{"id":932997,"date":"2024-06-27T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=932997"},"modified":"2024-06-27T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T11:00:00","slug":"meet-the-olympic-b-girls-using-beauty-to-make-their-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=932997","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Olympic B-Girls Using Beauty to Make Their Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BIG BREAK<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meet the Olympic B-Girls Using Beauty to Make Their Mark<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Sharp breaking moves and even sharper eyeliner.<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Marilyn La Jeunesse<\/span><\/span><\/span>Photographer <\/span>Meron Menghistab<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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On a drizzly day in Seattle in early April, Logistx bursts into the cypher at Red Bull Lords of the Floor, her oversized blue Nike jersey and baggy white sweatpants swaying as she launches into her opening moves. While breaking is mostly about showing off your strength and power, Logistx is also pulling a fierce look: She\u2019s wearing a pair of two-inch silver hoops, a ponytail with strawberry blonde balayage, and sharply cut black eyeliner.<\/p>\n

One of only three women participating in the famous breaking event, Logistx is using beauty to leave her mark on the floor. She\u2019s not asking permission. Her jewelry and makeup don\u2019t impact her dance moves. And she proves it as she headspins into the next round of the competition alongside her partner, India.<\/p>\n

With roots in the late 1960s and 1970s, breaking\u2014not breakdancing, which is a misnomer mistakenly coined by the media\u2014has never just been about the impressive choreography; it\u2019s about the culture. Created by Black and Latino youths in the Bronx, hip hop is at the core of the sport. With four main dance components\u2014toprock, footwork, freezes, and power moves\u2014some argue that the fifth element of breaking is swag.<\/p>\n

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Logistx hits the cypher at Red Bull Lords of the Floor event in April.<\/p>\n

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Breaking is primarily done inside a cypher, which is a circle formed by audience members and other dancers on any given floor. In true battle format, only one breaker is allowed to dance at a time and often playfully eggs on their competitors while performing\u2014but it\u2019s all in good fun. One of the unwritten rules of the dance is to keep things light and supportive, even if you\u2019re in the heat of battle.<\/p>\n

What started as an underground party dance with people sharing dynamic acrobatics and lightning fast step-work during the breaks in music (hence the sport\u2019s name) has since transformed into a worldwide phenomenon. It\u2019s now a competitive art form that\u2019s set to make its Olympic debut in Paris this summer.<\/p>\n

For Beta Rawkuz (pronounced \u201cruckus\u201d), who has been breaking for more than 30 years, it\u2019s almost unimaginable to see the dance she grew up with make it to one of the biggest athletic stages in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a kid, I never thought that this dance would ever hit any platform outside [the] street,\u201d she tells Allure<\/em>. \u201cThere is a relief I feel for the current and future gens knowing that [they] will have endless opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beta is one of breaking\u2019s pioneers. She fell in love with the sport in 1995 when she was 11 years old. After weeks of watching her older brother dance in the middle of a skating rink and asking him to teach her, she stayed behind one night and\u2014when his friends started to arrive and dance in a similar style\u2014realized there was an entire community dedicated to what she now knows is called breaking.<\/p>\n

She soon joined in. One thing she noticed early on, though, was that she was often the only woman breaking. \u201cI was used to being the only girl in everything, so I wasn\u2019t afraid to continue. I was told I’m not supposed to do that, but I have the personality where I\u2019m like \u2018I should just do more,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cSo I started dancing and I never stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The crowd cheers on b-girl India.<\/p>\n

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Now 41, Beta says she no longer trains for breaking competitions, but she still enjoys the dance and was recently a judge for Red Bull\u2019s revival of the groundbreaking 2001 breaking event Lords of the Floor in Seattle, which is widely-considered the World Cup for breaking.<\/p>\n

It was the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) that introduced the sport to the Olympic stage during the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following its success, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include breaking in the 2024 Olympics, making it the first dance sport to ever be included in the international games.<\/p>\n

Breaking will make its Olympics debut on August 9 and 10. There are 16 slots allotted to female competitors and 16 to male competitors. Beta lauds the rise of b-girls in the sport. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to go into a venue and it\u2019s not just 400 males,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Still, Beta says breaking has a long way to go in terms of equality. Oftentimes, women compete separately from men (as will be the case at the Olympics), and when the competitions are co-ed, there are often no more than one or two b-girls included in the lineup. The way female breakers are treated among their male peers also changes the older they become, says Beta. \u201cIf a b-girl wants to be a mother or is a mother or become a mother, I don\u2019t feel this culture is very accepting. They\u2019re like, \u2018Oh no, she\u2019s a mom now,\u2019 as if that means she\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

She notes that there have been a few instances in which male judges dismissed b-girls at smaller competitions based on their baggy clothing despite clothing not being a qualification for judging at all. Typically, competitions are scored according to technique (how well you master the elements of breaking) and style (how you express the moves in the cypher). \u201cYou know damn well in no b-boy category are they going up to the dude and say, \u2018Sorry, man, your pants are too baggy.\u2019 That would never happen to them,\u201d says Beta. \u201cWhen you\u2019re the only girl and you keep getting picked on [when] you just started doing something and you\u2019re working hard, you\u2019re like, \u2018Eff that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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B-girl Ami shows off a move before the competition.<\/p>\n

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Before breaking became more internationally recognized, Beta says many of the b-girls she knew ended up quitting because of the lack of opportunity to compete. She had to forge her own path, applying to male categories during competitions and even winning several big-name battles\u2014at her peak she became the first b-girl to win the prestigious Spy award, named after B-Boy Spy, a pioneering breaker who inspired generations to take up the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can take it wherever you want,\u201d says Beta when asked about her advice to aspiring b-girls. \u201cIt\u2019s an art, but it requires [the] discipline of martial arts. It\u2019s not easy to break. You need to earn it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Below, we spoke with three internationally recognized b-girls ahead of their historic Lords of the Floor performance , on what makes the newest generation of b-girls so damn cool\u2014eyeliner included.<\/p>\n

India<\/h2>\n

India has an undeniable air of confidence around her. Not in the pompous way that you might expect from a teenager who won the Dutch, European, and World breaking championship titles in the span of six months. Rather, it’s the confidence of a young woman who has been competing since she was eight and knows exactly who she is and what she wants to do with her life.<\/p>\n

When India enters the cypher at Red Bull Lords of the Floor, the crowd erupts. Cheers and hollers come from all sides of the venue as the 17-year-old and her dance partner, Logistx, prepare for their first battle against B-Girl Ami and B-Boy Taisuke. India and Logistx are the only all-female team in the bracket.<\/p>\n

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Fresh-faced and fitted in an all-white Nike tracksuit\u2014her go-to breaking uniform\u2014India bursts onto the floor with an impressive round and high-powered twist as her opening moves. Energetic and self-assured, India\u2019s flow is unmistakably her own. Mixing the fundamentals of breaking with elements of her hip hop background, India helps her team, Queen Vision, win their battle and secure their spot in the Top 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about the sport is that you can go on and on. There’s no end to it,\u201d the Dutch superstar tells Allure<\/em> ahead of the Lords of the Floor competition. \u201cYou can create millions of moves. And it’s always a challenge to have a higher technique you want to learn or a bigger move. You can always evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although they weren\u2019t able to nab the semi-finalist title, India and Logistx were hailed as the queens of the floor and walked off with a standing ovation. Even in the face of adversity, competing against breakers with decades more experience and athleticism, India uses every challenge as a reason to grow. Her next hurdle? The 2024 Olympics, where she\u2019ll be one of the first women to compete on the international stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTo compete at the first Olympics is really history,\u201d says India. She\u2019ll be one of the youngest athletes representing The Netherlands and was the first Dutch breaker to qualify. \u201cI\u2019m really honored,\u201d she says. In preparation, India is training multiple times a week while juggling school work and travel for breaking competitions.<\/p>\n

A self-described tomboy, India\u2019s dance style might be complex, but her beauty regimen is clean and simple. She\u2019s only now experimenting with makeup and hairstyles that express who she is as a teenager, often letting her older sister and cousins do her nails and beat. She\u2019s currently obsessed with lip liner, mascara, and concealer, but often keeps it simple when she\u2019s in the cypher.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeauty in dancing is being yourself,\u201d she says with a wide grin, showing off her silver braces. \u201cI think beauty is also being yourself. It\u2019s very clich\u00e9, but everyone\u2019s beautiful in their own way, so I think it\u2019s really important to be yourself and to find your own style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logistx<\/h2>\n

Logistx is sick the day before the massive Red Bull Lords of the Floor event. But she\u2019s one of three b-girls who was invited to compete and she\u2019s not letting anything stand in between her and the cypher\u2014not even an illness.<\/p>\n

When the DJ starts playing, the 20-year-old wastes no time claiming the floor. She times her footwork in step with the music, mixing subtle flair and tight technique together to help Queen Vision move onto the Top 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m honored to represent females who are not afraid to embrace masculinity in our own way. I feel empowered every time I get to dance and it teaches me how to remain empowered in the same way in life outside of dance,\u201d Logistx\u2014given name, Logan\u2014tells Allure<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Dancing since she was 8, the Filipina-American says she never approached breaking as a sport since there was zero projection of competitiveness when she first began. One of the youngest dancers to be signed by Red Bull and a world champion representing crews BreakinMIA and Underground Flow, she was technically tricked into taking breaking lessons by her dad, who told her it was an art class at a local church.<\/p>\n

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Despite her initial reservations about hip hop and breaking, Logistx fell in love with the dance forms and hasn\u2019t stopped since. She prides herself on bringing a more traditional approach to her style, saying her technique is filled with \u201csoul power\u201d and is dynamic and ever-evolving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m just the type of person where I always want to do better. I don\u2019t feel fulfilled if I\u2019m not growing,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to be a dope b-girl because I\u2019m in love with the journey of this dance and I have a lot of fun anytime I get to learn something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some b-girls opt not to wear makeup while dancing, Logistx uses hers as a tool to express herself. Her current favorite products to wear while competing include Fenty Beauty highlighter, lip gloss, and eyeliner. She leans towards casual street style, showcased with the white cargo pants and bandana wrapped around her head when I first meet her. \u201cFashion is another element of hip hop, so it\u2019s a culture thing for me,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been taught we need to dress fly and show up fresh if we\u2019re gonna represent this culture.\u201d Out of the cypher, Logistx swears by tiger balm to help with pain as well as essential oils, candles, and Indian incense to help her stay calm. She\u2019s also a massive fan of coconut oil as moisturizer, rose water to hydrate her face, and any Lush Cosmetics products.<\/p>\n

For Logistx, breaking allows her to work through her self-described traumatic childhood. \u201cThe things that made me want to give up on life are the same things that I use to motivate me to level up,\u201d she says. Breaking, she says, helps her work through her feelings and she continues to train everyday to keep her mind, heart, spirit, and body healthy. She says she also uses practices like meditation to help her tune into her truest self so she doesn\u2019t lose herself in a thought spiral or trigger-induced panic attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She is thoughtful and calculated about her approach to breaking and to life. This is in part where she gets her b-girl name from: \u201cLogistx\u201d was suggested by her father, since she\u2019s always planning ahead. \u201cI made my first schedule when I was four,\u201d she says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Today, she is planning for the Olympics: Earning 74 out of 100 possible points during the qualifiers, Logistx placed fourth overall and earned herself a spot on Team USA. With an eye towards Paris, Logistx\u2019s training sessions happen five to seven times a week, sometimes multiple times a day, and can last anywhere from two to four hours. She starts with an intense warm-up filled with deep stretching to help prevent injuries before heading into creative flows and drills.<\/p>\n

For her, breaking is a dance form that is as tough as it is rewarding. \u201cKnowing I can [break] and doing the moves itself is empowering because it\u2019s not easy,\u201d Logistx says. \u201cBattling forces us to step into our power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ami<\/h2>\n

Ami is wearing intentionally smudged reddish-brown eye makeup and a subtle orange lipstick when she greets me. Rocking beaded hoops and a crocheted bucket hat, she\u2019s prepped and ready to watch the Lord of the Floor prelims from the edge of the cypher.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, wearing makeup is my switch. It gives me confidence,\u201d the 25-year-old tells Allure<\/em>. \u201cWhen I\u2019m going to the competition, I always want to be the best version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Japan, Ami is both her given and b-girl name. She started dancing at six years old after attending her older sister\u2019s breaking showcase. There, she remembers seeing someone perform the famed windmill move, which involves advanced back spins with your feet in the air in an extended V-shape\u2014and the rest is history. In 2018 she became the first b-girl to join Red Bull BC One All Stars and has made a name for herself internationally.<\/p>\n

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While she\u2019s still trying to find the best anti-sweat products to wear while she breaks, she swears by MAC\u2019s long-lasting lipsticks because the formula is transfer-proof\u2014even when she\u2019s spinning on her head in the cypher. Much like everyone\u2019s breaking style, Ami sees makeup as a form of expression that\u2019s unique to only them: \u201cEverybody is different, and that\u2019s the beauty of it. You\u2019re not trying to be somebody else.\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the Lords of the Floor event, Ami is competing with fellow Japanese breaker B-Boy Taisuke on Team Vale-Tudo. In a face-off against Queen Vision, Ami twists and contorts her body to its limits. She\u2019s notorious for her razor-sharp footwork and explosive power moves, both of which are on display as she fights for a spot in the Top 8.<\/p>\n

Wearing Nike shoes, baggy utility pants, a dark gray Red Bull shirt, and a light gray beanie, Ami adds her own feminine style to the traditional b-girl uniform. She adorns her outfit with a gold chain, tassel earrings that bounce as she moves with the high-energy beat, and subtle touches of eye makeup.<\/p>\n

For Ami, breaking doesn\u2019t have a limit. It pushes you harder, makes you want to practice and continue to fight to nail certain moves and express your emotion in ways you\u2019d never expect. Despite the ups and downs and endless days of training, breaking is Ami\u2019s release, she says.<\/p>\n

Her next fight will be at the Paris Olympics: After earning 95 out of 100 possible points during the Olympic qualifiers in June, Ami solidified her spot on Team Japan. Despite the massive achievement, she\u2019s not stressed. In fact, she\u2019s only focused on her style\u2014doing what she thinks is cool at the moment rather than focusing on other people\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I had so much stress,\u201d she says of the difference between breaking as a culture and breaking as a competition. \u201cFrom those experiences I realized that I started breaking because it\u2019s fun, so I don\u2019t want to [give in to] those pressures.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read more stories about sports and beauty:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • The Olympic Track & Field Trials Had More Trendy Beauty Moments Than a Red Carpet<\/li>\n
  • Chloe Kim Told Us Her Favorite Sunscreen\u2014and It’s Just $17<\/li>\n
  • The WNBA Draft Was the Biggest Beauty Spectacle of the Year So Far<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Watch an Olympic gymnast’s entire routine:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Follow<\/em> Allure on<\/em>\u00a0Instagram<\/em>and<\/em>\u00a0TikTok, or<\/em>\u00a0subscribe to our newsletter<\/em>to stay up to date on all things beauty.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

    Source URL: https:\/\/www.allure.com\/story\/olympic-breaking-b-girls-interviews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    BIG BREAK Meet the Olympic B-Girls Using Beauty to Make Their Mark Sharp breaking moves and even sharper eyeliner. By Marilyn La JeunessePhotographer Meron Menghistab June 27, 2024 On a drizzly day in Seattle in early April, Logistx bursts into the cypher at Red Bull Lords of the Floor, her oversized blue Nike jersey and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":932998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-932997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-allure-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=932997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/932998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=932997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=932997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=932997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}