Disco Dance Steps

Over the years disco dance steps have gone from being simple improvised moves on a club dance floor to highly competitive, judged performances for world dance titles. At its roots, though, the dance is a very basic and social dance.

Any dance instructor, when asked to teach a few disco steps, will most likely start with some form of the "Hustle." The Hustle was a form of line dance based around salsa-style footwork and became popular in the New York and Florida club scenes in the 1970s. One of the peculiarities of it was the count – even though the music was almost always in 4/4 time, the dance started on the "and of three". In other words, the dancers were counting "and - one – two – three" instead of "one – two – three – four".

The dance became extremely popular when a song called "The Hustle" by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony hit number one on the charts in 1975. Variations of the hustle, with other dance steps and arm motions added, began spreading around the clubs as well. Other line dances such as the Continental Walk and the Bus Stop were basically versions of the original Hustle but with the dancers turning to repeat steps in four different directions sequentially. A version of this merengue-based group dance is still very popular: the Electric Slide.

Most of these dances were popular on the east coast of the United States, but that changed in 1978 with the release of Saturday Night Fever, the movie starring John Travolta. This mega-hit spread the popularity of the Hustle and its variants all over the world. It also added yet another version, the "tango hustle", created specifically for the film but turning into a very popular two-person dance, taking it out of the group formations.

Suddenly teachers at dance studios all over were teaching and improving on all sorts of disco dance steps and variations. Some, like Steve Rebello, developed the choreography into a lead-follow style of social dance like the tango or salsa. Others focused more on the line dance aspects, coming up with long series of steps to be memorized and performed with a minimum of improvisation or personal style. Eventually the Hustle became so canonized that it became a competitive ballroom dance form, one of the Latin Dances with elaborate costumes and showmanship.

While it may sound complicated, you do not have to be a professional dancer or take lessons forever in order to enjoy disco. The fact is that the basic steps are almost comically easy because the dance is intended to be social – a flirtatious and sensual interplay of people, with the relationship between them the most important part. Two types of steps will get you started: the step-touch and the retro hustle.

This very basic step is the basis for many, many dance steps, and can be done forever as long as you look like you're having fun.

1. Stand with feet together, weight evenly distributed.
2. Step the right foot about shoulder's width off to the right side, letting the weight come down on that foot fully.
3. Bring the left foot next to the right, but don't put weight on it; just "touch" the side of the right foot.
4. Step the left foot out to the left, again about shoulder's width. Let your weight shift onto it.
5. Bring the right foot in and "touch" the side of the right foot, with no weight coming down on it.
6. Go back to step 2 and repeat through the song.

The other step, the "retro hustle," is basically the same kind of step, but with the foot doing the "touch" crossing over the planted foot and touching the floor on the outside (instead of the inside) before moving back.

The arms in either of these should just swing naturally at first, with the occasional dip of the shoulder to emphasize the motion in accordance with the music. Remember that the point of disco is not just to show off, but to have fun, whether you are John Travolta or just a newbie taking your first steps on the floor.

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