Breaking newcomer Paris has a cultural center dedicated to hip hop

At first glance it may not seem like it, but Paris is the ideal place to host the first breakdancing competition of the Olympic Games. The debut of the sport takes place in the capital of one of the countries that has embraced hip hop the most in the world, with a thriving industry and rap artists at the top of the charts. It is no coincidence that Paris is home to a cultural center entirely dedicated to hip hop, La Place.

“We organize a big battle of breakdance which is ‘Chill in the City’, and this year we worked with the Paris city council to organize the breakdance battles of the Neighborhood Olympics, with the final taking place in a football stadium”, says Julien Cholewa, director of the cultural center.

In charge of the center since 2020, Cholewa explains that the relationship with breakdance and the cultural center proves this strong connection between Paris and the most new olympic modality . “We follow the work of Valentine Nagata Ramos, one of the world’s leading breakdancers and one of the judges of the breakdance competition at the Olympic Games,” says the expert.

Located in the city center, in a region described by writer Émile Zola as “the belly of Paris”, La Place is a multidisciplinary space that houses the four pillars of hip hop: rhyme and beat, through rap and music production, visual arts and, of course, dance.

“Here we have space for music, mainly rap, but also DJing, beatboxing and others, dance, of course, with all forms of hip-hop dance that can exist, whether in the form of battle, party or choreographic creation, and also visual arts, such as graffiti in the form of performance or murals”, explains Julien Cholewa, director of the cultural center.

Aimed at both fans and aspiring artists, La Place is one of the few cultural venues of its kind in the world with its entire structure designed for hip hop. The center has two performance venues: one with a large stage, which is ideal for breakdancing performances, and the other follows an arena-style model, without a stage, suitable for dance battles.

Another highlight is the studios: three large rooms and four smaller booths dedicated to music production and DJ training. “We have a strong focus on young artists, rising names, especially those who are already on their way to professional development,” says Cholewa.

This year, the cultural center also hosted the Le 2P convention, aimed at professionals in the culture industry who work with hip hop. One of the key topics of the conference was the arrival of breakdancing at the Olympic Games. “We discussed all the questions that this brought to dancers, to hip hop in France, how the competition would be organized, among other topics,” says the director.

The space also has a bar attached to one of the performance rooms. The wall next to the cash register displays photos of all the rappers who have ever performed there — a constellation for fans of French hip hop. In a way, it is also the continuation of a local tradition: the center of Paris was one of the places where hip hop was born in France, just as São Paulo was the center for Brazilian hip hop.

“We’re right in the center of Paris, at the crossroads of the city, and this has always been a historic place for hip-hop: you’ll always find breakdancers here, you’ll find rap record stores here, and clothing stores,” Cholewa explains. “I remember when I was younger, I would come here to buy records and meet other rap fans.”

The breakdancing competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be held on August 9 and 10 at Place de La Concorde, an area just ten minutes away from the La Place cultural center and which will host other sports that have recently joined the competition, such as skateboarding and 3×3 basketball.

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