Breakdancing Now An Official Event At Upcoming Youth Olympic Games

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Winter Olympic games just got more exciting. Breakdancing will now be part of the Youth Olympic Games, and they're looking for entries.

New York City isn't just the birthplace of the dance style, it's also the birthplace of future olympians.

As CBS2's Steve Overmyer reported, more than ever before, breakdancing still has the power to electrify. It's one of the reasons it's currently experiencing a rebirth.

"What draws me to it is like the music and the style of dance is really attracting, and I just love it," 16-year-old BBoy Hi-Tek tells CBS2.

"I try not to overthink when I go into battle," BBoy King Kai, 13, said. "I just freestyle and listen to the music. It's not that hard, you just gotta let go."

In the next Youth Olympics, medals will be awarded in the category of Breakdancing. There is currently a professional breaking league, featuring competitors from 28 countries. Just like the pros, the Olympics will be a head to head battle with judges.

It's the athleticism you see, and it's the artistic expression they have, and it's also that spirituality these kids experience when they're dancing and battling and competing.

Inclusion into the Olympics has the breakdancing community polarized -- some believe it's a form of exploitation, while others' views are more optimistic.

They're called BBoys and BGirls -- meaning "break boys" and "break girls." It's not just the way they dance, or dress, or talk. It's a lifestyle.

"It just makes you feel like a hero to yourself first and foremost," BBoy KwikStep from the Full Circle Souljahs crew said. "When you start gaining more skills you become a hero to the next person watching."

The dance style was born in the Bronx in the 70s. It's more than just a defiance of physics. At it's core, it's an expressive artform -- some artists use paint, others use words.

This is a communication through dance.

"If a kid is into art, if a kid is into theater, if a kid is into athletics, all of those things are captured in this one encapsulated activity," Danny Infamous from the XFenz Crew said.

"You gotta be clean, but it doesn't mean you can't be funky," KwikStep said. "You should be funky but be clean in your execution."

BBou Rival is on the board of directors for the United Breakin' Association. The Olympics can breathe new life into the dance form, but for the purists it's important that "breakin'" stays true to its roots.

"Unity and respect. Something that through time we've learned are really important," BBoy Rival said.

Now this dance born on the streets can be a path to Olympic gold. The Olympic games are changing, and the future of breakdancing is coming.

If you want to be part of the Olympic breaking team, it comes in stages. First, you need to submit a video. Then you can get invited to a qualifying battle.

If you win those battles, you're in the Olympics. To submit your application for a chance at Olympic glory, CLICK HERE.