Erie breakdancer speaks on the significance of breakdancing coming to the Olympics

For the first time in its long history, the Paris Olympics will feature a new dance style in its list of competitions.

Break dancing will make its debut in the Paris Olympics this year, making it the first dance event to ever reach the Olympic Games.

Nate Freebourn started break dancing when he was 17 years old, and he hasn’t stopped since, even teaching people when he can.

He said it took a while to get comfortable with his style, but it’s still a work in progress.

“I love movement in general, so I like to teach any type of, like, movement and expression that I can. Break dancing is like a really pure form of that, so you can do anything you want. Like, if you can make it look good, and you can make people want to watch it, you know, that’s yours,” Freebourn explained.

Freebourn said he is excited for the exposure the Olympics will bring to the sport, but also a little skeptical of how it will impact the sport’s freedom.

“It is expression, so to categorize it and to try and grade it with numbers and score it, I think a lot of people are iffy about that,” he said.

Freebourn recently had to cancel his break dancing classes, but said the olympic attention could get more people interested in taking a class.

So, for me and many others, break dancing doesn’t come all that naturally. But for Nate, he makes it look easy.

“So you got your top rock, and that is like your actual dancing, and then you have your floor-work or footwork, and that’s when you’re down on the floor, you know, on all fours for the most part, and then you have your up-rock, which is your going kind of between those two,” Freebourne went on to say.

He said that there are also “power moves” and “freezes” which he calls the “crowd pleaser” moves.

But for beginners, he said it’s easy to start with the basics and work up from there, even if you don’t have rhythm.

16 Men and 16 women break dancers will compete for the gold starting this weekend, facing off in solo dance battles while a DJ plays music.

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