Breaking no circus act for b-girl Jilou: “Breaking gives me everything I want in life”

Freedom of expression.

If the journey of Germany's breaking star Sanja Jilwan Rasul to now should be distilled down into one thing then it’s always been about that.

That much is clear when Rasul, better known as her stage moniker b-girl Jilou, explains how she started breaking:

“I used to be a gymnast: when I was six years old until 13,” she begins to Olympics.com.

WATCH: 2022 WDSF European Breaking Championships lives on Olympics.com

With artists for parents, creativity and movement were always highly regarded while b-girl Jilou was growing up in Cologne, and so the sport her mother also did as a child seemed like the best place to channel her energy:

“I started [artistic] gymnastics because of my mother. I was really young, so she decided to put me into that group and train. And I love to train. I think that’s the general thing. I just love to train. I just love to develop myself.”

As the young b-girl developed as a gymnast she found herself increasingly confined to a mold she wanted to break through; she learned she was unable to do things her way:

“Gymnastics gives you a lot of limitations. You have to do things the way they want to see it not the way you want to express yourself. So, at some point I felt I was able to express myself way better than how I was able to express myself in gymnastics.”

Just as Jilou’s motivation for gymnastics began to wane her mother saw something that captured her imagination: “My mum saw breaking on TV. And that’s when she was like, I need to send my daughter there.”

And at 15, b-girl Jilou began breaking.

B-girl Jilou: Inspired by circus life

Rasul’s mother’s belief that breaking would be where her daughter would flourish was not misplaced.

Just as Rasul was turning away gymnastics she started learning how to be an aerialist in a circus group.

Using long silks hanging from the ceiling, the b-girl began mastering contortion. She would wrap herself around the material, to climb up and then roll down all in front of an applauding crowd. It was, in its own way, the perfect foundation for her newfound passion:

“I learnt a lot of acrobatics that I can use now,” explains Rasul.

“Then also in the circus, you learn how to perform. You learn how to send your energy, not to the first row, but to the last row. And you learn to speak in front of an audience. You learn to look up and not look down – all these little performance rules they apply to breaking as well.”

But even with the fun and adrenaline Rasul experienced while being in the circus there was still something she found mising: the chance to truly be herself.

“I used to be all kinds of things. I was a ghost; I was a fly. You’re not really yourself most of the time, but you’re playing a role.

“I love training circus, but I don’t really have the time and breaking gives me everything I want in life at the moment.”

READ: WDSF 2022 European Breaking Championships: Preview, schedule and how to watch live

Art, athleticism and DJs: How breaking will change Paris 2024

With two world breaking bronze medals to her name from 2019 and 2021, b-girl Jilou will undoubtedly be a name that comes up in medal talk when her sport makes its debut at Paris 2024.

And for competitive breakers like the German b-girl getting to compete at an Olympic Games is the realisation of a dream come true:

“I’m super excited about breaking in the Olympics. When I did gymnastics, I always wanted to be at the Olympics. And when I stopped doing gymnastics, I became a circus artist and then I was like, okay, if I can’t perform as an athlete at the Olympics then maybe I can do the Opening Ceremony; I can perform in the Opening Ceremony so, my dream was still kind of alive. But then breaking became Olympic and I’m just like, oh wow, my dream is back; let me be an Olympic athlete again.”

With its dynamism and athleticism, as well as its emphasis on expression, the essence of breaking can be a bit of a mystery to the newcomer. For b-girl Jilou breaking is the unique blend of sport, art and individuality:

“It’s a sport because we are working on our abilities to get better and better and also, we are so competitive. But then, because it’s so much about individuality, it’s so much about expressing yourself, there’s the artistic side.

“If you approach it [breaking] as an athlete only then you’re going to look like everybody else; you’re going to look generic. But if you approach it as an artist, you are able to show your character; show who you are.

“I have a voice and have an expression and that’s what gets the audience, because the audience doesn’t want to see amazing moves only because then they can see gymnastics right? But we are not only gymnasts. We do moves, but we also have a meaning to it; we add feeling to it, and all that is what matters for us.”

That particular emphasis on the freedom to convey how you feel is a part of makes breaking so special according to b-girl Jilou. When she steps into battle, she is no longer Sanja Jilawan but b-girl Jilou and is authentically herself. She explains:

“Jilou and Sanja Jilawan are almost the same person it's just Sanja Jilwan is not given the freedom often to express herself. So, I'm using Jilou to express myself 100 percent.”

And for the breaker that creativity is something she believes breaking will bring to the Games for the first time as well as another dimension that will hopefully have Olympic fans on their feet:

“I think we’re going to give a certain freedom [to the Olympics]. We don’t have too many artists at the Olympics, so we’re definitely going to bring that part.

“Then also we’re going to bring a party to the Olympic because, who comes with the DJ right?”

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