Maybe Breakdancers need to take themselves a little less seriously...?
You probably caught at least some of the RayGun Breakdancing drama at this year's Olympics....
The Kangaroo bouncing is what everyone is going to remember. However besides that she seemed to do some reasonable moves, if only up to an amateur standard, but then again, you can only do what you can do!
So as I understand it she was selected fair and square by the appropriate authorities in Australia, there was some drama around the fact that it may have a been a stitch up but that was all just fake news....
However when she got the Olympics she decided she was just going to be creative and enjoying herself, knowing that she had no chance of winning against superior competition.
The judges gave her big fat zeros for efforts based on the fact that, in their opinion, what she did wasn't actually dancing.
She got a lot of online hate for her efforts, for not taking Breakdancing seriously enough, for making a mockery of the scene, basically a lot of people thought she was being disrepecful.
Probably around 10% of the comments were from people with a legitimate interest in breaking, and the majority of trolling just from nasty idiots.
Taking themselves too seriously...?
I'm not a breakdancer, but I do appreciate the amount of skill involved and the effort that goes into getting up a level where it looks good, which is way below Olympic standard.
However we all know that Breaking has a broader culture too. It's one of those styles from the margins, fashion is part of it, attitude, respect, a certain level of cool as well.
It's not one of those subcultures where 'having a laugh' is part of it, it's actually quite serious, I mean one might say fair play too, there's a chance you could injure yourself pretty seriously if you get some of the moves wrong.
I guess it's fair enough that some of the breakdancing community in Aus are upset that she's representing them and making them look like a bunch of idiots, basically.
Should have done juggling or skateboarding instead...?
OK so fair play being embarrassed by your representatives performance, but you can only be embarrassed if you take something seriously, right?
I mean compare this to juggling, it's an activity that's similar to Breakdancing in that it looks shit unless you're really very good at it.
But if juggling was an olympic sport I can't imagine any juggling subcultures getting upset if their 'representative' just rocked up and had a play around with 3 balls rather than the 5-7 that everyone else would be doing.
That's because juggling is inherently uncool, I mean even the professionals can't take themselves that seriously because it's inherently ridiculous, even though it takes several hours of practice a day to master it at the highest level, just like breakdancing.
Even with Skateboarding, I can't imagine Skaters getting that upset if they'd have been 'Raygunned' they just seem a little more chill than breakdancers.
So I dunno, maybe a little less attitude would help all around...?!?
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Hmm, from what I understood was that the way she was elected was not fair and that her husband was one of the judges (unless this was fake news, it's hard to tell these days).
It seemed like it was just a publicity stunt if that was the case, get some attention and traction for being different and it may help her personally in the future, since she already had active potentially monetized social media accounts. Hate comments will of course happen but for many they'll just happy to get the part of non-hateful comments if before that there were none of either.
So if it was all a ruse for personal gain, I'd say it was quite disrespectful towards the sport and the country she represented, I'm sure many in a better position from Australia would've loved the chance to represent. If it wasn't, then well, nice try I guess to be a bit different but I don't think other participants appreciated that and I guess especially not the judges. :P
There's a time and place to try and be different, I don't think this was the case here because it came at a cost of others not getting the chance she got.
Yes! It means so much to these dancers. A shot at the Olympics--a lifetime opportunity thrown away on what was essentially a joke, or at best a vanity exercise.
I agree it wasn't the place for it! But I also don't see how you can stich up getting selected.... wasn't it a large panel...?
If it was all a move it's a bold move becoming famous on a villain ticket.
That's a weird take, honestly.
People are mad, that she stole the spot with her insider connections.
I have seen random kids (girls too), just from my neighborhood, that can do much better than her.
She wasn't even close to Australia's best athlete. She did it for herself and her ego.
I am so sick of these Karens.
Skateboarding was part of the Olympics and will be in 2028 and forward, btw.
Even the kangaroos were annoyed with her.
Anyway, as an Australian here on the ground...well, her antics weren't very well received that's for sure. She's done more harm than good to herself and the break dancing thing. There are some amazing break dancers here...why were they not there? Well now, isn't that the big mystery.
I just took the reports of her having won fair and square at face value, I though a large panel decided so it's hard to skew it...?
I enjoyed the skateboarding, we managed a bronze!
I don't need any reports. There simply is no way she would have won in fair competition.
I love skateboarding. It was my thing, when I was still in school.
It should never be an Olympic sport though. That's ridiculous.
btw, have you seen the breakdancing dad?
and how he became famous?
https://twitter.com/BenHart_Freedom/status/1744475183371506140
I'd love to read your take on that.
Love it! He's got amazing skills for his age and I agree - encourage anyone to have a go!
Do you know, how he became famous? It's a trip...
I will look it up I have no idea!
Again: would love to read your take on the whole thing.
Breaking doesn't take several hours a day. It takes years to reach the level of achievement seen at the Olympics. It has deep cultural roots and an etiquette. The etiquette is as important to the culture as the skill.
The symbolic 'battles' are serious. They are ritual. The 'winners' are highly respected and emulated. The 'moves' in the best breakers seen at the Olympics rival the moves of gymnasts. The dancers fly through the air and defy gravity.
I think the dance is disparaged because of the culture from which it derives. The hand movements. The clothes. The gestures. I think these are off-putting to mainstream observers.
Do breakers belong in the Olympics? I don't know. But it really is disrespectful for a breaker to show up and do what Raygun did. She represented a community, and she did not represent it well. Plus, she took a spot from a serious breaker.
(I got all this from a member of the breaking community who years ago achieved some success in the field.)
I meant several hours a day for several years!
Fair comment, it is widely misunderstood I know, interesting mis-match with the Olympics all around I think.
Maybe that was her point: breaking doesn't belong here, thus you have no grounds to be upset.
Although if that was her argument it's gonna be hard for her to make it unless she made it before consistently.
Hi,
Personally, I think if there is room for boxing in the Olympics, there is room for break dancing.
If that was her point, then it is appropriate that she be resoundingly rejected by the community. Parody is never the best argument against anything. And, I know breakers personally. You can't find a more dedicated group of people. It is an art form, with a 'vocabulary'. There are set moves, as in ballet, and, as I said earlier, an etiquette. I think that's what I respect even more about the art than the skill. There is a mutual respect among dancers. It's a powerful tie and a powerful check on behavior.
Raygun is an embarrassment more to herself than to the art.
It's great to see the subject entertained here rationally, and without judgement.
Hey cheers, whatever the motives, at least it was entertaining!
I don't know much about breakdancing, but compared to what I've seen pro breakers do before, her performance does look like childs play.. Totally agree that she doesn't deserve all the hate she's been receiving though.
For those who haven't seen it already, here is the full performance on 3speak:
https://inleo.io/threads/view/mightpossibly/re-leothreads-29l6ehpje
Oh thanks that link is invaluable, it's all but disappeaerd from the net!
You got it! It's a powerful demonstration of how history is being actively changed. This may be a trivial example of it, but telling nonetheless. I've been hunting this clip ever since it started disappearing, happy to finally get it up here
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I think tbh, the olympics is now down the road to full on wokery, inclusivity and all that bollocks, break dancing is not a sport. Sport is running jumping and skipping.
Yes maybe, personally I want to see the horse torture axed!
Ah yes dancing and a prancing stupidity