Footage has emerged of talented Australian breakdancers competing to reach the world finals of their sport – putting Olympic star Rachael “Raygun” Gunn to shame.
Questions have been raised ever since Raygun took to the stage at the Paris Olympics on Saturday (AEST) after his embarrassing performance failed to garner a single point from the judges.
Many have asked what the qualification process is and how Raygun was able to get this far when his skill was much lower than the other competitors in Paris.
Now others have questioned why Australia was not better represented when footage showed other Australians are far more talented than Raygun, who was nonetheless called the country’s “best breakdancer” by chef de mission Anna Meares on Sunday.
The Red Bull BC One 2024 World Final will take place on December 7, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the run-up to the big event, three Australian cities were chosen for the ‘Cypher’ events that act as qualifiers for the World Finals.
The top 16 B-boys and eight B-girls from across the country will compete in the Red Bull BC One Australia National Cypher at Sydney’s Metro Theatre on August 25.
The winner will be crowned Australian champion and have the chance to represent their country at the 2024 World Final.
Melbourne’s Wiremu Parangi was at the Victorian event, held at the Container 8 club on Sunday, with locals vying to join the shortlisted wildcards in the Red Bull BC One National Cypher.
She recorded a video of some of the performances and posted: “These women are bomb #Raygun. (Australian Olympics chief) Anna Meares. Shame on our young Australian breakdancing girls!”
A female competitor shows off her moves at Melbourne’s Red Bull BC One qualifying event and proves Australia could have sent better representatives to the Paris Games
Australian Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn imitates a kangaroo or a T-Rex at the Paris Olympics in a performance that lit up the Internet
Australians have been left wondering why the young talents from the Red Bull BC One qualifier were not present at the Olympic qualifying event in Sydney.
Raygun was labelled an “embarrassment” after the 36-year-old failed to score a single point in three bouts in her Olympic debut.
She was criticised worldwide for her routine that included kangaroo and T-Rex poses along with ‘The Sprinkler’, but her Australian Olympic teammates treated her like a cult heroine when she performed a routine for them just before Monday’s closing ceremony.
And there were many who pointed out that the teenagers who showed up to the Red Bull BC One 2024 Cypher in Melbourne were far more talented than Raygun.
“It was advertised as a break dancing challenge. A lot of grassroots kids who eat this stuff for breakfast came. #Raygun did not represent these kids,” Parangi posted.
However, one fan pointed out that all of the artists present could have been competing to qualify for the Olympics as well.
Raygun won the official Sydney Olympic qualifying event, highlighting the divide in the sport in Australia.
The same sentiment was shared in a video posted by Australian Indigenous Outreach Projects, featuring Scarlett Frances, aka B-Girl Scar, who earned the IOP title this year.
Frances is a talented multi-discipline dancer, she is one of the dancers for the NBL South-East Melbourne Phoenix team and has posted several impressive videos of her breakdancing talents.
“Why didn’t Scar go to the Olympics?” asked one spectator.
“Infinitely better than anything else I saw at the Olympics this year,” added another.
Frances was friendly during the selection process and was happy that her sport was represented.
“It’s great to see breaking making its Olympic debut this weekend,” he posted.
She also added a picture of the winners on the podium and said: “Celebrities, these absolutely amazing women, this is what we want to go viral.”
Scarlett Frances, also known as B-Girl Scar, is the Australian Indigenous Outreach Projects breakdancing champion.
Many have questioned why Frances, a talented Melbourne-based freelance dancer who performs at NBL games in South East Melbourne, was not considered for the Paris Olympics.
The inaugural WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships were held at Sydney Town Hall on 28 October and were open to all competitors from the Pacific region.
Raygun took home gold in the B-Girls category.
“She (Raygun) legitimately qualified. Maybe all these ‘good breakers’ should have participated and then this wouldn’t have been an issue,” they posted.
Others pointed to the divide between Raygun and other Sydney-based breakers and the grassroots talent who did not compete at the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships but are instead competing for the Red Bull World Final.
“It was advertised as a break dancing challenge. A lot of grassroots kids who eat this stuff for breakfast came. #Raygun did not represent these kids,” Parangi posted.
“This raises serious questions about how she was selected as the Australian winner to qualify and has apparently been the winner in previous years,” another added.
‘AOC needed to implement a better vetting process and reach out to talent. Clearly that didn’t happen.’
“It’s top notch. The other one (Raygun) was like walking on Lego pieces scattered on the floor,” another posted.
Sunny Choi, also known as B-Girl Sunny, from the United States, competes in the Red Bull BC One B-girl World Final
Artists hold the Red Bull BC One World Final and Battle of the Year tournaments in higher regard than the Olympic Games.
Both Red Bull BC One and Battle of the Year fall outside the official governance of the World DanceSport Federation, but are considered more credible in the breaking community.
The Red Bull BC One World Final was first held in 2004, while the global breakdance tournament Battle of the Year dates back to 1990.
The World Dancesport Federation, best known for overseeing ballroom dancing, only took control of breaking at the Olympic level in 2018, when it first appeared at the Youth Olympic Games.
“Red Bull BC One should have had some kind of influence on the participants of this event (at the Olympics),” one viewer posted.
“For someone who has studied the ‘cultural politics of breaking,’ she made a fool of herself and the art of breaking. There was no way she should have been in that group of dancers.”
“I love Anna Meares but she got it wrong,” another follower posted.
“That’s why they have qualifying times for the Olympics. So that people don’t embarrass their country. If Raygun is the best we have, then we shouldn’t be represented.”
Yes, another agreed, posting: “The Olympics really failed to represent culture. Breaking is one of the most amazing and unique art forms.”
“The Olympics turned it into a sideshow, a poor representation of breaking. Hopefully they’ll get another chance. Anyone who’s seen the Red Bull battle knows it’s incredible.”