Austin breakdance competition ‘BBoy City’ celebrates 30 years

AUSTIN (KXAN)- Austin-born breakdancing community, BBoy City, celebrated its 30th anniversary this weekend with competitions and block parties around the city.

BBoy City was founded in 1998 by Austin firefighter and recent Olympic break dancer, Romeo Navarro . Bboy City was created as an outlet for kids to express themselves and stay out of trouble in a safe and healthy way. In the past three decades, BBoy City has helped hundreds of break dancing lovers develop their skills.

“BBoy City began as a way to keep us kids off the streets, out of gangs, and away from violence and crime,” Navarro said.

In honor of the 30 anniversary, the BBoy City annual competition returns on Labor Day weekend to different locations across Austin.

“This year, we’re celebrating a huge milestone, our 30th event on the cusp of the first American breakers competing at the Games. After decades dedicated to the development of this competition, I’m proud of the legacy we’ve built and what we will leave behind,” Navarro said.

The competition saw dancers of all ages perform. One of the dancers was 10-year-old Cash Lopez. Lopez gained interest in the sport when he was eight years old after getting inspired by a break dancer performing on the street.

“I thought it was just going to be something dumb, until I saw him do these crazy power moves,” Lopez said.

Lopez says breaking is not only something he’s passionate about, but also a channel to express himself.

“It’s the power moves that make me feel great,” Lopez said. “It helps me express myself when break dancing.”

The sport got a lot of attention this year as it was featured for the first time in the Olympics. With that attention, also came its criticisms.

The performance done by Australian breaker Dr. Rachel Gunn, aka ‘Raygun’, got much pushback for its unorthodox routine that included kangaroo-like hopping. Oliver Escobar, another breaker who’s breakdanced since 1996, said the criticism for Raygun’s performance is unjust.

“The general public looks at those moves at says: ‘hey, I could do that’,” Escobar said. “That girl is just doing her style. That’s just how she gets down.”

Escobar emphasizes that the sport is an art that has many interpretations.

“It’s subjective as art because of your imagination and your creativity.” Escobar said.

Celebrations began Friday with an Austin Film Society event called ‘Shoot to Live’, with break dancing films presented to an audience and evaluated by a panel of judges. Following the film event that same day, a block party was celebrated in downtown with drinks, music, dancing and a live Twitch stream, so others around the world could join the festivities.

The competition

The BBoy City competition began Saturday, with the preliminaries held at the South Austin recreation center. The finals took place Sunday, where the finalists from Saturdays competitions battled for titles.

Two Olympians who competed at the Paris Olympics judged the competition. Jeffrey “Jeffro” Luis, of Houston, and Logan “Logistx” Edra, of San Diego, were once also BBoy City competitors before their Olympic debut.

The 3 vs. 3 battle winner gets $2,000 and a trip to the Freestyle Session in Los Angeles, California. The winner of the youth category 1 vs. 1 will win an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles, to compete at the National Championship Tournament.

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