Hip-hop dance refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have

evolved as part of hip-hop culture.

-It includes a wide range of styles primarily breaking which was created in the 1970s and made
popular by dance crews in the United States.
-The dance industry responded with a commercial, studio-based version of hip-hop—sometimes
called "new style"—and a hip-hop influenced style of jazz dance called "jazz-funk". Classically
trained dancers developed these studio styles in order to create choreography from the hip-hop
dances that were performed on the street.

“Hip” = present “Hop”= action.

-Hip Hop is a movement that represents the freedom to learn, grow, and evolve.

HISTORY
-Hip-hop dance is a broad category that includes a variety of styles. The older dance styles that were
created in the 1970s include uprock, breaking, and the funk styles

-Breaking was created in The Bronx, New York in the early 1970s. It is the first hip-hop dance style.
Breaking includes four foundational dances: toprock, footwork-oriented steps performed while
standing up; downrock, footwork performed with both hands and feet on the floor; freezes, stylish
poses done on your hands; and power moves, complex and impressive acrobatic moves. Transitions
from toprock to downrock are called "drops." An influence on toprock was uprock which was created
in Brooklyn, New York.

-In 1973, DJ Kool Herc invented the break beat.[9][10] A break beat is a rhythmic, musical interlude of
a song that has been looped over and over again to extend that instrumental solo. B-boy and b-girl
stands for "break-boy" and "break-girl".
-The funk styles refer to several street dance styles created in California in the 1970s such as
roboting, bopping, hitting, locking, bustin', popping, boogaloo, strutting, sac-ing, and dime-stopping. .
It started out as a 1960s fad dance and was the subject of several songs released during that time
such as "Do the Boogaloo" and "My Baby Likes to Boogaloo". From being a fad, it developed into a
street dance style called Boogaloo in Oakland, CA, as well as a separate music genre called Latin
boogaloo.
-The most popular and widely practiced of the funk styles are locking and popping.[13] The television
show Soul Train played a large role in giving these styles commercial exposure.
-It is historically inaccurate to say that the funk styles were always considered hip-hop. In an
interview with Racked, Moncell Durden, assistant dance professor at the University of Southern
California, is quoted as saying "Hip-hop dance involves two dances: breaking and social dances.
That's it. Nothing else is hip-hop.

MAIN STYLES
BREAKING
-Breaking was created in the South Bronx, New York City during the early 1970s.
- It is the first hip-hop dance style.

-At the time of its creation, it was the only hip-hop dance style because Afrika Bambaataa classified
it as one of the five pillars of hip-hop culture along with MCing (rapping), DJing (turntablism), graffiti
writing (bombing), and knowledge.
-Traditionally, breakers dance within a cypher or an Apache Line. (show images)

LOCKING
Locking, originally called Campbellocking, was created in 1969 in Los Angeles, California by Don
"Campbellock" Campbell .

-Locking looks similar to popping, and the two are frequently confused by the casual observer.
-A locker's dancing is characterized by frequently locking in place and after a brief freeze moving
again
-While both styles are from Los Angeles, locking and popping are two distinct funk styles with their
own histories, their own set of dance moves, their own pioneers, and their own competition
categories.

POPPING
-Popping was derived from the earlier Boogaloo street dance movement taking place in Oakland,
California during the late 1960's, the Boogaloo dance form incorporated techniques of soulful
footwork steps, arm movements, stop-motion animation, the robot, & posing hard - which contracted
muscles during robotic poses to the music of Funk.
-It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in a dancer's
body, referred to as a pop or a hit.

Popping dance is a style of dance that started in the late 1960's and 70's. This dance style is
characterized by sudden tensing and releasing of the muscles (“hitting”) to the rhythm of beats
in music.
As breaking, locking, and popping gained popularity in the 1980s, hip-hop social dancing (party
dancing) started to develop. The music of the day was the driving force in the development of these
dances. Hip-hop music, hip-hop social dancing continues to change as new songs are released and
new dances are created to accompany them.

Breaking was created in the South Bronx, New York City during the early 1970s.[3] It is the first hip-
hop dance style. At the time of its creation, it was the only hip-hop dance style because Afrika
Bambaataa classified it as one of the five pillars of hip-hop culture along
with MCing (rapping), DJing (turntablism), graffiti writing (bombing), and knowledge.

Breaking includes four foundational dances: toprock, footwork-oriented steps performed while
standing up; downrock, footwork performed with both hands and feet on the floor; freezes, stylish
poses done on your hands; and power moves, complex and impressive acrobatic
moves.[31] Transitions from toprock to downrock are called "drops."
Traditionally, breakers dance within a cypher or an Apache Line. (show images)

Locking, originally called Campbellocking, was created in 1969 in Los Angeles, California by Don
"Campbellock" Campbell
Locking looks similar to popping, and the two are frequently confused by the casual observer
A locker's dancing is characterized by frequently locking in place and after a brief freeze moving
[43]

again
While both styles are from Los Angeles, locking and popping are two distinct funk styles with their
own histories, their own set of dance moves, their own pioneers, and their own competition
categories.

Locking has specific dance moves that distinguish it from popping and other funk styles

Popping was derived from the earlier Boogaloo street dance movement taking place in Oakland,
California during the late 1960's, the Boogaloo dance form incorporated techniques of soulful
footwork steps, arm movements, stop-motion animation, the robot, & posing hard - which contracted
muscles during robotic poses to the music of Funk
It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in a dancer's
body, referred to as a pop or a hit. When performed correctly, each hit is synchronized to the rhythm
and beats of the music. Popping is also used as an umbrella term to refer to a wide range of closely
related illusionary dance styles[47] such as strobing, liquid, animation, twisto-flex, and waving
Popping as an umbrella term also includes gliding.[14][47] Gliding is a lower body dance performed with
little to no movements in the chest or arms.
Opposite from gliding is tutting, an upper body dance that uses the arms, hands, and wrists to form
right angles and create geometric box-like shapes. Tutting can be done primarily with the fingers
rather than the arms.
The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased
these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop mainstream exposure.
The dance industry responded with a commercial, studio-based version of
hip-hop—sometimes called "new style"—and a hip-hop influenced style of jazz dance called "jazz-
funk". Classically trained dancers developed these studio styles in order to create choreography
from the hip-hop dances that were performed on the street. Because of this development, hip-hop
dance is practiced in both dance studios and outdoor spaces.
The commercialization of hip-hop dance continued into the 1990s and 2000s with the production of
several television shows and movies such as The Grind, Planet B-Boy, Rize, StreetDance
3D, America's Best Dance Crew, Saigon Electric, the Step Up film series, and The LXD, a web
series. Though the dance is established in entertainment, including mild representation in theater, it
maintains a strong presence in urban neighborhoods which has led to the creation of street dance
derivatives Memphis jookin, turfing, jerkin', and krump.
1980s films, television shows, and the Internet have contributed to introducing hip-hop dance outside
the United States. Since being exposed, educational opportunities and dance competitions have
helped maintain its presence worldwide. Europe hosts several international hip-hop dance
competitions such as the UK B-Boy Championships, Juste Debout, and EuroBattle. Australia hosts a
team-based competition called World Supremacy Battlegrounds and Japan hosts a two-on-two
competition called World Dance Colosseum.
What distinguishes hip-hop from other forms of dance is that it is often "freestyle" (improvisational) in
nature and hip-hop dance crews often engage in freestyle dance competitions—colloquially referred
to as "battles". Crews, freestyling, and battles are identifiers of this style. Hip-hop dance can be a
form of entertainment or a hobby. It can also be a way to stay active in competitive dance and a way
to make a living by dancing professionally.
A street dance is a dance style that evolved outside dance studios in any available open
space such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and
nightclubs.

History[edit]
Main article: History of hip-hop dance
Hip-hop dance is a broad category that includes a variety of styles. The older dance styles that were
created in the 1970s include uprock, breaking, and the funk styles.[1] Breaking was created in The
Bronx, New York in the early 1970s.[2] In its earliest form, it began as elaborations on James Brown's
"Good Foot" dance which debuted in 1972.[1][3][4] Breaking at this period was not primarily floor-
oriented as seen today; it started out as toprock which dancers perform while standing up.
An influence on toprock was uprock[5] which was created in Brooklyn, New York.[6][7] Uprock
looks similar to toprock, but it is more aggressive and looks like a fight. Uprock is also
performed with partners, but in toprock—and in breaking in general—each person takes
turns dancing.[8] In 1973, DJ Kool Hercinvented the break beat.[9][10] A break beat is a rhythmic,
musical interlude of a song that has been looped over and over again to extend that instrumental
solo. Kool Herc did this to provide a means for dancers who attended his parties to
demonstrate their skills.[10] B-boy and b-girl stands for "break-boy" and "break-girl"; b-boys and b-
girls dance to the break of a record.[10] Further influenced by martial arts[11] and gymnastics,
breaking went from being a purely upright dance style—toprock only—to becoming more
floor-oriented.
At the same time that breaking was developing in New York, other styles were being created
in California. The funk styles refer to several street dance styles created in California in the 1970s
such as roboting, bopping, hitting, locking, bustin', popping, boogaloo, strutting, sac-ing, and dime-
stopping.[12] Out of all of these dances, Boogaloo is one of the oldest. It started out as a 1960s
fad dance and was the subject of several songs released during that time such as "Do the Boogaloo"
and "My Baby Likes to Boogaloo". From being a fad, it developed into a street dance style
called Boogaloo in Oakland, CA, as well as a separate music genre called Latin boogaloo. (do the
boogaloo and my baby likes to boogaloo was the released in 1960. Out of these dances, boogaloo is
one of the oldest) The most popular and widely practiced of the funk styles are locking and
popping.[13] The television show Soul Train played a large role in giving these styles commercial
exposure. Both The Lockers and The Electric Boogaloos—dance crews responsible for the
spread of locking and popping—performed on this show.[14]
It is historically inaccurate to say that the funk styles were always considered hip-hop.[15] In an
interview with Racked, Moncell Durden, assistant dance professor at the University of Southern
California, is quoted as saying "Hip-hop dance involves two dances: breaking and social dances.
That's it. Nothing else is hip-hop."[16] The funk styles were adopted into hip-hop in large part due
to the media.[15] The media identified these styles as "breakdance" which caused confusion
about their origin.[17][18] They were created on the west coast independent from breaking and
were originally danced to funk music, rather than hip-hop music.[14][15]
As breaking, locking, and popping gained popularity in the 1980s, hip-hop social dancing (party
dancing) started to develop. Novelty and fad dances such as the Roger Rabbit, the Cabbage Patch,
and the Worm appeared in the 1980s followed by the Humpty dance and the Running Man in the
1990s.[19][note 1] The music of the day was the driving force in the development of these dances. For
example, the 1980s rap group Gucci Crew II had a song called "The Cabbage Patch" that the dance
of the same name was based on.[21] 2000s era social dances include the Cha Cha Slide, the Cat
Daddy, and the Dougie. The previously mentioned dances are a sample of the many that have
appeared since hip-hop developed into a distinct dance style. Like hip-hop music, hip-hop social
dancing continues to change as new songs are released and new dances are created to accompany
them. (for instance, this generations we had the opm? Songs so we created it anew dance step.
That’s’ all the history of hiphop)

Main styles[edit]
Breaking[edit]
Main article: B-boying

A b-boy in an airchair freeze at Street Summit 2006 in Moscow.

Breaking was created in the South Bronx, New York City during the early 1970s.[3] It is the first hip-
hop dance style. At the time of its creation, it was the only hip-hop dance style because Afrika
Bambaataa classified it as one of the five pillars of hip-hop culture along
with MCing (rapping), DJing (turntablism), graffiti writing (bombing), and knowledge.[22][23][24][25] Though
African Americans created breaking,[26][27] Puerto Ricans maintained its growth and
development when it was considered a fad in the late 1970s.[28] In a 2001 interview Richard "Crazy
Legs" Colón, the president of Rock Steady Crew, commented on how Puerto Ricans contributed to
breaking: "I think the difference is when the brothas first started doing [it] and it was at its infancy
they weren't doing acrobatic moves. That didn't come into play until more Puerto Ricans got involved
in the mid 70s. We then took the dance, evolved it and kept it alive. In '79 I was getting dissed. I
would go into a dance and I would get dissed by a lot of brothas who would ask 'Why y'all still doing
that dance? That's played out'. By 79, there were very few African American brothas that was doing
this... We always maintained the flava. It was like a changing of the guard and all we did was add
more flava to something that already existed."[27][29][30] Breaking includes four foundational dances:
toprock, footwork-oriented steps performed while standing up; downrock, footwork performed with
both hands and feet on the floor; freezes, stylish poses done on your hands; and power moves,
complex and impressive acrobatic moves.[31] Transitions from toprock to downrock are called
"drops."[32][33]
Traditionally, breakers dance within a cypher or an Apache Line. A cypher is a circular shaped
dance space formed by spectators that breakers use to perform or battle in.[12][31] Cyphers
work well for one-on-one b-boy or b-girl (break-boy/break-girl) battles; however, Apache
Lines are more appropriate when the battle is between two crews—teams of street dancers.
In contrast to the circular shape of a cypher, competing crews face each other in an Apache
Line, challenge each other, and execute their burns (a move intended to humiliate the
opponent, i.e. crotch grabbing).[34][35][36][37]

Locking[edit]
Main article: Locking
Locking, originally called Campbellocking, was created in 1969 in Los Angeles, California by Don
"Campbellock" Campbell and popularized by his crew The Lockers.[13][38] In addition to Campbell, the
original members of The Lockers were Fred "Mr. Penguin" Berry, Leo "Fluky Luke" Williamson,
Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quiñones, Bill "Slim the Robot" Williams, Greg "Campbellock Jr" Pope,
and Toni Basil, who also served as the group's manager.[39][40][41] At the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance
Championships, Basil became the first female recipient of the Living Legend Award in honor of her
role in giving locking commercial exposure.[42]
Locking looks similar to popping, and the two are frequently confused by the casual observer. In
locking, dancers hold their positions longer. The lock is the primary move used in locking. It
is "similar to a freeze or a sudden pause."[43] A locker's dancing is characterized by
frequently locking in place and after a brief freeze moving again.[13] According to Dance
Spirit magazine, a dancer cannot perform both locking and popping simultaneously; thus, it is
incorrect to call locking "pop-locking".[13][44] While both styles are from Los Angeles, locking and
popping are two distinct funk styles with their own histories, their own set of dance moves, their own
pioneers, and their own competition categories. Locking is more playful and character-driven,
whereas popping is more illusory.[13] In popping, dancers push the boundaries of what they
can do with their bodies.[13] Locking has specific dance moves that distinguish it from popping and
other funk styles. In the 2006 book Total Chaos, hip-hop historian Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon
lists some of these moves which include "the lock, points, skeeter [rabbits], scooby doos, stop 'n go,
which-away, and the fancies."[43] In addition, Lockers commonly use a distinctive dress style
characterized by colorful clothing with stripes and suspenders.[13]

Popping[edit]
Main article: Popping
Popping was derived from the earlier Boogaloo street dance movement taking place in Oakland,
California during the late 1960's, the Boogaloo dance form incorporated techniques of soulful
footwork steps, arm movements, stop-motion animation, the robot, & posing hard - which contracted
muscles during robotic poses to the music of Funk.[45] Throughout the 1960's and 1970's - Boogaloo
groups in Oakland, CA such as One Plus One, the Black Resurgents and the Black Messengers
would help popularize the dance.[46] Early Boogaloo movements would inspire groups throughout the
San Francisco Bay Area and eventually spread to Fresno, California in the 1970s and popularized
by Samuel "Boogaloo Sam" Solomon and his crew the Electric Boogaloos.[13] It is based on the
technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in a dancer's body, referred to
as a pop or a hit. When performed correctly, each hit is synchronized to the rhythm and beats of the
music. Popping is also used as an umbrella term to refer to a wide range of closely related
illusionary dance styles[47] such as strobing, liquid, animation, twisto-flex, and waving.[14][47] Dancers
often integrate these styles with standard popping to create a more varied performance.[note 2]In
all of these subgenres it appears to the spectator that the body is popping. The difference
between each subgenre is how exaggerated the popping is. In liquid, the body movements
look like water. The popping is so smooth that the movements do not look like popping at all;
they look fluid.[14] The opposite of this is strobing (also called ticking) in which the movements are
staccato and jerky.[49]
Popping as an umbrella term also includes gliding.[14][47] Gliding is a lower body dance performed with
little to no movements in the chest or arms. In gliding a dancer appears as if they are drifting across
the floor on ice.[note 3] Opposite from gliding is tutting, an upper body dance that uses the arms, hands,
and wrists to form right angles and create geometric box-like shapes. Tutting can be done primarily
with the fingers rather than the arms. This method is called finger tutting. In both variations the
movements are intricate, linear, and form 90° or 45° angles. In practice, tutting looks like the
characters on the art of ancient Egypt,[50][51][52]:2hence the name—a reference to King Tut.
While popping as an umbrella term is widely used by hip-hop dancers and in competitive hip-hop
dancing, Timothy "Popin' Pete" Solomon of the Electric Boogaloos disagrees with the use of the
word "popping" in this way. Many of these related styles (animation, liquid, tutting, etc.) can not be
traced to one person or group. Solomon states "There are people who wave and there are people
who tut. They're not popping. I say this to give the people who created other styles their just dues
and their props."[13]

Hip-hop is a dance style, usually danced to hip-hop music, that evolved from
the hip-hop culture. The first dance associated with hip-hop was break
dancing. While breakdancing consists primarily of moves executed close to
the ground, the majority of hip-hop moves are performed standing up. What is
hip-hop dance, exactly? Let's begin by learning about the roots of this form of
dance.

Hip-Hop Culture
Hip-hop developed from several cultures including jazz, rock, tap, and
American and Latino cultures. Hip-hop is a very energetic form of
dancing. It is unique in that it allows its dancers to perform with freedom
of movement, adding in their own personalities. The hip-hop culture is
 influenced by the following four elements: disc jockeys, graffiti (art),
MCs (rappers), and B-boys and B-girls.

Get Moving with Hip-Hop Dance

Hip-hop dance steps require skill and experience to perfect. Hip-hop
dancers practice a lot in order to master basic steps and movements
that appear simple when performed. Dancers with a good sense of rhythm
find it easier to learn hip-hop steps.

Breakdancing
Breakdancing is a form of hip-hop that many people enjoy watching, as
it has cool moves and quick spins. Breakdancing moves take a lot of
time and practice to master, particularly the ones performed near the
ground, called "down rock" moves. "Uprock" moves, which are
performed standing up, give breakdancers a chance to incorporate their
own styles. The roots of this dance form began in the 1970s in New York
City -- the South Bronx to be exact.

Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, who belonged to Grandmaster Flash and the

Furious Five is said to have come up with the term in 1978. Learn more about
the history of breakdancing.

Learning Hip-Hop
Hip-hop classes have popped up in dance studios around the country. In fact,
most offer hip-hop dancing along with ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dancing.
Teens are particularly interested in learning how to dance like dancers they
see on MTV and in music videos. Dance teachers have capitalized on this
interest and have started incorporating hip-hop and breakdancing classes into
their curriculums. Many people with roots in hip-hop culture feel that hip-hop
dancing should not be formally "taught." They feel that teaching specific
moves takes away from the originality factor that hip-hop possesses. Still, it
may help you get comfortable if you learn some popular moves like the
Running Man or the Charlie Brown.

Hip Hop Dance is a style of dance with deep historical and social roots in African culture. It’s a part of a
whole culture of Hip Hop, which started in the 1970’s in the Bronx, New York. The History of Hip Hop
Culture. The Bronx in the 70’s was a rough, dangerous place to grow up.

1. The first dance associated with hip-hop was break dancing. While breakdancing consists primarily of
moves executed close to the ground, the majority of hip-hop moves are performed standing up.
2.

Hip Hop Dance is a style of dance with deep historical and social roots in African culture.

It’s a part of a whole culture of Hip Hop, which started in the 1970’s in the Bronx, New York.

The History of Hip Hop Culture

The Bronx in the 70’s was a rough, dangerous place to grow up. The youth were surrounded by
drugs, crime, poverty, gang violence, and overall struggle.

Yet they, particularly the African American and Latino youth (minority groups), were at best
neglected by mainstream institutions.

Desperate for a way to escape their everyday struggles, they invented their own art forms.

These art forms, which the youth embodied in the way they dressed, talked, moved, and expressed
themselves, soon became a lifestyle. A way to live.

This lifestyle and culture became known as Hip Hop.

Despite the negativity and tumult in the South Bronx, Hip Hop heads were able to rise above their
environment and create a positive form of release.

Instead of substances and violence, their energy was redirected to values like originality, creativity,
identity, respect, and community.

The same way that our religious, ethnic, familial backgrounds inform our way of being in the world,
Hip Hop was the way that people could be in a way that felt right to them.

Deejaying, Emceeing, Breaking and Dancing, and Graffiti weren’t just hobbies, they were
sanctuaries.

As much as the art forms within Hip Hop have evolved over the decades, the core tenants of the
culture remain.

What does “Hip Hop” mean?

KRS-One defines the etymology of “Hip Hop” in this lecture below.

“Hip” = present “Hop”= action.

Hip Hop is a movement that represents the freedom to learn, grow, and evolve.

It is still the same movement it was in the 70’s – the one that gave the inner-city youth the motivation
to live a better life.

He stresses that in order for you to be Hip Hop, you must actively participate in the culture by means
of…

Deejaying (turn tabling)

Emceeing (rapping)
Graffiti (writing / art)
Breaking (dance)
Knowledge
These are the 5 elements of Hip Hop.

Hip Hop music and Hip Hop dance

Hip Hop DJs

 Photo by The
Guardian

The first form of Hip Hop was turntablism, or deejaying.

DJ Kool Herc (AKA the “Father of Hip Hop”) used to start block parties in the West Bronx (AKA
the “birthplace of Hip Hop”).

He played music on his turntables and the community would come out to mingle and dance.

If you’ve ever heard of “1520 Sedgwick Avenue” that’s the address of the iconic building where
many of these first parties took place.

As Kool Herc watched the party people, he noticed that they got the most hype during the breakbeat
of a song.

(The breakbeat is the instrumental, percussive section in funk and R&B records.)

And since his job as a DJ was to keep the energy of the party up, he found a way to extend the
breakbeat by isolating it, then using two turntables to play it back to back on a loop.

Grandmaster Flash further innovated the art of DJing by using his headphones to pinpoint exactly
where the beats started and ended.

This allowed him to “precue” the beats and make seamless transitions between the breaks. (Price
156)

Afrika Bambaataa also expanded turntabling techniques.

As this happened, the Master of Ceremonies, or MC, or Emcee, would hype up the DJ and the crowd,
keeping the energy going.

By the late 1970s, DJs and Emcees were getting together regularly to– spin, scratch, cut, mix for the
community.
 Photo by Voices of
East Anglia

Hip Hop dancers

Breaking, later known as “breakdancing,” is a style of dance that was born through these
parties.

Herc originally called these dancers break boys (b-boys) and break girls (b-girls) – because
they danced to his breakbeats that he looped.

Early Breaking also incorporated steps from a standing position and drops to the ground.

It also involved gestures associated with mock-battle forms, and movement on the ground including
spins and freezes.
Footwork and toprock both require being able to think in three dimensions, the ability
to create your own moves, and the originality to imbue every individual movement
with style, flavor, and originality. (Rajakumar 19)

The early b-boys and b-girls came from all kinds of backgrounds of movement.

They brought salsa, Cuban mambo and rumba, Brazilian samba, Jazz dance, as well as martial arts
like Kung-Fu and Capoeira to influence Breaking.

So imagine this scene – a DJ playing breakbeats, dancers (young and angsty) looking to release
emotion or assert their dominance or just be somebody.
The intertwined nature of the DJs and MCs trying to keep the dancers moving on the
dance floor with innovations in music as well as the efforts of the dancers to “one up’
each other contributed to flexible and organic creativity. (Dimitriadis 181)

*Note: Uprocking, also alled Rocking, is a whole dance in itself that came before Breaking. Dancers
that Uprock were called Rockers.

The culture of Breaking

Breaking battles became tests of athleticism, attitude, originality, and dominance.

B-boys and b-girls would dance against each other, trying one-up their opponent with each round.

They earned pride, respect, and a sense of identity and purpose from entering and winning battles.

Dance battles can be seen as a non-violent alternative to violence. Instead of asserting themselves
with weapons or violence, they did so through dance.
The dancers, DJs, and emcees all created an environment where everyone was respected for who they
were and how they expressed themselves.

Hip Hop party dance

But not everybody could do the athletically demanding moves of Breaking, nor were they interested
in competition.

And a different type of Hip Hop music prompted people to move a different way – a way that is
social, light-hearted, and fun.

Some examples of these social or party dance moves are the Snake, Chicken-head, Cabbage Patch,
Harlem Shake, and Running Man.

The Happy Feet was an iconic move in the 1980s, always danced to the rap song “The Show” to get
the party started.

As the dance scene expanded, multiple Hip Hop clubs sprang up all over New York. Two popular
ones were Latin Quarters and Union Square.

The Whip, Nae Nae, Dougie, Cat Daddy are examples of new school party dances that came from
recent songs. (Brandon Allen Juezan, Versa-Style Dance Company)

You can learn all these Hip Hop party dance moves with Jade “Soul” Zuberi on STEEZY Studio.
Click here to try it out for free.

Hip Hop culture and dance reminded those in the city that their differences – the color of their skin,
their background, their socioeconomic status – didn’t matter. That music and dance were for anyone
and everyone.

Other “Hip Hop” styles?

Styles like Popping/Boogaloo, House, Locking, and Waacking are often incorrectly grouped under
the Hip Hop “umbrella.”
However, these are not Hip Hop styles, but their own individual styles of dance with their own
techniques, vocabulary, and origin.

The social dances that developed in the 1980’s like Locking and Popping are more accurately
described as “West Coast Funk” styles.