logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2021
49m 25s

Breaking through

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Breaking, also known as break-dancing, borne in New York City in the 1970s, is set to make its debut at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. Four-time breaking world champion, BoxWon (Benyaamin Barnes McGee), traces how breaking went from Bronx block parties to NYC’s downtown art scene, to the world. Speaking to legends of the scene, such as Rock Steady Crew's Ken Swift and B-Boy Glyde from Dynamic Rockers, BoxWon reveals how punk impresario, Malcolm McLaren, helped breaking become a worldwide craze in the 1980s - before it vanished. When the International Olympic Committee proposed breaking as a new sport for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, the general public were taken by surprise.

Up next
Today
Why it's good for men to talk
Across the world, there’s often a stigma when it comes to men discussing their emotions. “We’re taught here as men that a man shouldn’t cry,” says Kholekile, who chairs the ManKind Project, a support group for men in South Africa. Across the world, there’s often a stigma when it ... Show More
24m 48s
Yesterday
France’s new Christians
The number of adults getting baptised in France has tripled in the last three years. Why are so many more adults joining the Church in France? We meet two of France’s new Christians, one baptised this Easter, one last Easter, and hear the strong stories they have to tell about th ... Show More
26m 27s
Jul 10
Ark of the dry lands
Researchers in Morocco are developing dry-land agriculture at ICARDA (the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas). It is home to a gene bank, in which around 150,000 different seed-types are kept in perfectly calibrated cold vaults, and duplicated to prot ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
Breaking Through
Breaking, also known as break-dancing, borne in New York City in the 1970s, is set to make its debut at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.Four-time breaking world champion, BoxWon (Benyaamin Barnes McGee), traces how breaking went from Bronx block parties to NYC’s downtown art s ... Show More
29m 24s
Jan 2024
SPOT24 à Paris, l'exposition olympique sur les sports et les cultures urbaines
Aux Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024 il y aura du skate, du BMX freestyle ou encore du breaking. Des sports nés dans la rue, qui ont une longue histoire. Et SPOT24, une exposition installée au pied de la Tour Eiffel, a décidé de célébrer ces cultures urbaines. L'occasion de s'interr ... Show More
2m 30s
Jun 2024
«L'Olimpiade», l'opéra-sport de Vivaldi au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées à Paris
Quand les baskets frôlent le parquet. À un mois des Jeux olympiques de Paris, le Théâtre des Champs-Élysées à Paris tient sa propre Olympiade lyrique et monte l'opéra le plus sport de Vivaldi : L'Olimpiade de 1734, un chef-d'œuvre du baroque vénitien dans une mise en scène olympi ... Show More
3m 37s
Dec 2020
From Graffiti to the Gallery, Futura Talks About Art
Born Leonard McGure, Futura made his reputation spray painting subway trains in New York City in the 1970s as “Futura 2000” — the number was dropped in 1999. He would go on to be part of the booming graffiti and street art movement in the 1980s, but was forced to depend on Europe ... Show More
1h 4m
Jul 2021
Olympics: Behind The Five Rings
The Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, and were resurrected in the 1890's after a 1,500 year ban. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has been behind every Olympic Games. In this episode, we explore the story of how the IOC turned the Olympics into a huge commerci ... Show More
41m 55s
Jun 2012
Michael Phelps, Rachel Brown and the Cultural Olympiad
As the US Olympic swimming trials get underway, the legendary Michael Phelps speaks about his comeback and rivalry with fellow American Ryan Lochte. Eleanor Oldroyd, former tennis player Mark Woodford and hurdler Jack Green discuss if athletes should take part in Olympic opening ... Show More
29m 17s
Dec 2022
The Olympics Used to Have an... Extraordinarily Weird Art Competition
Everyone's heard of the Olympics. This global competition brings athletes from around the world together to compete in various sports -- but, not too long ago, one man led the charge to bring artists, sculptors, musicians and more into the fray, with medal-worthy competitions of ... Show More
40m 29s
Jun 2023
Andrew Snyder, "Critical Brass: Street Carnival and Musical Activism in Olympic Rio de Janeiro" (Wesleyan UP, 2022)
Critical Brass: Street Carnival and Musical Activism in Olympic Rio de Janeiro (Wesleyan University Press, 2022) tells the story of neofanfarrismo, an explosive carnival brass band community turned activist musical movement in Rio de Janeiro, as Brazil shifted from a country on t ... Show More
58m 40s