Resident wants to break through to the Olympics

Broadacres resident Courtnae Paul (30) is working towards taking part in the Red Bull BC One breakdance challenge before qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
The young dancer moved from Durban to Johannesburg at the age of 21 and has been on a journey to compete at the highest level.

Paul came out on top at the Red Bull BC One and will represent Johannesburg at the national final on April 22 in Cape Town. She is ranked number one on the continent and will soon head to Morocco for her last duel in the Olympics qualifiers.

The Fourways dancer hopes being number one in Africa will add to her momentum, as she aims to do well at the 2024 Olympics. “It has been a three-year-long journey even though I started competing about 10 years ago. Then I stopped because things got difficult and there were no specific competitions for females. It was not something that was feasible. I did not make money off it and as a young dancer who just moved to the city, the last thing you want to do is train all day and not try to survive,” Paul said.

She said that making a living became a priority over spending hours dancing. “I started training again three years ago during lockdown. It just happened that the timing was perfect as breakdance was introduced to the Olympics and Red Bull BC One added a female category to the competition. Everything just came together at once,” she added.

Breakdance made its successful Olympic debut at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. The Olympics included it under urban sports with other games such as skateboarding, surfing and climbing. “For me timing is everything, I believe everything I have done in my career up until this point has made this process make more sense. I don’t think I would be able to dance at this level [at a different time] because I couldn’t afford to do it without the support, ” Paul said.

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