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Raygun apologizes to breakdance community for backlash to her Paris Olympic performance

Raygun apologizes to breakdance community for backlash to her Paris Olympic performance
That's all I can see that. It's *** party. Just add *** little competitive environment to it. And you got yourself *** battle from block parties in the Bronx to the international stage. Breaking has taken the world by storm. You know, it's bigger, faster, stronger. Now. For the first time ever, the craft is stepping up to the highest level of sports competition. The Olympics, I feel like we're bringing something new to the table. We're shining *** light on breaking and how it's no surprise. The art form is Olympic Worthy. Breaking was widely popularized and commercialized in the 19 eighties through features in films like flash dance or in hip hop music videos on MTV. It's *** core element of hip hop among emceeing D jing and aerosol art. But breaking actually came before hip hop. According to breaking scholar and practitioner Saroj Abrahamian, the creation of breaking began in the 19 seventies when the civil rights and black power movements had reawakened *** sense of cultural pride among African Americans, African American teens in the Bronx created breaking while hanging out at block parties, rec rooms or underground clubs known as joke joints at the same time the Bronx was going through *** huge transformation, the flight of white residents due to the fear of racial integration. This had changed the socio-economic conditions of the borough, Oper Ham and says from this atmosphere of vilification and segregation on one hand and the cultural pride and communion on the other birth, *** new form of African American expression breaking. Many of the original breakers were actually inspired by funk music, especially by James Brown. People would start dancing in the break of the song where only the beat was playing. Basic breaking moves include top rock which is footwork while standing down rock, which is hands and feet on the floor. Power moves like heads spins and freezes where the dancer holds *** shape for *** few seconds of the inspired was *** DJ named Cool Herk who's now considered the father of hip hop Herk regularly threw lively block parties in the Bronx. It started from 25 cents for ladies, 50 cents for fellas and all I asked you for was don't disrespect the party by extending *** song's percussive breaks. Kerk noticed people would break or start dancing. This type of breakbeat. Djing formed the foundation of hip hop music. This technique caught on to other DJ S like Grandmaster Flash. So my contribution to this whole thing is, is the first DJ to take an in admin object called the turntable and play it like it was an instrument by the 19 eighties breaking was hotter than ever. Popularity grew even more after the movie Beach Street came out in 1984 the movie has inspired one of the best breakers in the game team USA Olympic Breaker. Victor Montalvo Beach Street just came on on TV. And my dad was like, yo, we used to do that back in the days and my cousin was like, no, you guys didn't like you're lying. My dad and my uncle literally go into their room put on some hoodies and they just start busting out windmills, heads spins. And we're all like shocked ever since that day, like we would just put on beach street, you know, every day and we would just like mimic the movements of the dancers breaking continued to evolve. Dancers started to face off against one another. An act known as burning young women or B girls often initiated challenges against the men or B boys. Abrahamian says this is one of the areas where women played *** critical role in the development of breaking. They were not passive onlookers but actually active and equal participants. Pioneers like Shaw Rock helped develop hip hop as it is today. Now, breaker Sonny choi is paving the way as the first American B girl to qualify for the Olympics breaking has really kind of helped to shape me as *** person. I've grown so much and I feel like really been able to like celebrate myself in *** way that I never was able to before. But when we're dancing, you're going up there with everything you've experienced in life, with all of the bad, all of the good and you're just like this is who I am and we're here to celebrate it. Breaking competitions continue to spread across the country. By the 19 nineties, it was all over the globe. You know, it's bigger, faster, stronger, which leads to its inclusion into the Olympics in 2024. The breaking competition will be made up of 16 B boys and 16 B girls facing off in solo battles. Breakers will be judged based on how well they use their power moves such as windmills, the six step and freezes all while improvising to the beat of the DJ S tracks team USA Olympic breaker, Jeffrey Lewis is ready to show off his unique moves. My favorites signature move is called the 1130. And so it's where I swing my arm this way and then I flip the other way and I land on my back, but it doesn't hurt. Olympic officials are hopeful that adding breaking into the schedule will bring in younger viewers. Either way. Its inclusion into the Olympics provides more recognition for the sport. Breakings, history of pride and resilience carries on through the newest generation of breakers. I wanna represent the US. Well, so I wanna show the essence I wanna show the movement freedom that breaking allows I wanna show the character that other countries don't have in breaking, they learn the moves, but do they have the movement? Do they have the soul? So that's what I'm here to showcase is that extra element that, that's missing and breaking around right now. Taking note of continuing with or without the Olympics but to have breaking elevated and spread to this new audience is huge audience that the Olympics have access to is very special.
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Raygun apologizes to breakdance community for backlash to her Paris Olympic performance
Rachael Gunn, the Olympic breaker who went viral for her dance performance at the Paris Games last month, has apologized to the breaking community for the backlash she brought upon it.In an interview with Australian current affairs show "The Project" broadcast Wednesday, Gunn, widely known as Raygun, said she is "very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced" as a result of her performance.The 37-year-old university lecturer did not register a single point across her Olympic battles against breakers from the United States, France and Lithuania in August, losing 18-0 in all three rounds.Her performance consisted of moves including a kangaroo hop, a backward roll and various contortions with her body while lying or crawling on the floor.In her interview with "The Project," Gunn said her breaking style is "just a different approach" to the sport.Gunn's breaking at the Olympics drew attention from across the globe. Singer Adele took time out of her concert in Munich to question whether the whole thing was a "joke," while actress Rachel Dratch imitated her on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."In Wednesday's interview, Gunn said she hasn't seen the Fallon sketch, but mentioned that she doesn't know "whether to hug (Fallon) or yell at him, because what a platform he ended up giving me.""It kind of feels like a really weird dream that I've been having that I'm going to wake up from at any moment," she added.Gunn said she qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania championships, but added that she was "super nervous" to compete in the 2024 Games."I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do," she said. "The odds were against me, that's for sure."Gunn told "The Project" that she won't be participating in any breaking competitions for a while, as she wants to avoid the spotlight."I would much rather focus on the positives out of this, and the positive responses and the joy that I brought people," she said. "It's going out there and just having fun and going as hard as you can in the face of, you know, losing."Breakdancing made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games but will not feature in Los Angeles in 2028.

Rachael Gunn, the Olympic breaker who went viral for her dance performance at the Paris Games last month, has apologized to the breaking community for the backlash she brought upon it.

In an interview with Australian current affairs show "The Project" broadcast Wednesday, Gunn, widely known as Raygun, said she is "very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced" as a result of her performance.

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The 37-year-old university lecturer did not register a single point across her Olympic battles against breakers from the United States, France and Lithuania in August, losing 18-0 in all three rounds.

Her performance consisted of moves including a kangaroo hop, a backward roll and various contortions with her body while lying or crawling on the floor.

In her interview with "The Project," Gunn said her breaking style is "just a different approach" to the sport.

Gunn's breaking at the Olympics drew attention from across the globe. Singer Adele took time out of her concert in Munich to question whether the whole thing was a "joke," while actress Rachel Dratch imitated her on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

raygun paris olympics
Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

In Wednesday's interview, Gunn said she hasn't seen the Fallon sketch, but mentioned that she doesn't know "whether to hug (Fallon) or yell at him, because what a platform he ended up giving me."

"It kind of feels like a really weird dream that I've been having that I'm going to wake up from at any moment," she added.

Gunn said she qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning the Oceania championships, but added that she was "super nervous" to compete in the 2024 Games.

"I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do," she said. "The odds were against me, that's for sure."

Gunn told "The Project" that she won't be participating in any breaking competitions for a while, as she wants to avoid the spotlight.

"I would much rather focus on the positives out of this, and the positive responses and the joy that I brought people," she said. "It's going out there and just having fun and going as hard as you can in the face of, you know, losing."

Breakdancing made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games but will not feature in Los Angeles in 2028.