Breaking and street art: Val-de-Marne, a worthy representative of urban art

On January 12, 2023, Olivier Capitanio has signed an agreement with Marrock Watanabé, the representative of the Japanese breakdance (also called breakdance or break) delegation for the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This is the first signing of a partnership between our community and a foreign delegation: enough to mark the entry of the Val-de-Marne Department to the 2024 Paris Games period.

“We are honored to welcome Mr. Watanabé to our region. We would love the Olympic events in Val-de-Marne, that is clear, but we are very excited about the idea of ​​contributing to the preparation and, I hope, to the success of the team events at the Paris 2024 Olympics .” explained the Head of the Department.

Therefore, the Japanese offense team will train in Val-de-Marne, and more specifically in Briqueterie (Vitry-sur-Seine) which is one of the sports sites of Val-de-Marne which is officially recognized as a training center in the Olympics ( CPJ).

High level Japanese breaking

A testament to Japan’s influence on the international scene, the country is hosting the Battle of the Year (BOTY) for its 32nd edition, in December 2022: an important competition. And Japanese athletes do not envy the French. In a two-on-two battle, Marlone (vice champion of France) and Khalil (first French champion of 2021) won the prestigious world title when Frenchwomen Kimie and Syssy, aged 16 and 15, lost in the final to the experienced. Japanese girl Ayu and B-Girl Ami.

Several offenders have managed to get people talking about them at international events: young Kyoka, artist Mikiko Kawamurai, the extraordinary B-Girl Ami (who won the World Championship title in May 2022) or even hope Ramu Kawai in particular won the gold medal in the B-Girl event in solving during the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

There’s also B-boy Katsu One, known in civilian life as Ishikawa Katsuyuki, who has more than 25 years of practice behind him and is now head of the Japan Dance Sports Federation’s sever division. He is also the coach of the greatest Japanese hopeful in breakthrough.

Breaking, the new Olympic sport

Increasingly known to the general public, breakdancing (also called breakdancing or break) has finally been recognized as a sports discipline since then This activity will be one of the new sports that will enter the 2024 Paris Olympicsonce honored at Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games 2018. Between athletic dance and aesthetic dance, break is a means of expression that combines jerky body movements, acrobatic aspects and field figures, to hip-hop music.

In France, break is affiliated with the French dance federation and already has many prominent young fans.

• DO YOU KNOW ? During the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the summit competition will consist of two events, one men’s and one women’s, each of which will see 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls competing in combat, in 1v1. August 9 and 10 at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Sport and culture in Val-de-Marne

Breakdance debuted at Briqueterie

Inaugurated in 2013, Briqueterie is a place completely dedicated to dancing, labeled Center for Development of National Choreography (CDCN) by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. This 3500m² space welcomes choreographers and professional dancers from all over France and internationally every day.

]La Briqueterie is one of thirty sports venues that are officially recognized as Match preparation centers (CPJ) in Val-de-Marne. The aim of this CPJ is to welcome foreign sports delegations to train ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

This is the reason why the Japanese delegation can come and train at these venues, from August 2023. An “honor” for Sandra Neuveut, director of Briquettes and a natural recognition ever since this space is one of the important cultural places in Vitry-sur-Seineand this city marks the strong urban culture of the Val-de-Marne.

Between dance, hip-hop and graffiti, urban culture is in the spotlight in Val-de-Marne

The culture of the Val-de-Marnaise is plural: from contemporary art at MAC VAL to the Festival de Marne, through Ciné Junior, all forms of art can be found in our department. And urban culture is an important aspect of the val-de-marnaise identity.

Graffiti, complementary urban art to breakdancing

An important branch of urban culture, graffiti coexist harmoniously with rap…and breakdancing. Spurred by the New York hip-hop scene of the late 80s, all of these arts have been popularized by several vibrant cities, some of which are in the Val-de-Marne. Graffiti is already present in several cities in Val-de-Marne. They echo the frescoes, often produced with local associations and with the approval (or tolerance) of the city.

Other cities in Val-de-Marne also offer opportunities to discover street art movements: just like with Vitry-sur-Seine, Ivry-sur-Seinewhere artist C215 set up his second workshop in 2014, Champigny sur Marne as good Fontenay-sous-Bois or Vincentnes.

Open museums

Locally, this sometimes very impressive painting is the subject of guided tours and even an annual festival, called Phénomèn’Art, organized by the tourism committee of the Val-de-Marne department. Thanks to the many murals seen here and there, the Val-de-Marne is often described as an “open-air museum” by fans and the press.

On the rap side, many artists emerged from Val-de-Marne: 113, Rohff, (MC) Solaar or Kery James. It’s also the same Kery James who confirmed his attachment to Val-de-Marne by directing the film commuting for Netflix, shot in Champigny-sur-Marne. After critical success, commuting 2 will arrive on the same platform in 2023.

On the way to the Olympics: Val-de-Marne welcomes foreign teams

Like the Briqueterie, some thirty other Val-de-Marnais sports facilities have been officially selected as Olympic preparation centers (CPJ). This CPJ will be able to host foreign sports delegations for training ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

In 2021 and 2022, foreign archery teams have tested (and approved) the sports site Val-de-Marnais:

Video: High level sporting activity in Val-de-Marne