Discussion keeps the world's turning.
This is Roundtable. Hello everybody, welcome to Roundtable.
Coming to you live from Beijing.
I'm Hayoung. Good to have you join us on a day's show.
Welcome to another thrilling installment of our series, Spotlighting the Emerging Sports of...well, the Olympic roster.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are about to get a serious upgrade in the cool department with breakdancing making its debut.
From the streets to the world stage, let's explore how these B-boys and B-girls are going to battle it out for Olympic glory.
And ever dreamed of being part of the show, young people in China are doing just that with immersive theater.
From ghostly hotels to murder mysteries, these interactive performances are redefining entertainment, what's behind this booming trend.
For this discussion, I'm joined by Lee Yee and Brandon Yates in the studio.
First. Get ready for Paris this summer, where tradition meets the cutting edge.
This year, we're thrilled to introduce a fascinating series of sports that will redefine the excitement of competition.
We will witness exhilarating heights of sport climbing, gravitating fine tricks of skateboarding and epic waves of kayak cross.
Join us as we celebrate the spirit of competition and see history in the making.
Experience the thrills of new sports in Paris.
Don't you miss a moment of it.
Oh yeah, the Olympics are breaking new ground, literally with break dancing, joining the party for the very first time in Paris.
Who would have thought we'd see windmills and six steps next to ping pong matches and marathon runs?
Let's break down how this street dance sensation is transforming into an Olympic spectacle.
So what is break dancing or breaking?
Yeah, it's quite interesting because when I try to do research about this dance, I wish I could.
But I think it's quite interesting because I saw a little bit like city base or arguments or discussion.
People are talking about how we really should call this dance.
People just tend to call it as break dancing, but really people who are actually in the industry were dancers.
They prefer calling it as breaking.
And also I learned some very interesting norms like breakers.
That means a gender neutral term for a practitioner of break dancing and also be boys and be girls.
Of course, they are gendered words for breakers and short for break boys and break girls.
So when speaking of breaking, you would think of really cool music and hip hop music and also drum breaks and also dancers wearing baggy pants.
And also, you know, doing many drop or drop in moves.
And the emphasis of these break dancing, we're breaking is really about energy, movement, creativity and humor and a little bit element of danger.
So breaking is actually a sport that combines dance and athletic movement, really requiring balance, strength and flexibility.
And breaking began in New York as one of the pillars in the hip hop culture and will be making its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
And the breaking is one on one battle when where athletes are judged on their dance moves.
And usually breaking, there are like four major kinds of movements.
First one is top rock, meaning athletes or dancers, they just are dance well standing.
And usually how they start their routine before going down to the floor.
And then there's down rock refers to moves performed on the floor with hands supporting the athlete or dancer as much as the feet.
And athletes often perform a mix of legs, sweeps, swings and kicks as well as a 360 degree spins.
And numerous fast spins in succession are known as a power move.
And these are intricate gravity, defying spinning sequences where the athlete or dancer's feet rarely touch the ground.
And opposite of a power move is a freeze where dancers stop completely during a routine.
And usually that is a position that tried to demonstrate their strength and balance required for breaking.
So it's a really interesting dancing category that is really focusing about self expression.
I would say that. Yeah, so have you ever break?
No. No. Okay. I'm still looking for the verb.
Okay. And then I got a straight note.
So okay. But also I don't think you can escape from the influence of hip hop and this stream of dance or, you know, in fashion.
And it's manifested in so many ways.
Breaking. And also the breakers would be seriously offended if you're mixing their moves with like popping, locking and all these others.
But they're all sort of attributed, yes, to hip hop culture.
And from its origins in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York City, it was something that really came was born and bred from grassroots street culture.
And people had nothing.
They basically, you know, if you have the dance discipline, you have the strength and you have this crave for the rhythm, you dance.
And then sometimes it's like a whole bunch of guys like they would, back in the day, they had these like huge recorder players and then you just hit play and music blasts out and then people just start dancing in the streets.
And it looks great dancing.
Oh, China. But it's really not that.
It is really, it's a lot more strength and power that is demanding.
I think there's an age gap as well.
Just a slight age gap between the ages of like 1990.
Yeah. Well, let's say when breakers or these B boys and B girls grow a bit older, let's say to middle age or older age, I mean, if they're...
They'll fill transition over to the, what's it called, line dancing?
Square dancing, sorry, yeah.
But not in the traditional dance style.
Future Olympic sport. Yeah.
Senior Olympics. You're not doing it a great service and selling.
No, no. Yeah, so in the 1970s, that's where it came from.
And then gradually, you know, from street to mainstream, we saw that in the 1980s, it became a big deal in the US and then gradually spread all over the world.
And as I was doing some research, I realized that China's getting like really good at this too.
We've got some awesome street dancers or break, break dancers.
Okay, that just sounds a bit...
It makes sense though, because I think in the past we've seen a lot of very like petite athletic Chinese athletes doing really well in gymnastics.
You know, like gymnastics and that sort of thing.
And I think breaking is quite closely linked in terms of art form and judgment to something like gymnastics.
So it makes sense that there are Chinese talents emerging in this sport.
Oh, definitely. So what do we know about breaking, getting into the Olympics and it's, you know, popularity these days?
Yeah, actually, as you said, breaking used to be, or it is actually a urban dance style that really originated in the US in the 1970s.
And actually as early as the closing ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics breakdancing really made an appearance.
And international competitions of breaking were first held in the 1990s.
Really popularizing the dance form both among hip hop communities and also the general public along the way.
And breaking featured at the summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.
And following its outstanding success at the Games in Argentina, breaking was added to the Paris 2024 Olympic program as a new sport.
And when you look at the specific rules of this breaking event as an Olympic sport event, it's quite interesting because as far as, you know, what I have been looked into, there isn't really, it sounds like a huge free battle segment at the Paris 2024 because compared to other like Olympic sports events with very strict rules systems, it really shows a high degree of individuality.
For example, dancers do not really choose their own music for the competition.
Instead, a DJ with just randomly played tracks and then the dancers must adapt their moves to the music on the spot.
And also creating a competition style that really wins the judges approval.
And the meantime judges will of course give their scores based on the actual performance of those dancers or athletes and providing real-time feedback on five key standards, including technique, variety of moves, execution and music, quality and originality.
So these are very important principles when it comes to breaking becoming a sport event in the Olympics.
So it's quite interesting.
But I think we also may see some issues with that form of judgment because I think it's very subjective and a lot of the performances are going to be up to interpretation and I think there's going to be a lot of debate in person and online about something like breaking scores and who wins a gold medal, etc.
So while I do agree, it's a very athletic sport and it is definitely worthy of entry into the Olympics.
I think there may be a lot of controversy around the judgments of certain dancers and dance groups, etc.
But that being said, there are already many sports in the Olympics that are open to interpretation like rhythmic dancing and what's that thing that they do in the pool like coordinated movements in the pool like rhythmic pool dancing or whatever it's called gymnastics.
So there's a lot of sports in the Olympics that aren't like who runs, you know, who crosses the line first or who scores the most goals.
There are a lot of sports that are open to interpretation when it comes to judgment.
But with that comes a lot of controversy and differing opinions and at an event like the Olympics where you're competing for your nation, that can become quite a tricky scenario.
Well, the pressure is on.
For the judges too. Oh, yes.
They're probably feeling more pressure now than some of the athletes.
Yeah. And these days with social media people will find you.
And guys, what is, I suppose, the significance?
Sincronized swimming.
That's what it's called.
Yes, that's what it's called.
Yeah, it's very, very difficult.
And we have a very lovely long time listener who's in the synchronizing, script swimming team who's a message me on way, boy.
So they'll know how controversial some of the calls can be.
Yes, and I feel bad for not being able to come up with the name of the sport.
Like immediately, you know, I apologize.
We got the eventually. We did.
Thanks, Brendan. So what makes the inclusion of breaking into the Olympics significant for the sport as well as the Olympic Games?
Well, I think the inclusion of the sport, while when we talk about China's phenomenon or China's situation, you know, when I try to do research about this industry or these things, category here in China, you see it really matters a lot because like for decades ago, we're say 10 years or 20 years ago, breaking would still consider that as a quite niche category here in China.
And for those lovers of this breaking or breakers here in China, they have to really try really hard to find some say documentary or some tutorials to learn about this dance movement.
And now I think here in China, you see a lot of things have been changing because this year, actually, there are like China's big role, Liu Qingyi and Zheng Yingying and the B-boy Qi Xiangyu, they have already like secured their tickets to the Paris 2024.
And that is a, I mean, a huge motivation for local breakers here in China because they think that with this inclusion of this breaking sport event to the Paris 2024, and also meantime, with a lot of entertainment shows focusing on dancing and my own categories of dancing, breaking is no longer considered as merely an ender ground project, but it's becoming a recognized sport event among the general public.
So I think that matters a lot for a lot of like young breakers out there here in China at least.
And from its street origins to Olympic recognition, breaking has truly transformed into a global phenomenon.
Well, while still retaining its connection to hip-hop culture, and as we look into this Olympic breaking news, it's clear that the dance floor is about to become a battleground from top rock to down rock.
These B-boys and B-girls will be freezing the competition with their power moves.
So yes, it's time to pop lock and load up on Olympic spirit coming up.
Immersive theatre is allowing audience members to step into the story and be part of the narrative, attracting young people to dive into immersive theatre.
You're listening to Rand table with myself, how young I'm joined by Lee Yee and Brandon Yates in the studio, imagine stepping into a 1930s hotel, embodying a phantom, or solving a murder mystery in a barbershop, all while the story unfolds around you.
This isn't a theme park or a video game, it's the world of immersive theatre, and it's enchanting a new generation of Chinese theatre goers.
Young people are flocking to these interactive performances, paying premium prices for unique experiences, and what's driving this trend is that the lore of escapism, the thrill of participation, or something deeper.
Let's dive into the immersive world of China's newest theatrical sensation, and again, I will need you to provide some sort of definition for us, because it's still a bit fuzzy if you haven't been.
Of course, according to a 2023 article by backstage.com, immersive theatre is actually a performance art movement that aims to transform audience members from passive recipients to active participants, and the like traditional performance or traditional theatre.
Immersive theatre still covers a variety of genres, like drama, tragedy, bars, comedy, setar, and unlike traditional theatre, immersive theatre really seeks to challenge the relusion between audience and actors on the stage.
That line between audience and performer is really blurred, and so that's why you see when you observe the scene or the setting of those immersive theatre can be quite special, because usually actors are no longer like they are staying all the time on the stage.
Well, audience have to sit there to watch them.
In the meantime, in immersive theatre, usually audience and performers are in a shared space, so they are put in the same location, and sometimes it can be like a warehouse or factory, something that is adapted into a setting that is suitable for immersive theatre.
The meantime, audience can have the chance to get deeply involved in the whole story when performers are performing, and meantime they can even affect the plot.
Yeah, the plot and also the direction of the whole drama.
No, thank you. I want to sit down, eat my popcorn, drink my drink, and you actors entertain me.
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