Throughout history, women have broken societal gender norms in all fields of life; and now, this woman from Japan has become the first ever female to hold a world championship title in competitive breakdancing – and she is only 20 years old.
Most commonly known as breakdancing, the art form which originated from the Bronx in the 1970s has now become a worldwide phenomenon with competitions all over the world.
The Red Bull BC One breakdancing tournament first started in Biel, Switzerland 14 years ago. Since then, it has become the biggest competition for breaking in the world with many “B-boys” and “B-girls” seeking to be the champion. Breaking being a mostly male dominant art form, very few women have competed in the coveted BC One.
It wasn’t until 2017 when B-girl Ayumi representing the Japanese dance crew “Body Carnival” was the first female to ever join the ranks among the men. Following her success at the event, Red Bull announced their very first B-girl battle for 2018.
This year’s Red Bull BC One was held in Zurich, Switzerland with a week-long camp of battles. Two days before the main event on the big stage, they held a bracket of 16 female dancers to determine the top 4 B-girls who would be able to showcase their style on the big stage. After a long night of battles, it came down to San Andrea from France, the two sisters from Body Carnival –Ayumi and Narumi – and Ami: the youngest one in the bracket at 20 years old.
Once she had danced her way into the final bracket, Ami faced off in a battle of three rounds against San Andrea with no sign of slowing down – and her performance was nothing short of amazing.
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After winning the battle by majority, the judges crowned Ami as the first B-girl world champion. As she was handed the belt, Ami wiped away her tears and thanked her dance crew and family for their support.
At the end of the ceremony, she holds up the belt in front of everyone on the stage and screams “Yata!” meaning “I did it” in her native language – making history and setting the standard for future B-girls everywhere.
(WATCH the jaw-dropping video below)
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