On August 9th and 10th, breaking made its debut in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. During this weekend, four members of Clean North Crew were flown out by Tech Styles International to battle in France at the ‘Not Only Jam’ and spend a weekend in the city where breaking was being broadcasted for the first time on this global platform. They met and reunited with many French and international breakers over the three days, whilst also reaching the semi-finals in the crew battles with only four members. The crew had a busy summer, battling in the UK and putting on a creative and inspiring summer camp for the younger generations of Bradford. Therefore, coming to Paris was the perfect opportunity for the crew to spend quality time with each other and celebrate the achievements of this year.
The Bboy and Bgirls arrived early on the Saturday morning, briefly exploring the local area and then travelling straight to the event. As soon as they arrived the energy from the dancers could be felt from outside of the venue. Walking in, the cyphers were already in full swing despite the hot weather and the crew were quickly met with a few familiar faces from the UK. The cypher qualifications began and Bboy Tranquil, Bgirl Labyrinth, Spider and Ammo, set out to show the unique Bradford style, qualifying for top 8.The quarter-final battle against Golden Monkeys Crew from Paris was a hype start to the event and Clean North took it, two votes to one moving on to top 4. The semi-final battle against Paris’ own Badefficience Crew was a close match up and a dope exchange. Although Clean North didn’t get through to the final, they represented Bradford to the highest and left a strong impression on both the local and international scene.
The jam maintained a high-energy all-day and finished late on the Saturday night. The group began making their way back into the centre of Paris, walking past the arena where the Olympic breaking battles had taken place. After travelling to what they found to be the wrong address for the accommodation, they happened to meet world-renowned Bboy Kmel on the same street. Kmel remembered the crew from a training session in New York back in June and was really happy to bump into them again. Excitement kept coming as they then turned the corner only to see Bboy Dany Dann who had just left the arena with his Olympic silver medal. After all this, the crew were left feeling slightly shocked, bewildered but also very blessed. They continued travelling to the accommodation and were again met with a surprise to see a midnight marathon. It was clear from this night that Paris had a unique and spontaneous nature about it.
Tranquil, Labyrinth, Spider & Ammo woke up Sunday morning after a much deserved and needed rest and headed to get breakfast from local bakery ‘Fluffy’s’. The crew all had a deliciously massive breakfast consisting of fluffy French toast, eggs, bacon and avocado to restore their energy. When returning to the event the crowd had increased and there were even more international breakers who had come down to cypher and battle. The seven to smoke categories took place this day and the crew watched and supported fellow UK heads: Bgirl Munny, BBoy Lotus and Bboy Nene.
They also ran into Glyde, who had bonded with the crew in New York, and it was great to see him. The heat was blazing and Bboy Tranquil ran out to get a watermelon and began handing it out to the competing breakers. At this time, he was approached by Bboy Flea Rock who was judging the seven to smoke. Due to the Olympic games, many people all around the world had flown out to witness the battles in person which meant that the ‘Not Only Jam’ hosted some of the biggest names in breaking and Bradford’s competitors were blessed to be able to speak and connect with many of these.
On the last day of the trip, Clean North had an exceptional time in Paris. In the morning, they woke up nice and early and treated themselves to a delicious traditional French breakfast. Later in the day, they decided that it would be a great experience to try biking around the streets of Paris. Whilst on the bikes, they travelled past many famous and beautiful attractions such as: Notre Dame, the Louvre and ended up at the Eiffel Tower. At Emily’s coffee shop, Bgirl Ammo and Bboy Tranquil shared a crème brulee, which was amazing.
Whilst at the Eiffel Tower, they had a mini photoshoot doing different moves and freezes. Then, out of nowhere, they met a Bboy from Romania who had travelled solo just to watch the Breaking Olympics the day prior. He asked Bgirl Ammo if he could shoot a video of them both doing swipes at the same time.
This Paris trip was unlike any other trip the crew had taken. So much was seen and experienced in such a short period of time, the crew felt so blessed to have the opportunity and left feeling inspired and hyped to return to Bradford. They shared their teachings and stories with the rest of the crew and the Bradford scene as breaking continues to grow on a global scale.
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