Sya Dembélé (born 1 September 2007), also known mononymously as Syssy, is a French breakdancer.

Early life and education

Sya Dembélé was born on 1 September 2007 in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, France. She is the daughter of professional artists from the African dance group Doni Doni. Her father was a griot in Burkina Faso, while her mother is a

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. Her family is passionate about dancing, and she started dancing at the age of eight. Her brother Damani also practises breakdancing, and she admired and emulated him. Her elder brother, Soso, also has a high profile in the breakdancing world.

Career

Dembélé, under her stage name Syssy, has been dancing internationally since she was nine years old, evolving in the group Melting Force. The team was founded in 1999, and comprises around 15 members ranging from 10 to 40 years old. Dembélé participated in her first international competition recognized by the World DanceSport Federation in early 2022 (being too young to participate before), finishing 27th (and 3rd French) in the 2022 European Breakdance Championship. In November 2022, she participated in the Red Bull BC One in New York City, the most prestigious international competition outside the federal circuit. In December 2022, she represented France at the Battle of the Year in Okinawa, a leading international competition in the breakdance world. On 7 May 2023, at the age of 16, Dembélé won the bronze medal at the 2023 European Breakdance Championship in Almería, qualifying her for the

2023 European Games The 3rd European Games ( pl, III Igrzyska Europejskie, Igrzyska Europejskie 2023), informally known as Kraków-Małopolska 2023, is a scheduled international sporting event to be held in Kraków and Małopolska, Poland in 2023. All Olympic sports h ...

but failed to reach the podium. In September, she won the bronze medal at the World Championships in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

. In June 2024, Dembélé finished fourth in the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest, securing her ticket to the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dembele, Sya 2007 births Living people French breakdancers Sportspeople from Saint-Étienne Breakdancers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic breakdancers for France 21st-century French sportswomen