Jeanette Mollenhauer, Honorary Fellow (Dance), Faculty of Fine Arts & Music, The University of Melbourne
The inclusion of breaking in the 2024 Olympic Games certainly raised eyebrows. And now, Australian competitor Rachael Gunn (known as “Raygun”) is one of the most famous Olympians from any nation – as well as Australia’s most famous dancer.
Her performance generated an onslaught of (often negative) social media memes, comments and bullying. However, her teammates showed their support, with Australian rower Angus Widdicombe even carrying Gunn on his shoulders on the day of the closing ceremony.
Raygun’s Olympic story offers the chance for Australians to examine their attitudes towards dance. For instance, was her dancing so out of place in a nation that has the Nutbush as one of its cultural icons?
Yes, Australia has impressive professional companies such as The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company and Bangarra Dance Theatre, but Raygun has pushed community-based dance into the spotlight. She has also forced Australia to examine its own attitudes towards the various forms and functions of dance. And that’s your best move, B-girl!
A nation of shy dancers
Why do Australians feel that dance is mainly for performance, rather than participation? We get up and sing tunelessly at karaoke, but shy away from dancing in public. The most recent arts participation report from Creative Australia shows that while one in six Australians engage with music, only one in ten Australians regularly dance. It seems we’re just not a nation of recreational dancers.
In 2007, Australian dance writer Lee Christofis – a child of Greek immigrants – posed the question: “why can’t the ‘English’ teach their children how to dance?” He couldn’t understand why his Anglo-Australian neighbours had no community dance activities.
His observation still rings true today. Creative Australia’s 2023 report shows both First Nations Australians (25% compared to 8% of non-First Nations) and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Australians (17% compared to 6% of non-CALD) are more likely to dance than Anglo-Australians.
Maybe Anglo-Australians have been conditioned to think “dance” only means what we see on stages and screens – that it is something reserved for those with the physique and flair of Paul Mercurio in Strictly Ballroom (1992).
The community roots of dance
Unless they’re thinking about the Nutbush, white Australians don’t usually connect “dance” with “community” as First Nations and CALD Australians tend to. But the reality is that, alongside technique and athleticism, dance has always been about community, politics and expression.
In her own article for The Conversation, Gunn described how breakdancing emerged in the Bronx (New York) among African-American and Puerto Rican youths, before being adopted across nations.
And it’s not the only community dance form that has been co-opted for mass entertainment. Tap dance also emerged from African and Irish-American roots to be included in mainstream dance practices. Twerking is another example of a style with African roots being popularised through Western mass media.
But despite co-opting dances from various other cultures, Western societies still view classical ballet and contemporary dance as the pinnacle of the dance world. The dance section of The Sydney Morning Herald focuses on these two styles – and likely shapes public opinion. Certainly, media reviews can make or break an artist or troupe by either attracting or repelling audiences.
In Australia, it’s difficult for anyone outside of ballet and contemporary dance to receive adequate government funding. Money often doesn’t go beyond the stage door to the grassroots dancers – to those who enjoy folk, swing, square or, of course, breakdancing.
In Gunn’s own words:
[in] Australia, we haven’t had the same level of investment going in. […] I was never going to beat these b-girls at what they do, so I did what I do best and I went out and I showed myself, my creativity, my style, a little bit of Australian character so that I could try and make my mark on this world stage.
The reaction to Raygun’s performance is about dance, but also about national expectation; with Australia coming to the end of its most successful Games ever, receiving a score of zero is just not what people wanted to hear.
Raygun got the whole world talking
Even before the Paris games, it was confirmed that breaking won’t be renewed in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – held in the nation where breaking first emerged. Gunn wasn’t happy with the news.
She is a dance scholar with a focus on cultural politics in breaking. Her research centres on gender imbalances in breaking, with one early article containing a brief reference to her “enactment of Australian-ness” when dancing. Perhaps this approach inspired her Paris costume and choreography?
Although her routine didn’t land with everyone, Gunn has been defended by AusBreaking, fellow Olympians and even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who applauded her for sticking to the “Australian tradition of people having a go”.
Overall, Gunn has given Australia much to talk about. The aftermath of her Olympic appearance has revealed a lot about our own attitudes towards dance – and the fact we don’t indulge in it as much we ought to. She has also brought breaking to the world’s attention – and for both of these, she should be congratulated.
Jeanette Mollenhauer is affiliated with PopMoves, a subsidiary of the Dance Studies Association. Rachael Gunn is also a member.
