The Pioneer is taken solely by Ankit Kushwah, also referred to as Bboy Antique, on his inspirational journey as the first breaking artist of Bhopal.
Tejal Sinha
The first ones are always special, they say. Well, Ankit Kushwah, who popularly goes by the name Bboy Antique, is one of the special ones Bhopal has been really proud of. Now when we mention ‘first’, it aptly goes with him; it’s because when he began breaking, he was Bhopal’s first breaking star.
During his early days, he too was one of those fun li’l guy, who did not really bother about the things around him. However, in 2008, when he was in his 10th grade, he just saw a video of the Red Bull BC One finals and that really hit something within him that made him wonder, ‘What really is it?’. But again, he knew this was his calling and wanted to do something around breaking. “I have always been around the internet and browsing. I come from a village and there you did not really have any dance classes. So what I did was search for it on YouTube and start practicing for it. I did come across many such tutorials. However, I did not understand anything about the battles. But as I went on taking it ahead, my knowledge also kept growing far beyond,” shares the breaking star, all set to battle in the finals of Red Bull BC One.
There was a time back then when he used to just randomly play some songs and then start practicing his breaking. He found his inner peace while dancing. After connecting with many people and gathering more insights on battles and breaking, he began his travels in 2013. It was in Bangalore that he got on the ground for the battle for the very first time. “During that, I came across so many Bboyers. They were all in front of me, live and I was performing in front of them.” Today, he has come so far! And to him, the journey did not require any sort of support because he never got one. It was all self-made and self-earned. “In 2012, my dad got transferred to Bhopal and we shifted here. I did come across many dance classes there, but there was nothing regarding breaking. I knew if I had to do something around breaking, I had to do it all alone. I began solo travelling. In 2014, I had my third battle, which was a national championship and I won it.”
The support he received from the audience from all over the nation was something he never knew was coming his way. And since then, there has been no looking back for him. He began connecting with more and more people and finally got the most deserved, breaking support he never knew was what he needed.
“I never got proper guidance,” shares Ankit, who represented India in the Asian Breaking Championship 2023 in China, speaking about the challenges he initially faced. “Having learned and practiced via YouTube, I believe if I had gotten proper guidance, I could have been somewhere else today. Something that I began in 2013–14, I would have started much earlier. Being the first-breaker from Bhopal, there was also a time when I felt like giving up because of the ups and downs. But later, I did find people who did want to get into breaking, and I used to teach them. That really brought immense confidence and I was like, I’m not going to give up.”
That made him start his own Raw Breakers Crew India, which also includes the one he used to practice with. Constantly changing the dynamics in Bhopal, he believes, “When I saw Bboy Junior performing in 2008 in the world finals and now in 2024, I just saw him live, and he was the one who selected me and brought me here. That itself shows the changes in the dynamics and how things have changed. The BC One qualifier is also happening in Bhopal. Things have gotten so much better now in Bhopal that if I don’t perform, I know the ones I have taught are there. It’s only and only growing.”
The breaking scene is growing so much in Bhopal that the Madhya Pradesh government is soon setting up a ‘break-dance’ academy in the city. And with this, he is very confident that Bhopal is soon going to turn into a ‘breaking hub’.
But one thing we were keen on knowing about was his Bboying name, ‘Antique’. So further speaking about it, he enthuses, “In 2016, Bboy Brainstorm from Ukraine came to Bhopal, who was invited by a company. And to my surprise, he researched who all are breaking in Bhopal and came across my page. He invited me, and we did practice in his hotel too. During that, he keeps travelling to India and I was very keen because I would also be getting guidance. He was an international Bboyer. There’s a place in Bhopal called MP Nagar and we used to practice there and on the streets, we used to perform cipher. And people, every time they saw me dancing, were always like, ‘Aap bahut antique dance karte ho’. As Brainstorm noticed that, he started calling me ‘Antique’. And that’s when I kept my name as Bboy Antique.”
‘Crashes’ are something that inspires his moves. On a concluding note, he shares that breaking creates a lot of freedom and you can do it your own way. “My main goal is to always break and keep doing it forever. I want to keep breaking until the last breath. (he laughs)”
