Ho John Cris Panganiban
KUCHING (Sept 18): Eleven Sarawakians will take part in the 2021 Malaysia Dancesport Federation (MYDF)’s ‘E-Battle Breaking Championship’ set for this Oct 3.
Sarawak DanceSport Association official-in-charge Ho John Cris Panganiban, also known as ‘JayC Ho’, said championship would also serve as a ranking event and a selection platform for the World Breaking Championships 2021, to be held in France later this year.
The eleven Sarawakian breakers are Kelby Than Kah Paul, Maxcaldeerenton Chung and Jasper Lee Jia Le who are from Kuching; as well as Ngu Sung Kong, Mike Ting Lee Wee, Law Ing Chung, Lee Thong Lien, Yong Hua Hui, Desmond Ting Shih Kiing, Eric Ling Yong Seng and Abdul Malik bin Morshidi who are all from Sibu.
“The ‘Sarawak Breakers’ are out to show what they have, under the new norms due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at the online E-Battle 1×1 format event, organised and run by MYDF Breaking and endorsed by the Malaysia DanceSport Federation.
“Breaking is in the programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics and this is a big boost to all of those dreaming of making it to the Olympic stage,” said JayC Ho.
Breaking is a style of dance that originated in the US in the 1970s, taking form in the lively block parties in the Bronx, emerging from hip-hop culture, and being characterised by acrobatic movements, stylised footwork and the key role played by the disc jockey (DJ) and the Master of Ceremonies (MC) during battles.
International competitions were first held all over the world in the 1990s, popularising the dance form both among hip-hop communities and the public along the way.
Breaking made its Olympic debut at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018. Following its outstanding success, breaking has been chosen to be featured on the Paris 2024 Olympic sports programme as a new sport, along with surfing, skateboarding and sport-climbing.