HELENA — Breakdancing, or breaking, will make its Olympic debut later this summer in Paris. But in Helena there’s already an interest in the sport.
Ramon Ramos, a dance instructor at Reds Dance Studio, has been teaching breakdance for nearly 30 years.
“Locally, I think it’s eye-catching,” said Ramos. “Breakdancing is very dynamic, very physical. Once you start adding acrobatics to it, flips and whatnot, I think it catches the people’s eye. And it tricks them to at least try it out or continue watching it somewhere else.”
Ramos also said that he has competed in breakdancing and has followed the sport’s competitive scene since the mid 1990s.
“When there’s two people, one against another, you’re looking for that ‘wow’ factor,” said Ramos. “Something that will make your eyes open wide and be like, ‘Woah, what was that?’ Like that came out of nowhere. That is a good feeling.”
Breakdancers in this year’s Olympics will have their dances scored by a panel of judges and separated into three phases: the top rock, or standing portion; the down rock, or floor portion; and the freeze, or when competitors hold a pose.
“We encourage the kids to approach it that way,” said Ramos. “Not just go out there and do your big trick and then exit — we like to keep that structure. Start at the top, bring it down to the ground, make your move, finish with the pose and exit. That’s kind of what I like to teach.”
But when MTN Sports asked some of Ramos’ students when they’ll be making their Olympic debuts, we received mixed answers.
“That’d be awesome,” said Calvin Tesluk, 9.
When asked, Calvin’s 7-year-old classmate Colton Twiford said his favorite part about breakdancing is “dancing.”
And when asked if she’d like to breakdance in the Olympics one day, Delaney Sullivan, 8, shook her head no.
“Probably because I’m a little scared,” said Sullivan. “Because I don’t want to go up against them in a battle – a dance battle. And probably because I would be on TV like on all around the world.”
Before leaving the interview with MTN, Ramos had one last message to share about Olympic breakdancing: “Go USA!”
