Breaking do Verão, the biggest festival of this style of dance and Olympic sports, starting with the Paris 2024 Olympics, starts this Thursday (16), at Fundição Progresso, in the center of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and continues until Saturday (18). Entry is free and depends on the capacity of the space. 
The meeting will bring together 32 athletes called b-boys and b-girls or breakers, 16 of each gender. The highlight among the b-boys is Frenchman Dany Dann, silver medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Leony, from Pará, member of the Brazilian team and champion of the first edition of Breaking do Verão, also stands out at this festival.
Among the b-girls, international names such as Russian Kastet, two-time Breaking do Verão champion, and India, Dutch who came fourth in Paris 2024, draw attention. The current Brazilian breaking champion, Mini Japa from Pará, stands out among the Brazilians, in addition to Toquinha from São Paulo, who is also part of the Brazilian team and is runner-up in Brazilian breaking.
The creator of Breaking do Verão, Fernando Bó, believes that the debut at the Olympics was important, but the prevalence of culture is relevant. “There’s a whole scene behind it that talks about truth, strengthening and empowerment. It’s really cool that the Olympics gave visibility to breaking, but it’s also really cool that once the Olympics are over, we’re continuing,” he said in an interview with Brazil Agency.
Fernando Bó celebrated the development of breaking in Brazil, which began among young people from the outskirts and has now spread across the country. One example is that this edition the festival took the project to the five regions of Brazil, holding qualifiers in Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Manaus and Brasília. The winners in this stage will now participate in the final in Rio de Janeiro.
“We know that it is not easy to travel, tickets are expensive at this time of year, summer in Rio de Janeiro, everything is more expensive, but our objective was to provide opportunities for those who cannot come to Rio de Janeiro, and we go to them. In my opinion, that’s what matters most. Being able to democratize Summer Breaking”, he said.
“We notice that there is a renewal of b-boys and b-girls. There was a generation of the Olympics and this year we are bringing new dancers who never had the opportunity to participate and be invited. They showed results throughout the year, not only in Brazil, but throughout the world. We managed to bring together the main people from the country and the world. There is certainly a generational renewal”, he observed.
Breaker
When he discovered Breaking, almost 30 years ago, b-boy Pelezinho, 42 years old, found an environment very different from what currently exists. Also the creator of the festival, he is happy to know that his creation reached its fourth edition and went out into the world.
“It is the first time that we have the international championship in Brazil, with the arrival of international competitors. Until then, we never had an official international championship in Brazil. We have this event in its fourth edition and it is growing more and more”, celebrated the breaker, in an interview with Brazil Agency.
For the b-boy, who was born in São José dos Campos, in the interior of São Paulo, breaking broke changed his life. Pelezinho was impressed by seeing a presentation and having a new experience and started wanting to know what it was about.
“That was 100% love at first sight. Breaking made me travel the world, become known internationally and here in Brazil. Having a history of almost 30 years and everything within breaking. I never left. My life changed through this”, he revealed, adding that during that time he participated in shows with singer and composer Marcelo D2 and the group Charlie Brown Jr.
Considered worldwide as one of the best dancers, Pelezinho, who had to overcome many barriers to reach the position he has today in the breaking scene, believes that beginners today can have a less thorny path.
“The new generation, nowadays, is having everything, from training, big events, sponsorship, people who are willing to give support, brands that we imagined would never look at us, are with us due to the current moment of breaking and things happening in Brazil. It’s getting better every year. Having an event like this in Brazil, where we can bring several competitors, is very important in our scene, especially for those who are competing”, he said.
Social
On this first day of the festival, a social action will bring athletes closer to the public. On Petrobras Breaking Day, a partnership with the state oil company, participants from the social projects Vidançar, Unicirco and Educar pelo Esporte, sponsored by the company, will participate in a breaking workshop to the sound of the Petrobras Sinfônica Chamber Group with DJ Bruno-X, one of the references of hip-hop. At the meeting, children and teenagers will have the opportunity to learn some initial breaking movements, talk and take photos with athletes.
The event is held by Grupo Fábrica, with the participation of Petrobras and support from the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, with the State Secretariat for Culture and Creative Economy, through the State Law for the Incentive of Culture and Petrobras.
The festival is sponsored by Cheetos® and Sprite, in addition to a partnership with Baw Clothing. The festival has media support from Grupo Globo and is broadcast live on the cable channel Sportv.
Schedule
01/16 (Thursday)
2pm – Petrobras Breaking Day
01/17 (Friday)
2pm – Cheetos® presents BDV Cypher Rio
01/18 (Saturday)
10am – Sprite presents Breaking & Passinho
4pm – Summer Break – Finals
