OLYMPICS/Taiwan breaks onto Olympic dance stage with Quake's seismic moves

Paris, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwanese break dancer Sun Chen (孫振) may not have finished as high as he might have hoped at the first Olympic breaking event in Paris on Saturday, but just qualifying for the event and competing against the best in the sport was monumental on its own.

Quake, as Sun is known on the B-Boy circuit, was eliminated in the round robin phase of the competition and finished 12th out of the 16 competitors. Phil Wizard of Canada took home gold.

Though he did not win a medal, Taiwan's B-Boy said he was happy to participate in the event and see his favorite art form showcased at the Olympics.

"I am so happy to be born in this era," said Quake, who gave himself the name because he was born on Sept. 21, 1999, the same day that the second-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history hit the island.

Seeded 13th at the Olympics, Quake was selected to Group D in the round robin phase to "battle" dancers hailing from Morocco, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan.

The top two finishers in the group would reach the quarterfinals, meaning that the 24-year-old Taiwanese would likely have to beat two of his three Group D opponents to advance.

He started against B-Boy Billy of Morocco and scored a dominating victory, in which all nine judges in both rounds gave him the edge for a 2-0 (18-0) win.

According to Quake, he wanted to "destroy his opponent" in the first battle right away, which was why he busted out all of his moves early on.

But he then lost to B-Boy Menno of the Netherlands 2-0 (15-3), setting up a showdown with B-Boy Amir of Kazakhstan for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Quake lost 2-0, as Amir was favored by six of the nine judges in the first round and seven of them in the second round, and he saw the decision as an example of the judges' subjectivity and a dancer's skills being the key factors in the competition.

While he is an explosive athlete, who takes a head start by letting loose all his speed and power, Amir is a slow dancer, who takes his time to carefully dish out all the tricks in his bag, Quake said.

"(A win) depended on whether the judges thought my explosiveness was more entertaining to watch or my opponent's slow and steady pace was preferable," Quake said, while admitting that Amir was more skillful than him.

In fact Quake more than held his own on the judges' scorecards for "musicality" -- the ability to time moves to the music -- and "technique" -- the ability to control one's body.

Where he was outpointed was for "vocabulary" -- his range of moves -- and "originality."

That was not surprising, given that Quake's journey to the Olympics has been one of constantly playing catch-up to others before finally being able to go toe-to-toe with his peers last year, proving to himself that he was making progress.

"Everyone improved and I also improved. It's just a matter of how fast we individually did so," Quake said. "And I was finally able to catch up to them to share the Olympic stage."

Olympic worthy art

From its humble beginnings as a pastime for young Taiwanese in metro stations to the Olympic stage, the art of breaking (breakdancing) has come a long way, Quake said.

He equated the art form to stand-up comedy, saying that both disciplines require a lot of improvisation to win over judges and audience members through talent and charisma.

Against Amir for example, he added Taiwanese dance influences to his steps to create a visual identity.

"Such is the allure of breaking," Quake said. "You can add personal hobbies, experiences and morals into your moves to showcase something intimate."

Uncertain future

There are no guarantees breaking will return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 or Brisbane in 2032. It might not make it, Quake said, because the dance lacks a commercially systematic model that would convince the International Olympic Committee to add it as a staple event.

"But I believe in the potential of breaking," the Taiwanese dancer said. "Its artistic and cultural value makes it absolutely worthy of the Olympics."