Ethan Hart has been dancing since he was five years old, and he is passionate about his art form.
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The 15-year-old jazz dances, enjoys hip-hop and contemporary but he loves to express himself through breakdance when he can combine them all.
![Kulture Break breakdancer Ethan Hart, 15 with chief executive and founder, Francis Owusu. Picture: Elesa Kurtz Kulture Break breakdancer Ethan Hart, 15 with chief executive and founder, Francis Owusu. Picture: Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75zhd1pii1u1m74bffgx.jpg/r0_8_3627_2055_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In between school, acting classes, dancing and working on his clothing label Yo Funky, Ethan trains for 14 hours a week and teaches breakdance at Kulture Break, a Canberran charity youth service provider with a community arts focus.
"I do it in my spare time, I use it to express myself. It's an art form for me," he said.
Breakdancing as a sport debuted in the 2018 Youth Olympic Summer Games in Argentina. On June 25 this year, the International Olympic Committee voted in favour of bringing breakdance to the 2024 Paris Olympics. For Ethan, this could be an opportunity to follow his dreams.
"A lot of people quit breakdancing because they can't really go too far with it, but now that there could be breakdancing in the Olympics, people can go further," he said.
"Once it's in the Olympics, people will really understand that we're athletes...It can be a bit more of a career path for breakdancers."
Founded in 2002 by chief executive Francis Owusu, Kulture Break provides young Canberrans with a chance to express themselves through dance and music.
Mr Owusu has been dancing for 25 years and along with Ethan, he hopes breakdancers get the chance to be recognised in the Olympics.
"You see things in the Olympics, like in gymnastics, people do flares and aerial tumble-work. A lot of that stuff is in breakdance. For someone to do that, it requires training and focus," Mr Owusu said.
Breakdance began in the 1970s on the street, as a distraction from gang violence and wars.
"It was a way for the big city African American and Latino youth to move from gang violence to using dance as a way to communicate," Mr Owusu said. Now breakdance is a culture and an art form for people all over the world, including the students Kulture Break works with.
"You don't have to speak English, when the music hits, we're all one language. That's the power. I think it will be able to unite people of all cultures, all backgrounds, because it's about the art form," Mr Owusu said. "We've had an up-surge in the last 18 months of young people wanting to do breakdance... I think with this announcement it could be an opportunity for kids to start dreaming."
Ethan said since performing and teaching with Kulture Break and their Elevate program he has enjoyed helping inspire other students who are interested in the dance style. He is excited about the prospect of competing in the Olympics and while the final decision pending until December 2020, he's going to aim high.
"I think I'll definitely train a lot harder now to get there."