Australian Olympian Raygun back in spotlight one year on from divisive Paris Games performance
Aussie breakdancer Raygun is back in the spotlight one year on from her divisive performance at the Paris Olympic Games.
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Australian breakdancer Raygun is back in the spotlight one year on from her divisive performance at the Paris Olympic Games.
Rachel Gunn made international headlines when she scored zero points for her breakdance in the sport’s Olympic debut.
Gunn, better known by her B-girl name Raygun, took to sport’s most prestigious stage with moves that imitated hopping kangaroos, wriggling snakes and the Australian classic, sprinkler.
The performance instantly went viral and was the subject of endless memes and relentless ridicule from around the globe.
About 12 months on from the infamous act, Raygun is the subject of an Australian Story investigation that delves into why the arts academic isn’t celebrated despite being a sporting underdog.
US breakdancing pioneer Michael Holman told the ABC there was a lot of backlash from the international breakdancing community because the performance was seen as culturally insensitive.
“The anger that came from Raygun’s performance at the Olympics comes from a lot of different places,” he said.
“A slice of that pie came from people who knew what breaking was, saying, ‘Wow, you know, that’s not great breaking’.”
He said breakdancing originated from marginalised teenagers with poor, working class black and Puerto Rican backgrounds.
“So her being white and Australian and jumping around like a kangaroo, that’s going to be a loaded gun,” Mr Holman told the ABC.
“Whether she intended it or not, the end result was mockery.”
While the university professor was mocked for the performance, others came to her defence including billionaire Richard Branson.
The Virgin Group founder invited the Australian breakdancer on-board his Celebration Voyage cruise through the Mediterranean where she danced alongside the global businessman and pulled out the infamous kangaroo hop.
Mr Branson said Raygun was plucky, brave, courageous and original.
“Hats off to her for being so bold and different. Since we have a couple of kangaroos on Necker, that move in particular certainly got me smiling,” he said.
But the controversy did not end at the Olympics.
Back in Australia about four months after the Olympic Games, a comedian was about to stage Raygun: The Musical when a legal storm erupted.
Creator Stephanie Broadbridge cancelled the show after she was contacted by lawyers representing Raygun over fears it would damage her reputation.
She later rebranded the show to Breaking: The Musical.
The comedy club that was going to stage the show was also sent a letter demanding $10,000 from Raygun’s lawyers.
The comedian alleged the lawyers told her that she was not allowed to perform the dance moves because the kangaroo dance was owned by Raygun.
Ms Broadbridge told the ABC that she was captivated at how Raygun handled the situation and was excited that a woman her age was behaving like that in public.
“She’s the hero that Australia needed, the female Shane Warne. The one that’s flawed but we love her anyway,” she said.
“I wanted to tell that story. I wanted an Australian larrikin story that was a woman.”
Gunn declined to comment to Australian Story.
Originally published as Australian Olympian Raygun back in spotlight one year on from divisive Paris Games performance
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