Get down.

In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break dancers, who leapt, flipped and spun their bodies to a dance beat from a tinny boom box.

The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed their moves, then applauding for the entire group, from a cultural organisation in his homeland of Poland.

“For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart,” he said.

During the show, one dancer – part of a Polish group that helps poor and marginalised youths – planted his head on the inlaid marble floor of the Vatican hall and spun to loud applause from his group and from Vatican officials. Another performer flung his body around in a series of spins and handstands.