She’s not one of the contestants, but she’s always as nervous as they are. So what has been present in ten of the twenty editions of Red Bull BC Onewhich this Saturday held its national final in Madrid. “IM shy. My trick, when I see people, is to imagine that I’m in my room DJing alone”, reveals Lorena Aragón, known within the scene as DJ Lady Funk. She is the heart of the party, the person with the most precious secret. In the most prestigious break competition in the world in a one-on-one formatis the only one who knows what will sound at all times through the speakers.
“It changes a lot from playing for an event like that to a festival, a club or a joint. There you are to your roll and nothing happens. Here, if you make a mistake, you can cause an error in the dancer. It’s much more complicated,” he explains. in the Juan Goytisolo square, just before the start of the final. Minutes later, his music starts playing. He likes themes with many drums (percussion) and a marked bass drum. To the participants (b-boy and b-girl, in the jargon), too. And to the public that, under a scorching sun, looks for holes where there are none: full stands, ground, corners…
“Hey, hey, hey!” Those present begin to shout to the rhythm of the competitors. He is hard to follow. At the foot of the Reina Sofía Museum, his thing is art, but also sport. “To arrive at certain movements, You have to work a lot on strength, muscles, flexibility and resistance. You have to have an athlete’s physique, but it also has its artistic side”, explains the French b-boy Yung, one of the judges of the afternoon. Together with Ronnie and Mimz, from Las Vegas and Saitama, respectively, who are in the Spanish capital expressly for the appointment, she has a great responsibility. The champions will come out of his decisions, with a ticket to the Red Bull international final, which will take place on October 21 at the Roland Garros Stadium. Fittingly, in Paris, site of the first Olympic Games with the presence of breaking. “There could be a Spanish medal, I’m not saying no. I give you a 50% chance ”, she enthuses.
Sport and art go hand in hand
The verdicts depend, mainly, on three factors. “The dance itself is taken into account, moving to the beat of the music and expressing feelings at the right time. Also everything that is related to the codes of hip-hop culture. Lastly, the technical side is analysed, both in terms of difficulty and execution”, explains Yung. To the beat of Bladea theme of her own that Lady Funk saved for the moment of truth, this Saturday, b-boy Grazy and b-girl Lola embroidered it in all parameters. “It freaks me out, I didn’t think this would come now. I am super excited to be able to show who I am internationally ”, she celebrated the second, only 16 years old, who dedicated the victory to his father, “working”, with tenderness. He has always trusted her, without prejudice.
In breaking, sport and art go hand in hand. The old and the new school, too. They break barriers towards horizons unthinkable not so long ago “When you have been competing for many years, the sensation of Lola is lost. There are no such nerves, the novelty. After so long, the important thing for me is to continue here, to break the stigmas of age. Winning my third BC One at almost 36 years old…”, reflected Grazy, who has released a book, has participated in video clips or has performed at Cirque du Soleil. Many stages of a life that, surely, did not envision having the Games as a goal. “Imagine 16 uncles and aunts in the Olympic village with caps and baggy clothes. He is going to break molds, schemes, minds ”, she fantasized. For Lola, the opportunity has caught her “soon”, but she has imagined herself in the Games since she was little. At the moment, she already has a Red Bull. Grazy, three. Champions of Spain. Dreamers in Paris.