<a href="#" data-ident_hash="c138f5af"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/SH505438.jpg" alt=""></a> I think it&#8217;s a great opportunity for breakin&#8217; to be chosen as a new event for the Paris Olympics. It is an under-rated sport, so I would be happy if I win an Olympic gold medal and more people know about me and about breakdancing.&#8221;
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Shigeyuki Nakarai, 20, says so with a twinkle in his eye. He is a dancer who has been called the gold medalist in breakdancing, a new event at the 2012 Paris Olympics.
Breakdancing is a sport in which dancers compete with their opponents, either one-on-one or as a team, in acrobatic dances to music to show off their skills and creativity. Nakarai began his professional career at the age of 14 when he secured a sponsorship deal. Since then, he has danced around the world under the name &#8220;Shigekix.&#8221; He has been competing on the stage. He won the World Youth Championships in 2006, and in 2008 he became the youngest ever champion at the world&#8217;s most prestigious competition, the Red Bull BC One World Final. Where does Nakarai&#8217;s origin lie?
 My older sister used to breakdance, and when I was in the second grade of elementary school, I started following her to the training grounds. I was copying her, and before I knew it, I had stopped trampolining, which was my original passion, and got into it. As soon as I mastered even a single technique, I was soon competing. I was 7 years old at the time and had no experience, so I thought I deserved to lose, so I went to many competitions anyway because I wanted to gain as much experience as possible if I was going to lose.
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Nakarai&#8217;s specialty is the &#8220;freeze,&#8221; in which he dances a fast, high-precision dance to the music, holding his movements perfectly still and striking a decisive pose. Harmony with the music is of utmost importance.
 Musicality,&#8221; he says, &#8220;which is the ability to sense the music, dance, and improvise, is one of my strengths, and I value it the most. However, my dance is incomplete in all aspects, not to mention musicality, which is my strong point. I think of breakdance as more of an art form than a timed competition, so I am always pondering how to add depth to my play. I am not a natural born genius. So, I have to think through the image of the dance and then improvise. And I try as many times as I can. I enjoy the process of learning that new dance. I am still in the process of evolution.
He will go to the Paris Olympics as the world champion in a new discipline. Naturally, the pressure is immense. He also experienced setbacks at a young age.
 I have bitter memories of winning the World Youth Championships and qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games in 2006. I was happy that breakdance was adopted for the first time in a competition of a scale never seen before, but at the same time, there was a lot of pressure. I was expected to win a gold medal, but the result was a bronze medal. It was frustrating, but for me, it was a turning point that gave me the opportunity to grow further.&#8221;
The fierce competition for the right to compete in the Paris Olympics has already begun. Nakarai says he lives his life without a single day off, devoting three hours to practice.
 First of all, I want to get a ticket to the Paris Olympics at any cost. I am always thinking about breakdance. Once I compete, I want to be a dancer who can create excitement not only with my dancing, but also with the story of how I climbed up to the highest podium. And I think I have to win a gold medal to let as many people as possible know the charm of breakdance.&#8221;
Two years until the start of the Paris Olympics. The story of Hanai&#8217;s continuing evolution has only just begun.
<figure id="attachment_237625" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1612px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-237625"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="84929d5d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/SH505310.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-237625" class="wp-caption-text">For Nakarai, Breakdance is a lifestyle in itself. Will he become the first Olympic champion?</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_237626" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1667px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-237626"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5354402c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/SH505373.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-237626" class="wp-caption-text">Shigeyuki Nakarai, Breakdancer, Next Generation Star &#8211; Part 2</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_237628" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-237628"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e65b629a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/SH505453.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-237628" class="wp-caption-text">Shigeyuki Nakarai, Breakdancer, Next Generation Star &#8211; Part 2</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_237629" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-237629"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="439b8ab3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/SH505459.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-237629" class="wp-caption-text">Shigeyuki Nakarai, Breakdancer, Next Generation Star, 2nd issue</figcaption></figure>
Profile 
Shigeyuki NAKARAI 
Born in 2002 in Sayama City, Osaka Prefecture, he began breakdancing at the age of 7 under the influence of his older sister, Ayaya Hanai (24), who is also a breakdancer.
From the April 15, 2022 issue of FRIDAY

 Shinji Hamasaki

 Hirotsuru Machida

 Shigeyuki HANI is a dancer who is attracting attention as a possible gold medalist in breakdance, a new event at the Paris Olympics in 2012. He has won many championships at a young age, but he is still in the middle of his evolution. What is his origin?

Dancer Shigeyuki Nakarai’s Eyeing the First Gold Medal of Breakdance in the Paris Olympics

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