Breaking Festival unites Brazilian and international athletes in Rio
Breaking do Verão (Summer Breaking), the largest festival celebrating this dance style—now an Olympic sport starting with Paris 2024—kicks off this Thursday (Jan. 16) at Fundição Progresso in downtown Rio de Janeiro and runs until Saturday (Jan. 18).
The event will feature 32 athletes, including 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls (or breakers). Among the b-boys, the standout is Frenchman Dany Dann, a silver medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Also making a mark is Leony from Pará, a member of the Brazilian national team and champion of the inaugural Breaking do Verão.
Among the b-girls, international stars include Russia's Kastet, a two-time Summer Breaking champion, and India, a Dutchwoman who placed fourth at Paris 2024. Leading the Brazilian contenders is Mini Japa, the current national champion, along with Toquinha, a member of the Brazilian team and the country's breaking runner-up.
The creator of Breaking do Verão, Fernando Bó, acknowledges the importance of breaking's Olympic debut but emphasizes the significance of the culture itself. “There's a whole scene behind it that speaks of truth and empowerment. It's great that the Olympics has brought visibility to breaking, but it's equally important that we continue the movement after the Games,” he said in an interview with Agência Brasil.
Fernando Bó celebrated the growth of breaking in Brazil, which started with young people from the periphery and has now spread throughout the country. This year, the festival expanded its reach by hosting qualifiers in Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Manaus, and Brasília. The winners from these regional events will now compete in the final in Rio de Janeiro.
“We know that traveling isn’t easy, especially with ticket prices high during this time of year and the summer in Rio making everything more expensive. But our goal was to give an opportunity to those who can't make it to Rio, so we bring the festival to them. In my view, that’s what matters most—democratizing Breaking do Verão,” he said.
