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Source: Modern Express All Media
Editor: Shao Qianqian
Time: October 6, 2023 19:25:38
On the afternoon of October 6th, the breakdance event of the Hangzhou Asian Games finally kicked off! Although it was only a qualifying match, it still attracted many media reporters and fans to come to the Hangzhou Gongshu Canal Gymnasium to witness this historic moment when breakdancing first appeared on the stage of the Asian Games. What kind of dance is breakdancing? How to compare as a competitive sports event? What should the audience think? Modern Express reporters came here to enjoy the break dance competition and interviewed Meng Changqing, the technical operation director of the break dance competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Debuted on the stage of the Asian Games and will participate in the Paris Olympics next year
What kind of dance is breakdancing? Modern Express reporters learned from the Asian Organizing Committee that break dance originated in the 1970s and is rooted in the Hip Hop culture of the United States. It is a form of street dance. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the breakdance competition took the form of alternating performances between the red and blue sides on the venue, with each side completing a battle called a round. Each performance of the two sides in the battle should not exceed 60 seconds.
The break dance competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games consists of two events, men’s and women’s, resulting in two gold medals. According to the number of participants, the competition is divided into several stages: qualification stage, preliminary stage, round robin stage, knockout stage, semi-finals, third place stage, and final stage. The referee uses a scoring system in the form of a “score slider” to evaluate the skills, performance, creativity, diversity, musicality, personality, and other indicators of both players, and determines the gold medal through scoring.
The game hasn’t started yet, the audience is battling up first
On October 6th, the first to be held were the men and women’s individual qualification and group round robin for break dancing, in order to determine the spots for the knockout and final rounds on the second day. The scene of the breakdance competition is significantly different from other competitive sports venues. Before the start of the competition, three MCs (literally translated as “microphone controllers”, which can be understood as on-site hosts) took the lead in warming up. As the first project to enter the Asian Games, the three also briefly introduced the origin and appreciation dimensions of breakdancing to the audience.
Before the start of the competition, driven by the three hosts, the audience from the three stands took the lead in battling with volume to warm up the venue. The process of introducing referees is also more like the appearance of superstars, after all, these referees are all experts in break dance. The entire process is not like a competitive sports competition, but more like a big show.
In the qualification competition, the contestants will form groups of four and appear one by one. They will showcase themselves within one minute through random music, and then be scored by the referee. Entering the second round of the group round robin, it will be a more explosive 1V1 battle until the spot for promotion to the knockout stage is determined.
The harder the action, the higher the score? NO, scoring from five dimensions
How should the audience appreciate breakdancing on site? A reporter from Modern Express interviewed Meng Changqing, the technical operation director of the breakdancing competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the president of the Zhejiang Street Dance Association. He first answered the reporter’s question, “Is it because the harder the action, the higher the score.
So when watching breakdance competitions, the audience not only needs to see whether the athletes’ movements are difficult, but also whether their movements match the music, are diverse, can express their unique personality, and can complete a set of movements within 60 seconds. According to him, within Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Kazakhstan are relatively strong in the break dance event, and gold medals may appear among athletes from these countries.
At this Asian Games, China sent four athletes to participate in the break dance competition. The two athletes in the men’s group were Shang Xiaoyu and Qi Xiangyu, and the women’s group were Liu Qingyi and Zeng Yingying. “Of course, I hope Chinese athletes can win the championship, and everyone can focus on their competition,” said Meng Changqing. It is worth mentioning that Qi Xiangyu comes from Jiangsu and is a strong contender for medals and even gold medals in this event.