Member of the NYC Breakers from Yonkers Hopes to Create the Next Generation of Olympians in Westchester
London Reyes, (B-Boy London)
By Dan Murphy
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics will include the art-sport Breaking, or Breakdancing, for the first time. And Westchester has one of the current members of the New York City Breakers, one of the first Breaking groups in the country, Yonkers resident London Reyes, talks about how it all came to be and what his plans are to search for the next Olympian breaker from Westchester.
Reyes has been featured on CBS This Morning and WPIX Channel 11 Morning News show to talk about the new Olympic sport. “I’m so excited that as kids, we were teenagers, creating hip-hop and breaking culture. And now, 40 years later to see it in the Olympics and on the international platform, is amazing,” said Reyes, who is the current leader of the NYC Breakers, one of the most influential breaking groups in the world. The original members, Noel Manual (Kid Nice), Chino Lopez (Action), Matthew Caban (Glide Master), Tony Lopez (Pex) and Ray Ramos (Lil Lep).
“We couldn’t be prouder of this milestone for our art form. Breaking has come a long way, and it’s truly an honor to see it recognized on such a prestigious platform. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the new generation of b-boys & b-girls who have elevated this dance and kept breaking alive. Your passion, dedication, and creativity are the driving forces behind this historic achievement.”
The United States has four Breakers at the Olympics competing for the Gold Medal. They are:
I- Victor Montavlo (B-Boy Victor) “His parents came from Mexico, and he is living the American dream. Now he is going to represent us in the Olympics and could bring home the gold,” said Reyes.
II- Sunny Choi (B-Girl Sunny). “She is a phenomenal dancer and a former gymnast. She is going to go out there and kill it,” said Reyes.
III- Jeff Lewis (Bboy Jeffro). “He is-another incredible dancer that’s going out there and setting the world on fire,” said Reyes.
IV- Logan Edra (B-Girl Logistx) “She is young and fun and energetic –she is going to surprise a lot of people,” said Reyes.
The breaking competition in Paris will be divided into two events — one for women and one for men, with the woman performing on Aug. 9 and the men on Aug. 10, at La Concorde Urban Park. 16 B-boys or 16 B-girls will “go face to face in spectacular solo battles.”
Nine Judges will then vote, based on six categories: Creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality—with creativity and performativity counting for 60 percent of the score. Three men and three women will be awarded medals.
Reyes explained that the judging, “will be a little subjective, it’s not like baseball, who scores the most runs or basketball, who scores the most points.”
Breaking coincided with Rap music as it broke on the New York City music and dance scene in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. “In the early years, breakers would break at parties, in clubs and on the street, practicing at home and in the hallways of buildings or in community centers. By the early 1980’s, breaking had begun to catch the attention of the mainstream media in the United States and the dance became increasingly popular, spreading out quickly across the United States and overseas. Breaking crews like the Rock Steady Crew, Dynamic Rockers, and New York City Breakers helped spearhead breaking initiatives and activations in the 80’s mainstream media boom.
The 1983 hit move Flashdance introduced breaking to the mainstream public, featuring some short breaking scenes. Two breaking featured movies, Breaking and Beat Street, followed. Beat Street featured one of the most famous breaking scenes ever shown on film, the battle between Rock Steady Crew and the New York City Breakers. It was filmed at the Roxy, which was a popular lower West Side nightclub in Manhattan and the stomping ground for the breaking scene, where crews from each of the New York area would come to break and battle one another.
“Keep in mind we were kids that were trying to find our way through the South Bronx during a time of violence and drugs. The path that we chose was to get away from that through breaking,” said Reyes.
In 1983, the NYC Breakers performed at the Kennedy Center before President Ronald Reagan, and again in 1985 for his Presidential Inauguration.
Today, he is training the next generation of Breaking Olympic hopefuls in Yonkers. Reyes has used the resurgence of Breaking to educate younger rappers and dancers to what is now an Olympic sport. He also wants to promote and highlight up and coming breakers, known as b-boys and b-girls, who are taking Breaking to new heights.
Last month, Reyes and the City and Yonkers Public Schools hosted a Battle of the Boroughs breaking event, and this month he held a webinar to educate teachers about Breaking.
Last week, Reyes partnered with Yonkers Arts to form a Breaking League, which focuses on the education, practice, and competitive sport of the art of ‘Breaking’, marking a significant milestone in the cultural and artistic landscape of Yonkers. The league will span four months of intensive instruction and exhilarating competition.
Reyes, who is co-founder of the AAA All Stars, a non-profit that helps young people focus on academics, athletics and the arts, is excited for the next chapter of breaking. “This is history, this is something special, and the NYC Breakers are happy to be a part of history.”
Reyes, who hosted a TV show featuring Breakers, Rappers and celebrities in 2000-2001, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EhKOEw7n5s&t=10s
Is available to provide commentary on the first Olympic Breakers. He can be reached at BboylondonNYCB@gmail.com.
