The Guetapens company, a mixed duo of Trojan breakers, took the opportunity of the lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece to share this Tuesday everything that makes hip-hop culture rich, including breaking, this style of dance characterized by acrobatic ground movements performed around a landmark, integrated, for the first time this summer, into the program of the Olympic Games.
Awarded several times internationally for his art, Faya Braz was passing through the capital of Aube. The children didn't miss a beat. Microphone in hand, this pioneer in France of beatboxing, the art of imitating percussion and sounds with one's mouth, multiplied his feats in front of a captivated young audience. His virtual nightclub is strikingly real. The artist alternates the sounds coming from the dance floor and those heard from outside, through this damn door which keeps opening and closing.
To summarize, hip-hop has four facets: breaking but also writing (graffiti), MCing (rap) and DJing. The sixty Trojan schoolchildren gathered at the town's brand new gymnasium complex had the opportunity this Tuesday to revise their classics all day in different workshops. The event was part of the Cultural Olympiad, supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs Grand Est (Drac, State).
A regular in the Triasse city, the legendary Sidney, former host of the show HIPHOP, in the mid-1980s on TF1 was there too, eager to share his love of hip-hop with new generations. “We’ve all known each other for a long time,” says Audrey Gallochat, from the Guetapens company. There was also Niko Noki, dancer and music producer, Rise'up, a local graphic designer, and DJ Cléon.
Breaking could disappear from the Olympic Games program as quickly as it appeared. Los Angeles 2028 should not give him so much space. All the more reason not to miss the shooting window offered by Paris 2024. “Thanks to all these contributors, this makes it possible to democratize and personify the discipline. This can, why not, create desires,” says Audrey Gallochat.
The quick survey carried out among apprentice breakers to find out who wanted to deepen the experience goes in this direction. With a downside in relation to the acceptance of breaking as an Olympic discipline: it was necessary to adapt the codes to fit into the mold of the Olympics. “The format of the Games will be one-on-one battles and not crew battles (in groups) as we are used to. We lose team spirit, which is very important in breaking, notes Audrey Gallochat. Furthermore, the winner of a battle is traditionally chosen by hand by the judges. At the Games, it will be with tablets. »
A live spectacle above all, breaking is therefore categorized as a sport. These concessions will undoubtedly allow it to reach a wider audience and attract new practitioners. The Guetapens company and all hip-hop lovers demonstrate that it is above all a culture that can open artistic, sporting, personal or professional doors. And even allow you to learn to play the drums with your mouth, like Faya Braz!