How the virus reached Paris and divided the world

When hip-hop artist Rachel Jean — also known as RaeJean — failed to compete in the Paris Olympics, a shock wave hit a small hip-hop scene on the other side of the world.

In a converted community centre in Sydney, participants in a training break warm up with abdominal exercises that would make a Pilates teacher cry, before descending to the floor with acrobatic moves so complex you can barely make them out.

It’s one of the most important events of the year – a qualifier for the Red Bull BC One World Finals – and last week was very heavy.

A few people glance nervously at the handful of cameras lined up along the dance circle, their minds no doubt drifting to the photos of Gon that set the internet ablaze.

“I feel like it’s pushed our scene in Australia into the dark ages,” Australian hip-hop pioneer Spice told the BBC.

Jan, a 36-year-old university lecturer, lost all three of her Olympic fights in viral fashion, Her green tracksuit and unconventional routine – which included sprinklers and kangaroo-inspired jumping – generating waves of memes and abuse.

These repercussions have left the Australian broadcasting community divided and frustrated.

“He made fun of the Australian scene and I think that’s why a lot of us are in pain,” says Spice.

Many have rushed to defend Raygun against the attack.

Others say there are questions to be answered about her qualifications and performance, but say the global bullying has undermined any attempt to fairly analyze what happened in Paris.

Jean had always been a dancer – although she initially did jazz, tap and ballroom dancing – but it was her husband and coach Samuel Frey who introduced her to the world of dance when she was 20 years old.

She says it took her years to find her place in the male-dominated scene.

“There were times when I would go to the bathroom and cry because I was so embarrassed about how bad I was at it,” she told Guardian Australia before the Olympics.

However, Jean eventually became the face of breakdancing in Australia – a top breakdancer and an academic with a PhD in the cultural policy of sport.

At an Olympic qualifying event in Sydney last October, where 15 women from across Oceania competed, Raygon emerged victorious and booked her ticket to Paris.

Like Jean, street dancing was perhaps a surprise candidate for the Olympics. Born in a cultural melting pot in the Bronx in the 1970s, street dancing quickly became a global phenomenon.

In recent years, it has caught the attention of Olympic officials who were desperate to attract a new, younger audience.

Some claimed it was not worthy of Olympic attention, while others insisted that such a competition could not capture the essence of dance, and would only further separate the art form from the street culture from which it originated.

All eyes were on the event in Paris to see if the IOC’s gamble would pay off.

From the moment the final battle of B-girl teams at the Olympics ended, it became clear that breakdancing had already captured global attention — or specifically, Raygun.

Rumors and criticism of her performance spread like wildfire, especially online.

Jean received a flood of violent messages, and 50,000 people signed an anonymous petition demanding an apology.

She has been accused – without evidence – of manipulating her way onto the world’s biggest stage at the expense of other talent in the Australian hip-hop scene.

Some have circulated a conspiracy theory that she created the governing body that runs the Oceania qualifiers, and a lie that her husband – also a top racer and qualified judge – was on the panel that selected her.

Australian fact-checking organisations The national breaking organization AUSBreaking quickly tried to correct the record, but that didn’t stop the flood.

Then there were those who claimed that she mocked and appropriated hip-hop culture.

“It was like someone was playing with the culture and didn’t know how culturally important it was,” Malik Dixon told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In a series of statements, AUSBreaking stressed that judges are “trained to adhere to the highest standards of impartiality” and that there were no Australians on the nine-person Oceania qualifying panel.

Although AUSBreaking has had several “interactions” with Raygun since its inception in 2019, it has never held a leadership position or been involved in “any decision-making process regarding events, funding, strategy, judge selection, or athlete selection.”

In a comment on Instagram, Te Heretanga Wibeha, a New Zealand judge on the Oceania qualifying panel, said Raigon won fair and square.

“All of us judges talked about how great it was, how absolutely wonderful it was. [at the Olympics]“She knew it was going to be hard, so it was really brave of her,” Webiha — also known as Rush — said in a livestream.

Some of the country’s top athletes and top Olympic officials have also loudly defended John.

“The petition has stirred up public hatred without any factual basis. It is appalling,” said Matt Carroll of the Australian Olympic Committee.

Jan herself had previously said that she would “never” be able to beat her strong competitors, so she “wanted to move differently, to be artistic and creative.”

In a video posted on social media amid a public storm, Jan added that she took the contest “very seriously.”

“I did my best in preparing for the Olympics and I did my best. Really.”

She said she was just trying to “spread some joy,” adding: “I didn’t realize that would open the door to so much hate, which was honestly devastating.”

Some within the Australian hip-hop community admit that the response to Raygun’s routine initially elicited “laughs” – but it quickly got out of hand.

Everyone was clear in condemning the massive amount of abuse, mockery and misinformation that has targeted Raygun and the wider Australian B-girl community.

But besides that, the feeling is somewhat divided.

Many B-girls say that Raygun’s performance does not reflect the level in Australia.

“When I first saw it, I was so embarrassed,” says Spice, who retired from acting years ago.

At any other stage, Raygon would have been encouraged and supported to “try it,” says Spice, but people representing the country need to be on a certain level. “It’s the Olympics for God’s sake!

“In hip-hop we have this thing, you either move forward or you move away… you have to know where you stand.”

But she insists that “bullying is disgusting” — and that many like her have been reluctant to speak out for fear of adding to Gunn’s suffering.

But the impact of the controversy on local Australian breakjumpers has also been “devastating”, Tenelox told the BBC.

Like some of the other people the BBC spoke to, she did not want her full name published because of the scale of the abuse being reported.

Wild Dance Girls’ videos are being bullied, their direct messages are being flooded with insults and violent threats, young dancers are being harassed at school, and many now feel unsafe practicing in public.

“Asking us to be positive and supportive while we are being hurt is unacceptable… [we’re] “We are allowed to be angry,” she said in a statement.

Tenelox – who fought Rhaegon herself – believes Jean had a terrible day, but says there are questions about her preparation and routine that need to be answered.

“We know you are capable of more… Were you prepared for success?”

According to Wiebeha, Jan’s qualifying win reflects the “small” racing scene in Australia, as well as the smaller public and government support for it.

“I mean we actually had to bring people out of retirement to be able to replace that number,” he said.

“That’s how small the scene is.”

Others say there are rules that may have made the small talent pool even shallower – such as the requirement that potential qualifiers be members of AUSBreaking and have a valid passport, in line with rules set by the World Dance Sport Federation.

AUSBreaking did not respond to BBC inquiries about the selection of Raygun, the financial support it receives or how it searches for the country’s best talent.

But Steve Gow, the group’s secretary and long-time breakdancer Stevie G, tells the BBC that Australia’s size and isolation are hampering the growth and development of the scene.

Being so far away from larger hip-hop communities abroad can make it difficult—both in terms of time and money—to learn from them.

“It can be very isolating,” he says.

As if to prove his point, he regularly stops to greet everyone who enters the Red Bull competition he is judging.

He stresses that Australia still has high quality fracking.

Ultimately, society feels bitterly hurt by the world’s reaction.

They feel that fracture is not really understood, and that people have been caught up in it without knowledge or context.

“It’s so disappointing because they’re not talking about the winners… they’re all talking about the Raygun memes, and they don’t even watch the full set,” Samson Smith, a member of hip-hop group Justice Crew, told Network 10.

But many hope that a glimmer of hope will emerge.

“It might actually get enough attention to get resources,” Wiebeha said.

“Ultimately, Australia has the most famous Olympian in 2024, and she might actually save the day here.”