MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ quest to qualify for breaking – or breakdancing – when it debuts as an official Olympic sport in the 2024 Paris Games is set to pick up steam.

In partnership with the Philippine DanceSport Federation, the Breakin’ Association of the Philippines (BBAP) will stage the first qualification and ranking event for national team hopefuls in Las Piñas on Saturday, June 25.

The live qualifications will be held at the Allstars Dance School South, where 32 of the best B-boys and B-girls from all over the country will duke it out to earn their official rankings.

Among those who will showcase their wares in Las Piñas are B-boys and B-girls from Baguio, Bacolod, Davao, Pampanga, and Dumaguete who qualified through the Cyber Cypherz preselections.

The top-ranking breakers will be offered athlete contracts as battlers in the BBAP Pro League.

Originating from New York in the 1970s, breaking has become one of the most prominent dance styles in the world, so much so that it cracked the sports lineup for the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics in Argentina.

Then in December 2020, the International Olympic Committee announced the inclusion of breaking along with skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing as new sports when France hosts the 2024 Olympics.

In breaking competitions, individuals or teams go head-to-head and perform one after the other as they try to get high scores from the judges. – Rappler.com