Hip Hop Dancing

The Start of Hip Hop Dancing

Hip hop dancing itself is defined as many different dance styles, primarily “street dance” that is performed to hip hop music. Just as the hip hop culture has evolved, so has its dance moves. However, the style can usually be categorized into two basic genres or time frames.

Old School

Starting in the 1970s, old school hip hop included street funk and break dancing. In fact, many consider break dancing to be the very first form of hip hop dance. During the 1980s, funk dance evolved and distinct and recognizable moves such as popping and locking developed. Old school hip hop dancing is still cherished today within many dance circles, as vintage is always cool and shows that a dancer is proficient in more than one style of technique. Old school hip hop also thrives in urban environments, with new generations of young hip hoppers taking to the streets with these classic moves.

New School

With the dawn of the 1990s, hip hop music developed new rhythms and styles, and the dance moves changed right along with it. Some describe the new school hip hop dancing as more “aggressive” and methodical in its movements, while also including such signature moves like krumping.

When you watch a music video on TV, chances are you are checking out some well choreographed new school hip hop dancing. What was once considered “ghetto” is now credited as mainstream, and many of today’s up and coming dancers wouldn’t be where they are today without some excellent new school hip hop training.

New school hip hop also is performed in competition form, infiltrating throughout the nation as a popular dance form. The World Hip Hop Championships is one great example of these competitions. It is considered to be the largest and most orchestrated hip hop dance competiton in the United States.

Juste Debout is another large scale competition, as it features new school hip hop on an international level. This street dance competition is traditionally held each year in Paris, and includes various categories for both hip hop and break dancing.

Studio Dance

Almost every dance studio offers some form of hip hop dance training. Depending upon the style chosen, a dancer may experience a varied curriculum from one studio to the next. The tricky part of offering hip hop in a formal studio environment is that teachers have such varied styles that there is no “correct” way to teach this genre of dance. Many instructors include improvisation and other dance styles such as jazz when they are choreographing a routine. For this reason, hip hop purists sometimes scoff at the idea of studio-taught street dance.

However, hip hop has made it big in the formal dance school environment, and has become a great outlet and source of exercise for many who don’t have the discipline or interest for something as refined and strict as ballet. Hip hop allows plenty of room for personal expression, which makes it exceptionally popular with teens and twenty somethings.

Hip hop dancing continues to capture the hearts of individuals across the country, and its creative array of styles and techniques makes it all that much more inviting. If you are interested in learning basic moves, contact your local recreation center or dance studio, where a class is usually available.