Meet Visakhapatnam’s breakdancers who are nurturing the Olympic dream

Participants in a breaking class at Destiny Breakers Dance School in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit: KR Deepak

In a narrow lane winding into a residential colony in Visakhapatnam, a room throbs to the beats of hip-hop music. Here, a small team of dancers in the age group of eight to 20 flip, freeze and sway in swag and take laps within a circle of hooting dancers. An intensifying battle unfolds within the next one hour, filled with head spins and handstands. 
In Visakhapatnam, a first generation of B-boys and B-girls are nurturing the Olympic dream and readying their moves. Most of them have grown up practising in streets, parks, and now, in rented studios. The entry of breaking as a medal event in the Olympics has given a boost to a form that has remained away from limelight despite its popularity among urban youth.

Sohail Gill was drawn to breaking through the film Step Up 2. “When I first saw the crazy breakdance moves, I right away knew I wanted to learn something like this,” says Sohail. He stepped into the world of B-boying by learning moves from YouTube videos. But his dance form was shaped by a formal training from Mumbai-based B-boy Soulsonic (Shailesh Agre). In 2011, Sohail along with his friends and other breaking enthusiasts formed the Destiny Breakers Crew and started doing street performances in Visakhapatnam to spread awareness about this art form. He started the Destiny Breakers International School in 2017 offering dance certification courses in breaking and hip hop. From a handful of people conducting free workshops at the RK Beach in 2011, the numbers have grown. Today, Sohail’s institute has about 25 breaking enthusiasts, some of whom have made a mark in national-level competitions.

Break dancers with their medals won in various competitions.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak

D Shreya (B-girl Shreya) has been training there since 2015 and has brought many laurels to the city. Currently ranked among the top eight B-girls in India, she is eyeing the nationals coming up next month. “The dance floor is where I found myself and faced my fears,” says the 21-year-old. In the recently-held second National Breaking Championship at Tirupati, Shreya was the only person from Andhra Pradesh to compete and made it to the quarterfinals in the B-girl senior category. The event was judged by B-boy Bojin from World Dance Sport Federation, B-boy Bobby from Malaysia Dance Sport Federation and B-boy G1 from Thailand. The competition was intense, says Shreya. “Sometimes in a battle, you may see a strong opponent. It is in such moments that I push myself and overcome self-doubts. This has helped me work on my moves,” says Shreya, who was the only participant from Andhra Pradesh to be selected for the BRICS Games 2022 in China and was ranked 9th in the world championship.

B-boy Chaitanya (P Chaitanya), who has been practising since 2017 under Sohail and attending ‘battles’, says a lot of support has to come from parents. ”Parents need to trust their children’s passion for it. Most people think of breaking as a dance form or an extracurricular activity. Its entry in the Olympics should change the perception now,” he adds. Chaitanya, 12, won in the kids category at the national level breaking championship (Original Street Dance Championship) held in IIT Madras in Chennai in January this year.

In December last year, when the first Andhra Pradesh State Breaking Championship was held, dance sports athletes from Visakhapatnam district won four golds, one silver and a bronze. “So far, we have represented Andhra Pradesh at two national breaking championships and are training hard for the third national, which is expected to happen in March or April 2023. Along with the senior B-boy and senior B-girl category, we might also see the under-16 category for upcoming B-boys and B-girls, which is great news for all the kids in my class,” says Sohail.
Breakdancing as a dance form originated in New York in the early 1970s. It is believed to have been started by Latin American and Black American youths. In the 80s, it started gaining popularity with Michael Jackson adopting breaking and hitting the moonwalk in 1983. Over the years, it has gained recognition worldwide.
“The transformation of breaking from a streetdance form to an Olympic sport has definitely given a major shift in the perception of people. Breakers are not just being recognised as athletes, but are also training like athletes to prepare for the Olympics,” says Sohail. In Visakhapatnam, the training schedule involves dedicating at least two hours for breaking every day for six days a week, one hour of fitness training and an hour of yoga. “This is the only dance style where you have to use your entire body and is very athletic in its techniques,” says Sohail, adding: “Our goal now is to make a mark at the international level.”