Sunny Days are Here: Breaking is a New Olympic Sport!
An Interview with Sunny Choi and What’s Powering Her to Paris
Sunny days are here. For the first time a female break dancer will represent the United States in the Olympics…and her name is Sunny Choi.
Sunny Choi (or B-Girl Sunny as she is known) is on her way to Paris to debut break dancing on the Olympic stage, and compete in the first Olympics with full gender parity, ever. Cheering Être girls everywhere had questions:
What qualifies as break dancing at the Olympics?
Why hasn’t it been part of the games before this?
Who is Sunny Choi and how is she preparing for Paris?
For the first two queries we checked in with the International Olympic Committee. For the last – and most important – question, we spoke directly with Sunny Choi herself. Below, after quick background, is an edited version of Être’s interview with Sunny. Wait until you hear what’s powering her path to Paris!
Image: TIME
Okay, what qualifies break dancing as an Olympic sport?
According to the Paris Olympics, break dancing – or “breaking” – is “characterized by acrobatic movements, stylized footwork and the key role played by the DJ and the MC (master of ceremonies) during battles;” at this year's games competitors will be judged on five criteria: technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality.
With moves like top rock (standing footwork), down rock (floor moves), freezing (poses with hand or head support) and halfpipes (twists that look like the breaker is skateboarding), breaking is an exciting Olympic addition that promises to thrill a new generation of viewers.
So why hasn’t it been part of the Olympics before now?
Breaking only came on the scene about 50 years ago, according to this Olympic guide, so it is still seen as a relatively new sport. “It’s still evolving,” a young breaker told the guide’s author, “[and] we’re still deciding what breaking is…Even my generation is still helping us learn these things.”
Image: Team USA
Got it. Now tell us more about superstar Sunny Choi and how she’s preparing for Paris?
We’re in awe. With videos, videos and more videos of her breaking sweeping our feeds, we can’t stop watching Sunny onstage and online.
But Être girls wanted to know more, so we went straight to Sunny…
Ê: Hi! Can you tell us what it's like getting ready for Paris and what goes through your head every day? Are you so excited?
SC: Hi! I get asked really often, are you excited? And the answer is, actually, not really! Not yet. I’m anxious about all the work that needs to be done, and the day to day monitoring about how am I training? How am I feeling? Am I doing everything to the best of my abilities? There's a lot that goes through my head every single day, and only a few moments are glimmers where I get really excited, or where I feel really grateful and proud of the journey.
Once I’m on the plane I know I’m going to be really excited. But I think until I get there, I have all these “to do” lists in my head – it’s honestly been one of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing, I've ever done in my life! But I've also grown so much more during this process than I have kind of in any other period of my life. So, it's been really rewarding already.
Images: NBC Olympics
Ê: Rewarding and daunting, we bet! We read that one of the things that calms you down when you start to feel nervous is cooking. Has that always been the case for you, or is that, as the stakes get higher and higher, you go to that more and more?
SC: Food has always been something very, very important to me. It's always been a way for me to get away from a busy day, connect with my family [and] end a hard day with something really delicious.
“I can go from zero to 100 with a good meal, mood-wise.”
As I get closer to the games, to be honest, there are times where, when I'm overwhelmed. But I know that fueling is extremely important, so I'm in the kitchen regardless and I use it as an escape. It’s a way to get creative outside of the dance floor…if I hit a rut there, I might as well go take it to the kitchen, right?
Images: Sunny Choi
Ê: Right! We love what you posted recently, about your partnership with Incredible Egg. That recipe looked amazing! Can you tell us more about that partnership and what attracted you to it?
SC: Yes, this this partnership is so perfect for me, because eggs are such a high protein source of food and a great way to be creative! I love creating content and recipes with them! Also, I'm not one of those athletes that's still in my teenage years - I'm a little bit older – (Sunny is 35) so I think it’s even more important for me to make sure that I'm in the best shape possible. Not just nutritionally, but also mentally, so the opportunity to stay creative in the kitchen with a partner that understands that is truly perfect.
Ê: Their new campaign is called Made to be Broken (which we love), and you have things now that are made to be broken too: you are the first woman who's going to represent the US in a debut sport. What does it feel like to break that barrier and pave the way for the next generation of breakers?
SC: It definitely fits! People keep saying you're doing things that are so out of the ordinary. You are breaking the mold, breaking tradition and breaking expectations, and I realize that it’s true. My entire life I’ve done everything the way that I thought I was supposed to do them… now I'm finally getting a chance to do things the way I want to do them.
“I’ve just kind of broken out of this shell that I was in before and allowed myself to blossom.”
I'm so much happier. I have more mental space. I'm able to give back more. I'm able to cook and create content, do all these things that fuel me.
Image: Ramona Jingru Wang
Ê: What’s one thing you want girls watching the Olympics this year to remember?
SC: The Olympics have been a dream of mine ever since I was little. And I gave up my Olympic dreams as a gymnast at a young age. So, to get a second chance now – it’s like life is telling me hey, we're throwing you a rope here. Take it! I did, and I haven't looked back since.
So, I’d say to them: Do what makes you happy, do what feels right, and work hard for it. Because at the end of the day, you don't want to look back and say, I wish.
Do what makes you happy, do what feels right, and work hard for it.
Advice that every Olympic athlete might well be repeating silently as they dive into the pool, set up in the blocks, stride onto the court or dance onto the stage.
And advice that every girl watching these role models might whisper to herself as she stands before her screen and sees flags wave.
What are girls wishing for as Paris approaches?
More mentor moments like these.
Looking forward (to Paris),
Illana
ÊXTRAS: In honor of the Made to Be Broken campaign, here are three things about Sunny’s recipe you won’t want to miss: (1) made in partnership with the Incredible Egg, Sunny’s recipe is a “Custard Freeze, Sunny Style” which is her favorite sweet treat for me-time after days of practicing her “freeze” on the floor as a breakdancer; (2) the Custard Freeze is made with coconut cream, egg yolks, honey, vanilla and almond extract, and is super easy to make; and (3) while this recipe is for a vanilla almond version, it’s a great starting place to get a bit creative and change toppings - her “Sunny’s style” version is a matcha flavored custard freeze!
