Dancers from across the nation are competing in Denver’s biggest breaking competition
He has 45 seconds to give it everything before the next B-boy steps onto the wooden panels on stage, improvising their own moves to the beat.
74 B-boys and B-girls competed Thursday, April 2 in a preliminary tournament to earn a spot in Friday’s Red Bull BC One competition. The top eight B-boys and four B-girls will face off against the wildcard dancers selected by Red Bull in a tournament to advance to the national competition held in San Diego in August.
“This is the biggest one-on-one breaking competition in the world,” said Jacob “B-boy Data” Fletcher. “To win words is a dream to any of these guys.”
Characterized by acrobatic movements, stylized footwork and dynamic power moves, breaking is a dance style that originated in the Bronx, New York in the 1970s. Since then, it has become a global artform and sport. Breaking officially became an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. In Colorado, places like Denver’s Bboy Factory are training the next generation of breakers.
The Global Red Bull BC One competition started in 2004. Red Bull has hosted regional competitions in Denver over the past two years, drawing competition from all over the country. This year’s regional competition takes place at Boettcher Hall at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Fletcher competed in the competition in years past, but this year, Red Bull asked him to be a judge alongside Olympian Kateryna “B-girl Kate” Pavlenko and former Red Bull BC One champion, Ronnie Ruen.
“It's nice to be able to sit back, judge, be inspired and not worry about doing my own thing — of course, it’s also the best seat in the house,” Fletcher said.
The preliminaries are arguably the hardest competition, according to many dancers.
“It’s not just you versus one person in the prelims — it’s you versus the entire sign-up list,” said Jaelin “B-boy Alloz” Ray, a wildcard competitor for Friday’s competition. This will be Ray’s fourth regional competition — he’s hoping to make it to nationals this time around.
Red Bull picks eight B-boys and four B-girls who’ve competed in the regional competition before to stand in as wildcard competitors for their BC One competitions. This means that these dancers get to skip the preliminary rounds.
While dancers can practice moves and certain skills, these competitions are all improvisation. No one knows what the next beat is except the DJ, bringing spontaneity into every competition.
“I'm a big perfectionist. So I do a lot of preparation before the battle,” says India “B-girl India” Paman, who traveled from Chicago to compete in the regional competition.
“Once you get to the actual competition, all you can do is be in the moment,” said Paman.
Paman is 18 and started competing when she was eligible to compete at 16. Since then, she’s been to nationals twice and is hoping to make a third trip back.
Despite breaking’s presence at the Olympics, Fletcher believes the art form is still underground and that the breaking community remains relatively small.
“In some ways, it's still very pure, which is something I love about it,” said Fletcher.
“It’s nice for it to be competitive and for people to see it on the world stage, but at it’s core it’s a culture, it’s a community that’s so multifaceted.”
The Red Bull BC One Cypher Denver starts at 7 p.m., Friday, April 3.
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