Lithuanian breakdancers Dominikai Banevič - Bgirl Nickai, picking one victory after another in international arenas, break is experiencing a revival in Lithuania - where and how you can learn break is not only interested in children and youth, but also adults and even seniors.
Mindaugas Bružas, director of the Break League of the Lithuanian Sports Dance Federation - Bboy M, says that it is important that there are break clubs and coaches in many cities of the country: "We can't say that break is new in Lithuania - it was organized already in the mid-1980s, back in the Soviet era, I would say the legendary break festival "Papuga". Probably because the roots of this dance and sport go back several decades, there are enthusiasts and trainers all over Lithuania. This year, the Break League started organizing competitions according to a certain system, and we even surprised ourselves that we organized the competition in Vilnius with the help of local organizers. Beautiful, Klaipėda - we are planning in Šiauliai soon."
The qualifying series break competition is new
Speaking about the new competition system, M. Bružas pointed out that previously everyone who wanted to participate in the Lithuanian Break Championship could participate if they registered with the federation breakers, however, all competitions started with qualifying rounds; therefore, the day was really long for the dancers of some groups. "This year, you can participate in the qualifying series and, if you do well there, you can go directly to the playoffs in the Lithuanian championship, avoiding the selection," said the head of the league. Two qualifying series break competitions already took place in March in Kaunas and Klaipėda. "In Kaunas, we organized them together with the studio Planet 9, and in Klaipėda together with the dance club Žingsnis." The winners of both competitions in the series automatically enter the top XNUMX of the Lithuanian championship of various age groups. Success here has already smiled on Emilis Bliūdius, Sim Kaušyl, Denis Ščiglo, Kamila Aralova,
Ned Zybailo, Justa Vaitkevičiūta. By the way, it is interesting that guests from Latvia won in two groups in Klaipėda, so one prize - the right to participate in the Lithuanian championship without selection - had to be taken away from these winners," joked Mindaugas Bružas.
The last qualifying series before the Lithuanian championship event will take place at the end of April - it is organized in Šiauliai together with the Break League by the city's dance school "Extreme". "Šiauliai, I would say, is a special place on the Lithuanian break map, and you will certainly be able to feel that in this competition, because it is also dedicated to the 25th birthday of the street dance group RTM, and also this year it will be possible to compete here for the first time in a new age category - 35 years old plus.” - rejoiced the director of the Break League.
M. Bružas - Bboy M told that, in addition to qualifying events, this year more and more athletes and spectators are attracted to other break competitions, which recently attract sponsors, so athletes are awarded not only medals, diplomas and gifts, but also cash prizes.
"ANT" studio also organized a tournament in Vilnius last weekend. "Perhaps it stands out from other competitions in that we hold it in spaces close to the style of break, like street dance. Most of the time, we set the scene in a shopping center "Vilnius Outlet", so we get a lot of curious people - people are really interested, ask questions, watch and support the athletes - the atmosphere is fantastic! I was afraid that we could only disturb the employees of the surrounding shops, because for half the day there is quite loud hip-hop style music, but it turns out that they also like it very much - after the first half hour, everyone is moving to the beat!" - the interlocutor was happy about the synergy. Among other things, he mentioned that the organizers of the competition do not shy away from more interesting formats: "At the official Lithuanian and world sport dance championships, the battles take place one-on-one, but in other competitions we also organize doubles and team competitions - in them there are challenges of synchronicity and transitions."
In the Lithuanian championship - Bgirl Nicka The director of the Break League of the Federation also said that the break is grateful for today's attention to the achievements of D. Banevič: "Bgirl Nicka is fantastic, with incredible abilities
sportswoman Since she lives only on break, it is certain that her example inspires others. This year, Nicka has been the leader of the world ranking table for some time - so it's amazing that in our small country we can emulate an athlete of this level."
According to M. Bruža, D. Banevič will be seen dancing in Lithuania only once before the Paris Olympic Games - at this year's Lithuanian championship. "This year, the championship will be held on May 19. In Vilnius, "Litexpo" spaces, the Lithuanian hip-hop championship will be held at the same time. So we invite everyone to watch the performances of girls, men, young people and children. And yes - until Paris, it will probably be the only chance to see Dominica competing here, because no more national competitions are planned, and on the Olympic Day in June, although the Break League will participate, Nick's busy training schedule will probably not allow him to come there," said Mindaugas Bružas.
The author of the photos is Marius Žičius and LSŠF.
