Breakdancing, officially referred to as just “breaking,” made its debut at the Olympics on Friday. To say that it was met with mixed reviews would be understated and Australian B-girl ‘Raygun‘ stole the show.
Perhaps for all of the wrong reasons…
Rachael Gunn, better known by her break-girl tag, went insanely viral on social media for her ~unique~ dance moves. She failed to win a single point from the judges during all three of her matches against the United States, France and Lithuania, and lost 54-0. That didn’t stop her from winning the hearts of the entire world, whether for better or for worse.
Raygun’s most (in?)famous sequence of moves involved a kangaroo hop that transitioned into some kind of toe touch while spinning around on the ground. The 36-year-old closed things out with a headspin into some kind of arm-flail.
Even though the fans — at home and at the Olympics in Paris — couldn’t get enough of Raygun’s individualism, the judges were not impressed. Breakers are scored on technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. Apparently the Aussie B-girl’s technique, vocabulary, execution and musicality was poor because she was undoubtedly more original than anyone else in the competition!
Social media had a field day with Raygun’s performance. Unfortunately, the haters were ruthless. They mocked her both for the routine and her outfit.
Raygun expects that her critics will keep that same energy for the men’s competition.
Assuming that one of the B-boys puts on a similarly wild routine, they will. However, based on the reactions from Friday’s women’s breaking competition, it seems like most people aren’t going to watch anyway.
Although Raygun was subject to a heavy dose of mockery at the Olympics, she doesn’t care.
All my moves are original. Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry.
Sometimes it speaks to the judges and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing and it represents art. That is what it is about.
— Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn
Even though her performance did not speak to the judges at the Olympics, Raygun gave it her all. Apparently she was unlikely to win over other more technical B-girls so she tried to set herself apart.
What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity. I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage.
I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.
— Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn
Raygun certainly accomplished her goal of making her mark in a different way. And to the Australian world champion’s credit, she took full advantage of the international stage!
Breaking will not be back in the Olympics in Los Angeles. Raygun thinks it deserves to be included every four years.
What is an Olympic sport? It’s so broad here… what are the similarities between dressage and artistic swimming and the 100m sprint and the pentathlon.
Breaking is clearly athletic and it clearly requires a whole level of dedication across a number of different aspects so I feel like it meets that criteria. And it’s really bringing a new level of excitement.
— Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn
There is a large number of people who watched the Olympics’ breaking competition on Friday who would disagree— including those who watched the Aussie go scoreless.