A Bronx break dancing pioneer called for an investigation Thursday into the Olympics governing body that allowed the widely mocked Australian dancer Raygun to compete in Paris.
Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon said the dancer — who went viral after losing all three of her battles by scores of 18-0 Friday — should have been better vetted by officials before making a laughing stock of the sport as it debuted on the world stage.
“There should be an investigation into why the World DanceSport Federation allowed this to happen,” Colon, 58, told The New York Post.
“They should have required a certain level of expertise to be at the Olympics.”
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn caught heat online for her stunningly awkward interpretative dance-style moves — which included floor-writhing, goofy freezes and a “kangaroo hop.”
The 36-year-old Sydney University professor’s performance was such a disaster, critics accused her of “getting zero points on purpose” — and she was later spoofed by comedian Rachel Dratch on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“Breaking comes from a culture of people who have lived a difficult life — so when we see something like that we’re like, ‘Yo, is that a joke?,’” Colon said of Raygun’s overly “academic” interpretative dance style.
“Maybe it’s a hobby for her — and that’s fine. Do your thing, girl, have fun. But you’re on the wrong stage.
“You can’t just go in there and disrupt a whole culture of people.”
Colon chalked the potential Olympic flub up to “a faulty system” that failed to create a “minimum acceptance standard” for the new sport.
“You don’t have to be an expert to a drive a car but you have to be good enough not to hurt other people on the street,” he said — comparing her moves to a car crash.
The bumbling B-girl took the place of more talented Australian breakers likely because they lacked the resources or money to make it to the Olympics, Colon said.
“It would have been nice if she had bowed out,” he said. “She was taking an opportunity from someone else.”
Still, he said some of the “hate” she received online was unfair, like folks who knocked her geeky green and gold tracksuit.
“The outfit is a minor thing,” he said.
But breaking badly is a bigger problem.
“She just didn’t have the talent,” he said.
On Thursday, Raygun broke her silence over the online backlash over her performance saying, “I did take it very seriously” and “worked my butt off preparing.”
This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
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