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At the age of 30, Juan de la Torre had it all figured out. A law degree from the University of Granada, a permanent contract in his mother's office, a family home, future plans with his partner. And suddenly... "I left everything. After a trip to Japan of almost a month, in which I was dancing and competing, I returned to Lucena, my town, where my mother had the law firm, and I was trapped for life. On Sunday I was in breaking battles and on Monday, in the law firm. They were two very different worlds, very demanding, and it was difficult for me to reconcile. I always had the desire to go to Madrid to carve out a future in dancing and that's what I did," recalls De la Torre, who, in reality, nobody calls by name. It's not John. It's Xak.

The best Spanish breaker, number 13 in the world ranking, one of the dancers who will most likely participate in the Olympic debut of break dancing at the Paris 2024 Games. That the hip dance shares the Olympic Village with athletics and swimming deserves explanation, but first, De la Torre and his arrival in Madrid.

JAVI MARTINEZ

"The first few weeks were horrible. I felt completely alone, I had many doubts about what I had done, I didn't have a hard time... But somehow I was content to go my own way. At first I did everything, everything that came out related to dancing. Shows in nightclubs, artistic creations, I showed up to a million castings. I worked as hard as I could. Until I got a job at Red Bull as a leader of dance projects and I was able to stabilize myself, train more, focus on breaking competitions, "says De la Torre, 36, who last year was fourteenth in the World Cup in Seoul and this season seeks more.

From the High Performance Center (CAR) in Madrid, where he shares space with gymnasts or fencers, he trains for the European Championship in the first week of May and to get into the Pre-Olympic that should take him to Paris. Steps, turns and pirouettes whose complexity escapes the untrained eye. The breaking is disputed through 'battles' of two that the judges solve in favor of one or the other, but until their verdict it is very difficult to know who is winning.


We are in Paris, final of the Olympic Games, Xak against the Japanese Shigekix, the number one in the world ranking. How do I know who wins? It's complicated, you have to admit. There are technical values, but also stylistic values, such as musicality, personality, presence. You have to know a lot to evaluate. And, in fact, sometimes the public likes more what the loser does. For example, turning on the head is easier than turning on the hand, but it is more showy. Only the expert knows what is more difficult, what is more original, what is better done.

Breaking is one of those modalities that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has embraced to try to rejuvenate the Games and whose success remains to be seen. In Tokyo 2020 climbing triumphed, but skateboarding or surfing failed. In Paris 2024 the opportunity will come to Xak and his rivals.

"Sometimes they tell me that I'm late, that I could have been in Tokyo by now, but everything comes when it has to arrive," says De la Torre. And how did it start? Easy, by imitation.

"In high school I saw a high school classmate doing a few steps and I was intrigued. I asked. Then there was no Youtube and I started looking in internet forums. It was super curious because there were people who hung small clips with just one movement and I copied them. Then I also got some VHS of competitions in the United States, in New York, from years ago. That's how I got to know the world, contacting people who danced in other towns...", recalls the dancer whose nickname has no mystery. He went to play a cyber with his friends, entered a game, Juan was already caught and was trying until Xak came out. So simple.

Today he is presented in competitions around the world, always with his style, always with his wool hat. "The judges don't value aesthetics, but it influences yourself, how you feel, the style you give to your dance. There are those who believe that the hat is due to superstition, but it is that he sweated a lot and I need something that does not fall off. I tried everything, caps, ribbons, fisherman's hats and this hat is what sticks best. If I go with a cap and I drop it can hurt me in the score, "concludes De la Torre, Xak, who six years ago broke with everything. Breaking stuff.


  • Articles Javier Sánchez

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