Can Break Dance Transition from Art Form to Official Sport in Tamil Nadu?

The steady thump of music fills the air at the modest dance studio run by K Karthikeyan and Malini Gopalakrishnan in the bylanes of Madurai’s Pudur. Their students practising spins on the floor are not just dancing; they are entering the world of sport.The sports development authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) allowed break dance to be performed as a demo sport (a sport which is not part of the competition and is played to promote it or exhibit it) in Madurai on Oct 3.Dancers in the state are welcoming this move and hoping for an official state recognition, which will mean access to coaching, funding, and training facilities.

Unlike choreographed dance events, break dance battles are spontaneous.

Two competitors face off, taking turns to freestyle to the same piece of music for 45 seconds each. Judges evaluate them on originality, strength, and flow. A typical competition follows a knockout pattern with 32 dancers, out of whom 16, 8, 4, and finally the winner, is chosen.“Break dance is one of the toughest of dance forms,” says Malini, a fitness expert who turned her passion into a career. “You have to be fit like a gymnast, follow the right diet, and maintain agility.

Every flip must follow the beat; it’s a blend of precision and power,” she says. Also, you can’t plan it fully, and it’s about how you adapt to the beat and surprise the opponent, she says. “It’s demanding and mentally challenging.

We call our students athletes because that’s what they are,” he says.“You never know what beat comes next and have to respond in seconds. That’s also what makes it a sport,” says Karthikeyan.Among her and Karthikeyan’s students is 15-year-old Prem Gandhi. Known by his artist name Grasper, Prem represented India at the world youth breaking championship 2024 in China, the first-ever youth representation from the country in the 14 -18 age group. Earlier this year, at the world school games under the international school federation, he won India’s first medal in break dance, a silver, with financial support from SDAT.

His father works in a restaurant and his mother is a homemaker, but Prem, who began dancing at six manages to train for nearly 10 hours a day, and balance studies.Malini started as a Zumba trainer and discovered hip-hop and break dance in 2012 while Karthikeyan, president of the Madurai District All Dance Sport Association, was one of the first to bring breaking to Madurai. “At Kodikulam village where I’m from, nobody even knew what break dance was, when I started out in 2009,” he says.

It took me four years to find a crew that actually practised it,” he says. A self-taught dancer, Karthikeyan says he channels his emotions through the dance form.

“I am quite short tempered. But breaking taught me control.At the national dance sports championship 2024 organised by Tamil Nadu all dance sport association, held in Chennai, their students represented Tamil Nadu for the first time. The state now has formal district-level associations, in which most of the students come from humble backgrounds and study in corporation schools, says Malini.

“We are not after just commercial success. We are serious about the sport and want to teach the kids discipline.

If more people come to know of this sport, they will get the opportunity to build a career for themselves based on it.”Pavithra H, 25, from Salem, says she has always been drawn to dance, but prefers street styles over classical forms. “I had a number of choices when it comes to classical, but I like western forms better.

There aren’t many coaching centres for that here,” she says. “So most of us learn from videos or others. I do hip-hop a lot but break dance is the OG dance form.”In Thanjavur, dancers say recognition could change everything. “Right now, we train after college hours and pay from our pocket for travel to competitions,” says 23-year-old Rahul N, who has been practising break dance for five years. “If the govt recognises it as a sport, we can get coaching camps, scholarships, and maybe even represent India one day.”They have already conducted demo games, but are yet to decide whether the game will be conducted as a direct state competition or at the regional level, says Meghnath Reddy, member secretary, SDAT. “These may take time. We will certainly bring it in the CM trophy (a tournament organised by SDAT).” The SDAT has been consistently supporting the players financially to travel and attend competitions abroad, he adds. “Break dance will be given as much importance as any other sport.

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