The Key Components of Hip Hop Dance

Hip hop dance has three important components, namely freestyling, ciphers and battles. Its basic moves are mostly improvisational or freestyle in nature. To show their moves, dancers commonly engage in formal sessions, which are also called battles. These sessions are usually held in a dance area known as a cipher. To win in battles, dancers practice choreographed moves in outside spaces and studios.

The Main Styles of Hip Hop Dance

In order to dance hip hop, one should learn different kinds of basic moves like the popping, locking and breaking, which are considered the most established as well as oldest dance styles. The development of breaking as a dance move can be attributed to the African Americans who lived within the Bronx area in New York during the early parts of the 1970s. It is basically made up of four types of dances, namely the downrock, footrock, power move and freeze.

Also called Campbellocking, locking was developed by Don Campbell. He introduced this style to the hip hop dancers of Los Angeles in the 1970s. It is a funk style characterized by freezing or holding a position longer than usual.

A dance style developed by Sam Solomon, popping was introduced by the dance group Electric Boogaloos at Fresno in California in the 1970s. It is composed of popular lower body dance moves such as sliding, floating as well as gliding. Tutting, an upper body move that uses wrists, hands and arms to make right angles, is also used in popping.

The Popularity of Hip Hop Dance

Dance competitions popularized hip hop dance in various countries. Battle of the Championship was first held in 1990 in Germany. It is an exclusive contest for dancers who are knowledgeable about breakdancing. This competition became famous when it was featured in the motion picture “Planet B-Boy.”

Another popular contest participated by many outstanding and excellent hip hop dancers in the world today is the UK B-Boy Championships, which stated in London in 1996. Four titles are awarded in this competition, namely the locking 2-on-2 champions, the breaking crew champions, the solo popping champion and the solo b-boy champion.

More Points on Hip Hop Dance

The introduction of hip hop dance has effects on the dance industry in general. One of these is the continuous development of studio hip hop, which is a dance type commonly seen in R&B, rap concerts and music videos. Aside from this, its popularity led to the development of interesting dance competitions like the B-Boy Summit, which is commonly held in California. Until today, this dance type is still recognized as a highly enjoyable form of exercise because it is helpful in developing muscles, specifically in the abdominal region.