Session No. 3: Breaking with data
Hi, thanks for tuning in to the third edition of Breaking News (letter), a newsletter focused on the breaking scene and culture. Huge thank you to new subscribers and returning readers, and I hope first-time readers find some use out of this week’s issue.
This week, I thought I would try something a little different. Did you know that the World DanceSport Federation publishes judges’ scoring data from its competitions? I dug through this gold mine of data from the Breaking Championship in Belgium from Sept. 23 and 24.
I am focusing specifically on the finalists for the b-boys and b-girls as they advanced through the Top 8 for their respective brackets. That would be Phil Wizard and Victor for the b-boys and Ayumi and Nicka for the b-girls.
The judging system for the World DanceSports Federation – which will also likely be the judging system for the 2024 Olympics in Paris for breaking – is based on sliders for five categories: Technique, Vocabulary, Originality, Execution and Musicality.
A panel of 9 judges shifts the slider to the side that they believe performed better in each category. They’re allowed to shift this during the battle, at the end of each round, or at the end of the battles in total. It looks like this:
The points themselves don’t actually matter. You can have a really close round and lose, and perform significantly better the next round with the sliders completely in your favor, and it would still just be a tie.
When I put together the data, I did still opt to keep the specific scores for each category, just so you can see how much a breaker won by on musicality, or technique, if you’d like.
I have my own thoughts about the definitions of these categories, but y’all aren’t reading this for my opinions, so here’s the definitions directly from the WSDF rulebook:
Technique – tl;dr: Difficulty of moves
- The higher scoring competitor in the Technique criteria demonstrates a more fundamental understanding of the physiological control and dynamics required for clean execution of their moveset.
- Major Focus Areas:
- Athleticism
- Form (Lines, Angles, Shapes)
- Body Control
- Dynamics
- Spatial Awareness
Vocabulary – tl;dr: Variety of moves
- The higher scoring competitor in the Vocabulary criteria demonstrates a more expansive range of moves than their competitor. This competitor shows that they have acquired and internalized an extensive, diverse movement vocabulary, which is shown through minimal repetition of moves or movement patterns.
- Major Focus Areas:
- Variation
- Quantity of Moves
Execution – tl;dr: Control of moves
- The higher scoring competitor in the Execution criteria demonstrates a greater ability to perform their moves distinctly and to a high degree of cleanliness, minimizing slips, falls, or crashes. Judges should be able to easily identify each attempted movement, scoring competitors based on the extent to which it was completed before they transition into a new movement.
- Major Focus Areas:
- Cleanliness
- Minimal to no Slips, Crashes, or Falls
- Consistency of Flow
Musicality – tl;dr: Dancing on the beat
- The higher scoring competitor in the Musicality criteria demonstrates a greater ability to effectively synchronize their movements to the music. This competitor is able to more quickly adapt and respond to the rhythms and textures present in the music, and anticipate moments to accentuate their performance.
- Major Focus Areas:
- Rhythm
- Texture
- Synchronicity
Originality – tl;dr: Creativity of moves
- The higher scoring competitor in the Originality criteria demonstrates a clearer ability to develop creative variations on fundamental movements while showcasing their own unique moveset. The higher scoring competitor is also able to act with greater spontaneity, utilizing moments in the music and/or recovering from slips or falls in a way that highlights their unique movement style.
- Major Focus Areas:
- Improvisation
- Innovation
- Spontaneity
- Personality
Alright, now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, here’s the analysis:
The data showed that Victor had strong performances throughout the Top 8. The only categories he lost in were on Musicality and Originality in his battle against Phil Wizard. He scored highest on Vocabulary in his battles against Lithe-ing and Alvin.
Phil Wizard had some challenges in his battles, going up against Menno and Shigekix before reaching the finals. Menno has a very unique style and was able to beat out Phil Wizard on Originality.
Shigekix, who is constantly in highlight clips for his insane power moves, had strong performances against Phil Wizard in Technique and Execution. Phil Wizard’s scores on Originality and Musicality were able to eclipse his shortfalls in those categories, and then had a slight advantage on his Vocabulary, too.
You should check out the full battle and see if the judge’s overall scoring reflects what you’re seeing on your screen:
Nicka had a strong showing throughout her bracket too, though the data shows that judges docked her on Musicality in both her battles against Logistx and Syssy. Nicka’s highest scoring categories were in Technique in her battles against Syssy and Ayumi in the finals.
Ayumi only beat Nicka on Originality and Vocabulary in the finals, but did really well during the rest of the Top 8, only losing to Kate on Musicality in the semi-finals. Which, if you watch the battle, I think would be difficult to argue against.
Breaking has come a long way from having three judges sitting and pointing at who they thought won at the end of the battles.
There’s definitely some pros and cons of the WDSF judging system, though I will say it is nice to be able to examine the numbers and get a look at how the judges made their decisions in each battle.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this judging system, and this analysis of it. Feel free to reach out to me on the Cypher Break Discord.
Get recc'd:
Hong 10 and testing a new up-and-coming b-boy: Name a better duo.
Before Hong 10 went to the finals at the 2023 BBoy Asian Games, he went head-to-head against China's Lithe-ing in a Round Robin. I don't want to spoil it for you, but definitely recommend this battle:
In the B-Girl finals for this event, Japan's Ami and battles against China's 671. This is high-level footwork and style vs. high-level power moves and dynamics and just an absolutely great battle.
I wish there were a higher quality version of it, but here's what is available for now:
Check out the first episode of Crash Vlog with B-boy Lee from The Ruggeds. Going to keep saying to myself, "There's no such thing as a bad practice" because of this video.
Myth did an interview with Salo about the South American breaking scene and what the Venezuelan dancer would like to see from the new generation.
CNN also wrote an article about the history of breaking in South Korea and what it would mean for a South Korean to win the gold medal for breaking in the 2024 Olympics.