By MIKE MORRIS
As breaking takes center stage at the Paris Olympics, a faithful few have been regularly gathering in West Maui to practice the unconventional sport.
Unlike in Paris, there’s no television cameras or medals–just a humble mat unrolled on the tennis courts at the Lahaina Civic Center.
With a glowing orange sunset and silhouetted palm trees behind them, dancers take turns practicing their footwork, freeze poses and power moves with acrobatic athleticism. At one point, 27-year-old Lahaina native Noah Clark puts on a hat and spins around on his head.
“I think people might respect it more, seeing it on a bigger stage like that,” Clark later said of breakdancing’s Olympic debut. “I just hope this exposure will open people’s eyes that breakdancing is a very healthy outlet–that it’s necessary.”
Clark said breakdancing, also known as breaking, has become therapeutic following last year’s devastating wildfires.
“I’ve had people tell me how this really saved them,” he said. “It gave them hope again.”
Clark previously taught breakdance lessons inside a small studio called The Break Spot before opening 808 Ping Pong at the Outlets of Maui, where he continued teaching occasional breakdance lessons.
After losing 808 Ping Pong in last year’s fire, Clark decided to bring back The Break Spot as a mobile studio. Originally, he would meet up with other dancers in Napili and eventually they migrated to Lahaina.
Practices are currently held from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays, Sundays and Wednesdays on the tennis courts at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The size of the group varies, Clark said, noting that typically there’s three or four adults and he’s had up to six children attend. Part of breakdancing culture involves sharing with younger generations.
“Each one, teach one,” Clark said is a common mantra.
On a recent Sunday evening, Clark took turns dancing with 24-year-old Neil Ruocco, who moved from New York to Wailuku earlier this year.
Breakdancing, which originated in the Bronx in the 1970s, has its roots in hip-hop culture. Decades later, breaking is now recognized as an Olympic sport combining dance and athletic movement requiring strength, balance and flexibility.
At the Olympics, athletes are judged on their dance moves at two events: one for women called B-girls (held Aug. 9) and another for men known as B-boys (taking place the following day on Aug. 10).
Clark, who taught himself how to dance as a teenager while attending Lahainaluna High School, goes by the name B-boy Flonesse–a combination of flow and finesse.
Clark’s goal is to provide a consistent space for people to breakdance, even if it sometimes involves practicing in the pouring rain as well as extreme wind and heat.
Last fall, Clark temporarily moved to Oahu while his friend, Casey Cordero, kept the breakdance sessions going in West Maui.
“The Oahu breakdancing scene is growing, it’s huge,” he said. “I wanted to come back and make that happen here. We want to let the other islands know, let people on the mainland know that there is a breakdancing scene here on Maui.”
And, as of now, that scene could foster a future Olympian.
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