If you’ve ever watched a dance competition like So You Think You Can Dance or just a music video, you’ve probably seen some hip hop moves. This popular dance style is incredibly diverse, and it’s fun to watch both the professionals and amateurs alike perform it. It’s also a great way to exercise, and it can be enjoyed by people of all ages and body types.
Hip hop dance was first popularized in the 1960s and 1970s when individuals without formal dancing training brought their own movement styles to the streets. These street styles incorporated complex rhythms and the down-to-earth movement style of African dancing to create a new form of expression that has come to be known as hip hop. Today, hip hop dance is offered in many dance studios and is a major feature in television shows and movies. It has spread to the point where dancers around the world practice it, and hip hop dance crews compete on major TV networks and streaming services.
Some of the most common forms of hip hop dance include breaking, popping, locking, krumping and freestyle. Breaking is a competitive dance that involves a mix of turns, spins, foot shuffles, hand gestures called burns and other movements that are done to the beat of hip hop music. It’s a highly expressive and athletic form of dance that requires dedication and practice to master.
Other styles of hip hop dance are popping and locking, which involve quick contractions of the muscles to create a “jerking” effect in the body. Freestyle is a fluid and acrobatic form of dance that blends many different styles of hip hop. Finally, krumping is an energetic and forceful form of hip hop that requires pure power and strength to master.
