B-Boy Shigekix: Japan’s Nakarai Shigeyuki Ready to Make Olympic Breaking History

World’s Youngest Dance Champion

Breakdancing has come a long way from its urban roots. Originating in the United States in the 1970s, the expressive street dance has grown to become a competitive international sport. Featuring dancers performing eye-popping moves in time to music, breaking will be making its debut as an official event at the Paris Olympics. Japan’s Nakarai Shigeyuki is among the top competitors vying to score a historic first gold in the dance sport.

The breaking competition in Paris consists of solo events for men and women dancers, known as B-boys and B-girls, who will try to woo judges with acrobatic combinations of power moves and improvisation. The International Olympic Committee first featured breaking at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. The following year saw the inaugural All Japan Breaking Championships. Breaking’s inclusion at the Paris Olympics marks an important milestone for the rapidly growing sport.

The Japanese breaking team is an all-star group comprising some of the top dancers on the international circuit. Nakarai, who goes by the dance name Shigekix, stands above his teammates as a medal hopeful after winning gold at the 2023 Asian Championship.

Nakarai was introduced to breakdancing at the age of seven through his older sister Ayane. He recalls accompanying her to practice sessions and events, where he was mesmerized by the dancers’ moves. Nakarai decided to give breaking a go himself and quickly showed his abilities by mastering the moves of other dancers. Fascinated by the movements and skills involved, the inquisitive youth was soon obsessed with breaking.

Joining the competitive circuit, Nakarai won a string of international youth dance competitions, the first while he was still at elementary school. In 2017 at the tender age of 15, he became the youngest ever dancer to compete in the Red Bull BC One World Final, the world’s most prestigious breakdancing tournament, where he advanced to the semifinals. A feisty competitor, he won bronze at the Youth Olympics the following year.

Nakarai beams after winning gold at the 2023 Asian Championship in Hangzhou, China. (© Jiji)

In 2020, Nakarai become the youngest dancer ever to win the Red Bull BC One World Final, a feat he followed with three straight All Japan Breaking titles (2021 to 2023). He also won silver and bronze at the World Breaking Championships in 2022 and 2023, respectively, solidifying his reputation as a leader in the sport.

As Nakarai’s star has risen, though, expectations that he will win have also burgeoned, a pressure to which he has not been immune. He has also suffered setbacks due to injuries, but despite these challenges, he continues to hone his craft and express his wish to become a symbol for breaking culture as a dancer and Olympic athlete.

Killer Physique

Nakarai boasts a large stage presence that belies his diminutive 166-centimeter frame. He performs top rocks (foot moves done while standing), footwork (performed down on the floor), and power moves such as windmills and back spins in a flowing progression. He is especially adept at showy spin moves, including what is described as one of the world’s best head spins, which he performs before suddenly freezing in time to the beat, demonstrating perhaps his greatest talent, his ability to become one with the DJ’s track.

Central to Nakarai’s ability to perform difficult moves with seeming ease is his brawny physique, which he maintains through a daily regime that includes circuit training and exercises to build cardiovascular fitness and endurance. He is also fastidious about getting enough rest and following a proper diet. He credits his core strength with enabling him to expand his repertoire of dance moves.

From the announcement in early December 2020 that breaking would officially became an Olympic sport, Nakarai has been counting down to the games with his sights set on gold. He has pursued this goal single-mindedly, determined not to waste even a single second.

Nakarai performs in the semifinal of the All Japan Breaking Championship on February 17, 2024. (© Jiji)

Motivated by Loss

Since punching his ticket to the Olympics, Nakarai has continued to show his dominance in one-on-one dance battles that are a traditional part of breakdancing culture. However, he fell short of his goal of taking home his fourth consecutive title at the All Japan Breaking Championship in February of this year, losing in the semifinals to 18-year-old Hishikawa Isshin. Nakarai was quick to put the loss behind him and switch his focus to Paris. “When I lose a competition,” he said following his defeat, “I always make a vow to win the next ten. The loss has lit a fire in me.”

Breaking’s Olympic status will introduce it to swaths of new fans, something that Nakarai as one of the leading dancers wants to take full advantage of to lift the profile of the sport. He is often quoted as saying that he wants not only to deliver results in Paris, but also to open doors for future generations of dancers and create a path for them to follow.

The Olympic breaking competition will be held in Place de la Concorde, on the north bank of the Seine River. Paris is known as the city of art, and it is fitting that Nakarai, who has been an avid painter since childhood, will have the opportunity to demonstrate his creative talents at the games there. Like a solo exhibitions, on August 10, his artistic dance style is certain to captivate audiences around the world.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Nakarai Shigeyuki performs a head spin at the 2023 World Breaking Championship on September 24, 2023, in Leuven, Belgium. © Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/Sipa U via Reuters Connect.)