Australia’s female b-girl “Raygun,” who went viral for her unexpected moves during the debut of Olympic breaking in Paris, shared a message to some of the commenters following her much-talked about performance.
Rachael Gunn’s unique dancing wasn’t the only part of her performance drawing a flurry of comments Friday. Her attire was also a topic many discussed.
The Olympian wore a green and yellow tracksuit with a matching ballcap, which stood out in comparison to the casual wardrobe of some of her competitors.
Despite questions over her level of skill following the first rounds of the competition, Gunn shared a message in her Instagram stories, writing, “looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the bboys wear tomorrow.”
But Gunn’s attire wasn’t the only one to come under scrutiny Friday.
Many viewers also called out Lithuania’s silver medalist b-girl Nicka, (legally named Dominika Banevič) for donning a durag during each of her battles. Durags, once worn by enslaved Africans to tie up their hair for work, are still worn by Black people to protect and style their hair. They became a fashionable symbol of Black pride in the 1960s and 1970s and, in the 1990s and early 2000s, also became a popular element of hip-hop style. But when worn by those who aren’t Black, durags can be seen as cultural appropriation. Banevič is white.
Here’s what to know about the first day of breaking and Gunn’s viral performance:
Who is Rachael Gunn?
Gunn is widely known as one of Australia’s best female breakers.
She represented the country in 2021, 2022 and 2023 at the World Breaking Championships.
The 36-year-old is also a lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University with a Ph.D in cultural studies. Her LinkedIn page notes she is “interested in the cultural politics of breaking.”
Gunn took part in a variety of dance styles, like ballet and tap, at a young age, but didn’t start breaking until her 20s, when she was introduced to it by her then-boyfriend, who is now her husband and coach.
Why did Gunn’s performance go viral?
Gunn quickly achieved internet fame Friday, but not necessarily for Olympic-level skill.
Competing against some b-girls half her age, she was swept out of the round-robin stage without earning a single point, and her unconventional moves landed flat while failing to match the skill level of her foes.
At one point, Gunn raised one leg while standing and leaned back with her arms bent toward her ears. At another, while laying on her side, she reached for her toes, flipped over and did it again in a move dubbed “the kangaroo.”
Clips of her routine have gone viral on TikTok and elsewhere, and many cringed at her moves platformed on the Olympic stage as a representation of hip-hop and breaking culture.
Still, announcers afterthe event noted Gunn was battling some of the best dancers in the world and “held her own.”
In the lead-up to her performance, Gunn noted her unique moves were her strength, especially knowing she would be competing against much younger competitors.
“The younger competitors are great in their strength, fitness, and explosiveness. But the older ones bring a different level of maturity to the dance,” she told CNBC.
In a sport where scores are based in part on both originality and creativity, she said she wanted to give the judges a unique take.
“My specialty is style and creativity, not dynamics or power moves like many other dancers,” she said, adding that she has developed her own moves, sequences and her own way of moving.
She knew going into her performance that her unexpected style might not score nearly as high, but she hoped it would be widely received by fans.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be valued as much as some of the other criteria, but I hope people are still wowed by what I bring since it’s something different,” she said.
What to know about Olympic breaking
For first-time watchers, there’s a lot to understand about the elements of breaking.
Beyond the dance form’s unique culture and history stemming from Black and brown communities in the Bronx in the 1970s, there is no other event like it at the Olympics. Some have likened it to a mix of gymnastics and martial arts, but with music and improvisation.
“This is also going to be the only sport where they’re going to incorporate other elements of hip-hop, because there’s going to be a DJ and there’s going to be a host, or an emcee,” said Ronnie Abaldonado, a breaker who is one of NBC’s commentators for the breaking competition.
The breakers don’t know what songs or music they’re competing to.
Breaking has its own judging structure — the Trivium judging system, which will allow judges to evaluate breakers on their technique, vocabulary or variety, execution, musicality and originality.
Breaking itself is made up of four primary elements: Toprock, Power moves, Footwork and Freezes.
Within those elements are an infinite combination of moves that make up a dancer’s routine. Routines are rehearsed, but dancers have to be careful not to be repetitive and keep the spontaneity and improvisational aspect of the performance at its core. And “biting,” or copying, a set of moves from an opponent can cost them.
The Olympic competition begins in a round-robin phase, when groups of four breakers face off against each other one by one. Only two emerge from each round-robin group before the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final matchup to determine the champion by the end of the evening.