Hip Hop Dances

Hip hop dances comprise numerous styles, moves and methods. It remains a fundamental aspect of urban culture, moving its way out from the street to the clubs to the mainstream. Let's look at the most popular hip hop dances and their history (as well as where to find dance lessons and videos).

The three most popular hip hop dances are breaking, locking and popping. Breaking originated in the Bronx, New York in the early 1970's and is based upon four signature dance moves: the toprock, which are footwork moves executed standing up; downrock, dance moves performed on the ground; freezes, where the dancer pauses while performing a handstand or during a downrock; and power moves, which are acrobatic feats performed at any time of a dance. When breaking in a battle two opposing teams face off against each other in what is known as an Apache Line.

Locking was developed on the west coast by a Los Angeles crew named The Lockers. Unlike Popping- which focuses on fluid dance steps and ground work- Locking is based upon a series of pauses known as locks (a longer held version of the freeze), where the dancer holds his lock before erupting back into the dance move, only to perform a new lock shortly after. Robot dancing is closely related to locking.

The third style is Popping, which began in Fresno, CA. To Pop means to create a jerk in the body that corresponds to the beat. Like breaking, there are two hip hop dances that fit into this dance style; gliding, which focuses on smooth footwork to appear like the dancer is gliding; and tutting, which involves upper body dance moves that incorporate shapes with the arms, shoulders and head.

For anyone interested in hip hop dances, there are several online tutorials and videos that can help, regardless of your current ability. MikesMoves is a website that offers dance videos on a number of styles, including the Moonwalk, Popping, Crip Walk and the Glide. Their beginner videos are free, while the more advanced tutorials are a few dollars each. They provide both text and video dance lessons.

Another online dance school is the Hip Hop Dance Spot, which also includes a variety of dance moves you can bust out the next time you're in the club. Check out these two sites and start stepping up your dance moves!