in Paris, we have to go through the qualification process, we have to form a squad, we have to join the national dance federation and we have to work out a proper preparation. But at the moment we don't know anything", Brandon says. The group's spokesperson has not yet received any feedback from the DSFL, but will finally meet Raymond Conzemius, the technical director of the COSL, in September. In an interview with the Lëtzebuerger Journal, Conzemius expressed divided feelings on the subject: "We are basically very positive about the project, because we like to promote the development of new sports and Paris can be an opportunity for Luxembourg."

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