Breakin' for the first time was an Olympic sport in 2024. The resulting conflict between tradition and reform, and the debate of art versus sport, are familiar trajectories for many cultural and counter-culture movements of the past. Does the competition dynamic create a polarising habitat where practitioners either win or feel disenfranchised?

With a panel of experts from a cross-section of industries including entertainment, the arts, education, sport and healthcare, this book critically discusses the human need to belong as a driving factor for practitioners of the original Hip Hop dance breakin'. It questions whether, in today's world, breakin' can still provide a sense of belonging for those that do it.

In particular, the conversations focus in depth on the role of "crew" in a contemporary world where the competition scene gains leverage for solo dancers, leading arguably to the demise of crews and a devaluing of togetherness. They critique the gender politics of the dance Bboyin', which arguably excludes female and non-binary dancers from fully belonging.

As huge corporations now take a fresh interest in breakin' and its international public platform through sponsorship deals, what lessons can we learn from the past and what traditions are now redundant?

Contributors to the conversation include:

Professor Anita Gonzalez, Georgetown University, US
Dr Adam De Paor-Evans, University of Plymouth, UK
Professor Dominique Elliott, Savannah College of Art and Design, US
Frederick "Freeze" Herranen, Olympic team coach for China
Kid Karam, dancer
Lil' Tim, dancer
Alison Hunte, coach and dance instructor
Callum Fingaz Powell, Dancers Inc.
Fly Cai, emerging artist
King James Horsman, dancer
Nathan Twiggz Mayer-Reed, dancer

Youth dancers: Caleb Bailey, Alfie Shah, Rhys Shah, Raghavi More, Zaria Knox-Macaulay, Nuwan Chandratillake, Leonard Wurmsdobler