Early History of Hip Hop Dance
Hip hop dancing officially begun in New York City during the late 1960s and early 70s. Individuals without professional dance training brought dancing to the streets. A dance form for the people and not for the training institutes. Hip hop moves were inspired by complex rhythms and natural movement style of African dancing. All African dancing is in hip hop, this dance style is really in a class of its own when it comes to improvisation. The roots of hip hop on the East Coast are widely known, but there is also a West Coast hip hop history from where most well-known hip hop moves originated.
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.
Every hip hop move you see nowadays is from Old School Hip Hop. That’s the beauty of dance; it evolves from one move to another. So here are 5 iconic hip hop dance moves you need to know:
1. The Prep
You got to groove with your attitude when you’re doing The Prep. This is all about your upper body– arms and shoulders. What best about this move is that you really get to play with it in terms of energy, levels and speed.
2. The Cabbage Patch
It’s one of the most recognizable hip hop dance move that came from the 90’s. It came from a song called The Cabbage Patch from the 80’s. This move uses your legs, arms and core so keep the Cabbage Patch alive! Everybody has done the Cabbage Patch one time or another!
3. The Running Man
The Hungry Caterpillar or The Running Man aka originated in the late 80’s, but thanks to Miss Janet Jackson, everyone embraced it in the 90’s. Give it a try and if you really want to get into it, put on Rhythm Nation and pretend like you’re part of the music video! This is a really good cardio move which is so easy.
4. The Humpty Dance
This is a personal favour. If you haven’t heard the song yet, please do yourself a favour and find it on internet. Now that you’re all caught up, this song is MY JAM. I love when Ashley incorporates this move in her Old School Hip Hop workouts. You cross your legs and then in a squat, thrust like there’s no tomorrow. It’s the silliest dance, but you will enjoy it very much.
5. The Butterfly
Now this is the mother of hip hop dance moves– The Butterfly. You’ll see other genres use this as well. You can do so much with this hip hop dance move. You just need to bring in one knee towards the other and vice versa. It’s real easy to add personal flare with your arms and upper body. If you do this move long enough, your legs will be feeling the burn.
There are so many innovators in the dance form it’s hard to keep track of them. Famous names include Dan Karaty, Brian Friedman, Chucky Klapow, Robert Hoffman, Michael Jackson (early adopter and memorable moves), Comfort Fedoke, Witch Boss, Soulja Boy, Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer, and Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo
Hip-hop styles differ in different parts of the world. We see mixed opinions about hip-hop in society. But on the whole, hip-hop dance has managed to gain a huge fan following. The hip-hop moves and the rocking hip-hop numbers are bound to enchant one and all.