When dance runs in your blood, the urge to move to the rhythm of music is undeniable. This was evident among the thousand young people who gathered this Saturday at the BreakOnStage festival, held in Barakaldo. This event, dedicated to lovers of breakdance and urban dance, saw artists give their all before hundreds of spectators assembled in Herriko Plaza.
Loud music, thousands of flips and pirouettes… and, above all, a great atmosphere. Here, the philosophy is clear: it's not about competing, but about enjoying a shared passion together. This was expressed by a dancer with nearly two decades of breakdance experience. «You have to put in many hours, although as a child I put in more than now; between two and three hours a week, depending on how motivated you are,» he commented from a corner of the stage, watching other companions on the floor.
“"Breakdance is a part of me; I wouldn't be myself without dancing."
The international festival featured numerous groups from Bizkaia, Álava, Gipuzkoa, Navarra, Vigo, Barcelona, and Madrid, as well as from other countries like France and Venezuela. From Latin America, for example, came Lil G, from the Vinotinto team, who has been dancing for nearly three decades. «I started very young, training about eight or ten hours a day. At school, anywhere… It's about practicing and practicing, seeing your weaknesses and turning them into strengths.»
Breakdance knows no age. If dance and its movements call to you, you must answer. This is the case of Gabriel Usano, a young man from Madrid, only 12 years old, who has felt the rhythm of urban dance since he was 5. His older brother, who previously started in this modality, has turned dancing into a family hobby. Despite his young age, Gabriel has participated in over a hundred championships and has won «between twenty and thirty» awards, as he proudly stated. However, what truly motivates him is not the competition, but the atmosphere generated at these events.
The championship is held in two modalities: three-on-three and individual battles, although the latter is aimed at participants under 18. Furthermore, this event will be an official scoring competition for the national breakdance ranking. In the children's category (8 to 12 years old), the groups Ohanitas (Bilbao), Playground (Trapagaran), and Bambooinos (San Sebastián) will compete on stage; in the junior category (12 to 16 years old), Slipers (Durango), Legacy Breath (Pamplona), and Agatsu (Vitoria) will compete; and in the absolute category (over 16 years old), the groups from Bilbao: Elektrokat, Factoritos, and Mauloa will participate. In total, nearly a hundred groups will give their all at this urban culture meeting point.
