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Rachael Gunn

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This article is about the Australian dancer. For the television show, see Rachel Gunn, R.N.
Rachael Louise Gunn
Born (1987-09-02) 2 September 1987 (age 36)
Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia
Other namesRaygun
Occupation(s)Lecturer, dancer
Academic background
Education
  • BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music (2009)
  • PhD in Cultural Studies (2017)
Alma materMacquarie University
ThesisDeterritorializing gender in Sydney's breakdancing scene: a B-girl's experience of B-boying (2017)
Doctoral advisor
  • Diane Hughes (Principal supervisor)
  • Kate Rossmanith
  • John Scannell
Academic work
DisciplineCultural Studies

Rachael Gunn (born 2 September 1987), known competitively as b-girl Raygun, is an Australian breakdancer and academic researching the "cultural politics of breaking".[1] She is a lecturer at Macquarie University in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature.[2][3]

Gunn competed in breaking at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the sport's inaugural debut at the games.

Early life and education

Gunn was born in Hornsby, New South Wales.[3] She danced as a child, and was trained in ballroom, tap, and jazz styles.[3][4]

Gunn attended Macquarie University for her bachelor's degree in contemporary music, graduating in 2009, and for her PhD in cultural studies, graduating in 2017.[2] Her PhD thesis focused on "the intersection of gender and Sydney's breaking culture".[3][5]

Breakdancing career

Gunn breaks under the nickname Raygun.[2] She began breakdancing in the early 2010s, when she was in her mid-20s.[3][4] Gunn paused competing while finishing her PhD, and returned to competitions in 2018.[4] She is coached by her husband, Samuel Free,[6] and trains for three to four hours a day.[7]

She has competed for Australia at the 2021 World Breaking Championships in Paris, the 2022 World Breaking Championships in Seoul, and the 2023 World Breaking Championships in Leuven, Belgium.[2][3] In 2023, she won the Oceania Breaking Championships, securing her a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics.[3][4]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Gunn failed to receive a point from the judges and was knocked out at the round-robin stage. After her performance was ridiculed on social media, she shared a quote on Instagram: "don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you".[8] She also stated following said jibes that she could not compete athletically with her younger rivals so tried to be "new, different and creative".[9] In response to the mockery, Team Australia Chef de Mission Anna Meares issued a statement in support of Gunn, condemning what Meares called "trolls and keyboard warriors."[10]

Personal life

Gunn met her husband, fellow breakdancer Samuel Free, at university in 2008.[6]

Publications

  • Gunn, Rachael (2016-03-03). "The 'systems of relay' in doing cultural studies: experimenting with the 'Body without Organs' in b-girling practice". Continuum. 30 (2): 183–194. doi:10.1080/10304312.2016.1143194. ISSN 1030-4312.
  • Gunn, Rachael (2019). "Nocturnal Paradox: How Breakdancing Reveals the Potentials of the Night". In Stahl, Geoff; Bottà, Giacomo (eds.). Nocturnes: Popular Music and the Night. Pop Music, Culture and Identity. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 147–162. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-99786-5_10. ISBN 978-3-319-99786-5. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  • Gunn, Rachael (2022-08-18). "Where the #bgirls at? politics of (in)visibility in breaking culture". Feminist Media Studies. 22 (6): 1447–1462. doi:10.1080/14680777.2021.1890182. ISSN 1468-0777.

References

  1. ^ "RAYGUN". Olympics.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Rachael Gunn". Macquarie University. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Rachael Gunn". Australian Olympic Committee. 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  4. ^ a b c d Snape, Jack (2024-04-20). "Breaker Rachael Gunn: 'We are essentially being used to up the Olympic ratings'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  5. ^ Gunn, R. L. (2017). Deterritorializing gender in Sydney's breakdancing scene: a B-girl's experience of B-boying [PhD Thesis, Macquarie University]. In figshare. https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1
  6. ^ a b Rocca, Jane (2024-07-03). "She is 36, has a PhD and is heading to the Olympics to compete in breakdancing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  7. ^ Gebilagin, Lizza (2024-03-11). "How Rachael Gunn is breakdancing her way to the Paris Olympics". Body and Soul.
  8. ^ "'Australia's first Olympic breaker 'Raygun' vows to keep being herself after online hate'". The Guardian. 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  9. ^ "Raygun hits back at online hate as breaking moves at the Olympics go viral". The Independent. 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  10. ^ "Australia exec upset by trolling of breaker Raygun". ESPN.com. 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
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