‘Talented freak’: Meet the 16-year-old schoolkid who is No. 1 in breaking and off to the Olympics

For the past three years Jeff Dunne’s bedroom walls have been covered in green and yellow paper. On each one, an affirmation* is scrawled in his mum’s handwriting:

Believe in yourself. Follow your dreams. Never give up.

The signs went up soon after it was announced that breaking – also known as breakdancing – would make its Olympic debut* in Paris this year. Just 13 at the time, Dunne decided instantly he wanted to be there to compete.

He started breaking when he was five when he used to sneak into breaking classes while his older sister did hip hop* lessons at a dance studio in Brisbane. For the first few weeks he sat in the corner and watched. Then he started busting out the moves.

“Breaking became a passion. I loved the crazy power moves, like spinning on your hand or your head. I thought that was sick and I was keen to learn how to do it,” Dunne said.

Now 16, his dream is about to become a reality. In October, Dunne – aka J-Attack – won the Oceania Breaking Championship b-boy event in Sydney, qualifying to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics.

“I was in shock. All my crewmates were there and we all huddled together and started crying, letting our emotions go,” he said.

Born in the Philippines and adopted as a baby, Dunne is the youngest of four children.

When the Dunne family moved from Mount Gravatt East in Brisbane to Casuarina, just south of the Queensland border, when Dunne was seven, he started getting private lessons on the Gold Coast with well-known local b-boys Gaz Griffiths, 40, and Liam Masters, 37. Dunne later joined their dance crew, Team Cream, taking part in vibrant and energetic battles on the dance floor.

“Jeff is one of those naturally talented freaks. He is just gifted athletically,” Masters says.

As Dunne’s coaches, Griffiths and Masters are getting him ready for the biggest competition of his lifetime.

He practises for two hours at 5am before going to high school in Tweed Heads and later hits the gym. From there, he heads home for a quick dinner before driving to Nerang to practise his top rocks, footwork, back rocks, freezes and power moves in his coaches’ garages.

“Jeff is super focused, he knows what he wants and he knows how to apply himself. He’s super athletic, all his moves are crisp and clean and he’s got a very high skill set, not just for his age,” Masters says.

Dunne is currently ranked No. 1 in Australia and 7th in the world.

Breaking developed in the 1970s in the Bronx in New York during block parties held by DJ* Kool Herc, who went on to become a legend of hip hop culture.

At the Paris Games in July, one-on-one breaking battles will see 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls improvise to the DJ’s tracks and be judged for their creativity, technique, performance, variety, musicality* and personality.

Dunne cannot wait.

“All of these b-boys I’m going to be versing in the Olympics, I’ve looked up to them all my life. They know what they’re doing, they’ve been in this scene for ages, but I’m just gonna throw my best at them – and beat them.”

GLOSSARY

• affirmation: statement designed to motivate you
• debut: first appearance or performance
• hip hop: a style of popular music of African-American and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing
• DJ: short for disc jockey or someone who plays recorded music to entertain others
• musicality: choosing the sounds they dance to within a song

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QUICK QUIZ
1. How many times as breaking been included in the Olympic Games?
2. How many years has Jeff Dunne been breaking
3. What is his Australian and world ranking?
4. Where did breaking — or breakdancing — begin?
5. What criteria will the judges use to pick the medallists at the Games?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Breaking Skills
Jeff Dunne shows some amazing dedication to this sport and to his dream of winning a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

What are the things Jeff is doing to help him achieve his dream?

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What other things would he need to do each week from now until Paris, to help him achieve his dream?
What physical attributes does the sport of break dancing require?
If he manages to win a medal at the Paris Olympics, what will that do for his sporting career?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical education, Personal and social, Critical and creative thinking.

2. Extension
If you were an aspiring breakdancer, what would be your dance name? Think of something fun and catchy!

Time: allow 5 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social, Critical and creative thinking.

VCOP ACTIVITY
Wow word recycle
There are plenty of wow words (ambitious pieces of vocabulary) being used in the article. Some are in the glossary, but there might be extra ones from the article that you think are exceptional as well.

Identify all the words in the article that you think are not common words, and particularly good choices for the writer to have chosen.

Select three words you have highlighted to recycle into your own sentences.
If any of the words you identified are not in the glossary, write up your own glossary for them.