Breaking moves: Kurukshetra teenager is crowned India’s B-boying champion

The banks of the sacred Brahma Sarovar lake or a local park in Kurukshetra are unlikely settings for the power beats of hip-hop and the freezes of Breaking, a style of street dancing known for its rapid acrobatics and gymnastics.
But 19-year-old Goutam Kaulsee, or B-Boy Ginni as he calls himself managed to do the unexpected Sunday as he won the men’s title of the Red Bull BC One Cypher at Nesco Center in Mumbai. The cypher (competition) is held across 90 locations in the world to find a winner from each country, who later battle it out for the Breaking World Finals. Simran Ranga (B-Girl Glib), who grew up in Jaipur but has roots in Haryana, took home the women’s crown.
B-Boy Ginni’s win bolted out of the blue. Ahead of Mumbai favourites B-Boys Tornado and Wild Child, and Delhi ace B-Boy Diamond, Ginni defeated B-Boy Flexagon, a 6-plus footer with ‘elastic feet’.
“He (Ginni) looked super prepped and also his approach is so slithery and flowy & different from other participants,” said India’s senior Breaker Arif Chaudhary aka B-Boy Flying Machine. “He had the most composed rounds out of all the participants I think. That kind of added up and made him win,” Chaudhary added.
Breaking, also referred to as Breakdancing or B-boying/ girling, is a style of dancing that involves rapid footwork, spinning and tumbling, usually to hip-hop music. Over the past years, this dance style is known to have flourished in metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
With Breaking now an Olympic sport, it was only a matter that it would attract the youths in Haryana, which is otherwise known for its boxers, wrestlers, track and field runners, and in recent years shooters.
This year’s top battles saw participants from cities like Shillong, Siliguri and Kurukshetra. “Kurukshetra has had a Breaking culture since 2012-13, and I started in 2016, at the Jindal park where I used to do simple flips. Then I joined the Ranabhoomi crew,” said Ginni, whose first dance-off or battle was at a local jam dubbed Mahabharata Volume 1.
“I went down to watch it and was greatly inspired. Earlier I wanted to become a backstage dancer like those extras in movies, but once I got into Breaking, I never looked back,” he added.
Things, however, weren’t always easy. Initially, his father, who runs a printing press shop in Kurukshetra, had been wary of letting him into Breaking.
“Now they fully support me,” said Ginni, “but earlier they didn’t know it was a sport and were scared I’d hurt myself doing the acrobatics.”
Having earned the right to represent India at the World Finals in November at Paris, Ginni is upbeat. There’s also the Olympics in Paris in 2024, and qualification is possible through the Asian Games, though Ginni said he wasn’t aware of it.
“We’ve not been told anything, but I would love to go to the Asian Games and qualify for India,” he said. “Right now the target is the Paris finals in November, for which I’ll prepare with my Ranabhoomi crew.”
B-Girl Glib, a favourite who defeated Bar-B in the finals Sunday, has a similar story to tell. Named Glib for her slippery movements and punctuating freezes, the SYBA student now trains at her Jaipur crew’s studio.
Motivated to get into Breaking “because it was unique”, Glib said when she joined the studio in Jaipur, she was the only girl “popping up in battles”.
“I started out in Jaipur, but we are from Haryana. You know how difficult it can be for any girl coming from that background to get into Breaking. It took time, but once my father was convinced this is a sport, he supported me whole-heartedly. He also played basketball and volleyball, so once he heard the sport is in the Olympics and he read those headlines, all was OK,” Glib said.
On Sunday, it was Glib’s fluid technique that helped her beat back the challenges of top B-Girls Jo and Bar-B.
During the battles, Glib also stands out for donning a dot-bindi. “I’ve seen my mother and ser wear bindi and it looks nice. In battles, it marks me out for the Indian culture, I love the style,” she said.