College of Saint John Paul (Ii) Arts and Sciences: History of Hip Hop Dance

COLLEGE OF SAINT JOHN PAUL (II)
ARTS AND SCIENCES

College of Arts and Sciences
History Of Hip Hop Dance
Hip-hop dance is a unique and exciting style of street dance that is most commonly
performed to hip-hop music. Hip-hop dance is a vibrant form of dance that combines a
variety of freestyle movements to create a cultural piece of art. Through its three main
styles of popping, locking, and breaking, hip-hop dance has evolved into one of the
most popular and influential styles of dance.
Greeley dance studio, A Dance Place, enjoys teaching hip-hop dance because of its
more laid back style that allows dancers to let loose and worry less about technique and
more about expressing themselves through their movement and their music. With more
upbeat music, hip-hop dance creates a different level of fun and creativity.
Where It All Began
Hip-hop dance began during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, originally inspired by the
movements of African dancing, and flourished as a new style of dance performed on the
street for the people. Hip-hop incorporates aspects of modern dance, tap, and swing,
integrating music and complex movements to form artistry.
The early history and roots of hip-hop dance are most often associated with its
beginning on the East Coast, specifically New York City. But the West Coast also
formed its own style of the East Coast hip-hop dance around the same time.
East Coast hip-hop began with the unique rhythmic combinations created by Kool DJ
Herc, a Jamaican DJ who moved to Brooklyn at the age of 12 and quickly became one
of the most popular DJ’s of New York City. DJ Herc ingeniously thought to extend dance
sections of songs to create better opportunities to showcase the breaking movements of
dancers.
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West Coast hip-hop took the dance style from the East Coast and made it its own,
transforming some of the frozen moves and making them more robotic. The West Coast
was also where two of modern hip-hop’s most iconic styles, popping and locking, were
born.
GENERAL
• Battle A competition in which dancers, usually in an open circle surrounded by
their competitors, dance their routines, whether improvised (freestyle) or planned.
Participants vary in numbers, ranging from one on one to battles of opposing
breaking crews, or teams. Winners are determined by outside judges, often with
prize money.
• Cypher Open forum, mock exhibitions. Similar to battles, but less emphasis on
competition.
• Freestyle Improvised Old School routine.
• Hip Hop A lifestyle that is comprised of 4 elements: Breaking, MCing, DJing,

and Graffiti. Footwear and clothing are part of the hip hop style. Much of it is
influenced by the original breaking crews in the 1980’s from the Bronx. Sneakers
are usually flat soled and may range from Nike, Adidas, Puma, or Converse.
Generally, caps are worn for spins, often with padding to protect the head. To
optimize the fast footwork and floor moves, the baggy pants favored by hip hop
rappers are not seen. o Breaking Breakdancing. o MCing Rapping. MC uses
rhyming verses, pre‐written or freestyled, to introduce and praise the DJ or excite
the crowd. o DJing Art of the disk jockey. o Graffiti Name for images or
lettering scratched, scrawled, painted usually on buildings, trains etc.
• Hip Hop dance There are two main categories of hip-hop dance: Old
School and New School. • New School hip hop dance newer forms of hip-hop
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music or dance (house, krumping, voguing, street jazz) that emerged in the
1990s
• • Old-School hip-hop dance original forms of hip-hop music or dance (breaking,

popping, and locking) that evolved in the 1970s and 80s.
BREAKING
• Breaking Also known as breakdancing, b‐boying and b‐girling. A street
dance style normally danced to funk or hip-hop music, often remixed to prolong
the breaks, and is arguably the best known of all hip-hop dance styles. Breaking
originated in the South Bronx in the early 1970’s. It includes both top rock
(standing dance steps) and down rock (sequences on the ground), incorporating
extreme gymnastic power moves and freezes.
• B‐boy The term b‐boy was started by DJ Kool Herc, who would yell “B‐boys
go down”. The “B” may stand for Beat, Boogie, Bronx, or Break. A male breaker
(dancer) who practices breaking or b‐boying.
• B‐girl A female breaker (dancer).
• Down rock More acrobatic and akin to gymnastics, encompasses all

moves performed with hands, arms, or a part of the torso involving contact with
the floor. Usually transition into more athletic moves known as power moves.
Steps include: 6‐step, drop, CC, kick out, spin, swipe, suicide, freeze, and power
moves.
o Freeze Halt of all motion in a stylish pose. Usually require

the breakdancer to suspend himself or herself off the ground using upper
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body strength in poses such as the handstand or pike. Freezes include

baby, airbaby, airchair, hollowback, and side freeze.
o Power Moves Refers to moves that require momentum and

physical power to execute. Involves weight bearing and propulsion on
upper extremities and/or head. They include windmill, swipe, helicopter,
and flare.
o Six‐step One of the fundamental steps of breaking. Downrock

usually begins with six‐step, which is a circular footwork sequence.
o Spin A fundamental element of breaking. Spins may occur on

the back, elbow, head, etc. Usually, breakers wear a hat with padding
inside it for head spins. o Suicides A type of end to a routine. Breakers
make it appear they have lost control and fall onto their backs, stomachs,
etc. The more painful the Suicide appears, the more impressive it is.
• Toprock Rhythmic steps performed from a standing position. Often a prelude to

downrock. Steps include kickstep, kickstep cross, kickstep out, kickstep twist,
kneejerk, etc.
• Uprock Competitively oriented type of toprock consisting of foot shuffles, spins,

turns, and creative movements
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HOUSE
• House Style of street dance danced to house music. It's improvisational
in nature and emphasizes fast and complex footwork combined with fluid
movements in the torso. Prime elements of house are jacking, footwork, and
lofting. These elements are influenced by soul, rhythm and blues, and funk disco
which in turn are have roots in tap, jazz, bebop, salsa, and Capoeira. Styles
include skating, stomping, and shuffling. Step names include: heel‐toe kick,
sweepstep back, farmer, hook.
o Jacking Moving the torso forward and backward in a
rippling motion, like a wave passing through it.
POPPING / LOCKING
• Boogaloo A more loose and fluid style that gives the impression of the
body having no bones. Incorporated strutting. Primarily involves the Boogaloo
roll – these can start at the neck and go down or from bottom and go up.
• Locking Originally called Campbellocking, it is a style of street dance. Locking

relies on fast and distinct arm and hand movements combined with more relaxed
hips and legs. The movements are generally large and exaggerated, and often
very rhythmic and tightly synched with the music. Moves include: point, stop and
go, Scooby walk, which‐a‐way, and skeeter rabbit.
• Popping A standing dance style based on the technique of quickly contracting

and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or
a hit. This was influenced by miming, strutting, and 60’s dances like the twist and
jerk. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with
various movements and poses. It is also often used as an umbrella term to
include Locking, Tutting, Boogaloo, Crazy legs, Robot/botting, and Miming. Steps
include: Fresno, inverted knees, skeeters, Jason, Which‐a‐ways, scoop,
kneedrop, twist‐o‐ flex, walk‐out.
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• Strutting A precursor to popping and boogaloo. Included moves like

walkout and twist‐o‐flex.

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COLLEGE OF SAINT JOHN PAUL (II)

ARTS AND SCIENCES

History Of Hip Hop Dance

Where It All Began

• Freestyle Improvised Old School routine.

• Hip Hop A lifestyle that is comprised of 4 elements: Breaking, MCing, DJing,

• • Old-School hip-hop dance original forms of hip-hop music or dance (breaking,

• B‐girl A female breaker (dancer).

• Down rock More acrobatic and akin to gymnastics, encompasses all

o Freeze Halt of all motion in a stylish pose. Usually require

body strength in poses such as the handstand or pike. Freezes include

o Power Moves Refers to moves that require momentum and

o Six‐step One of the fundamental steps of breaking. Downrock

o Spin A fundamental element of breaking. Spins may occur on

• Toprock Rhythmic steps performed from a standing position. Often a prelude to

• Uprock Competitively oriented type of toprock consisting of foot shuffles, spins,

• Locking Originally called Campbellocking, it is a style of street dance. Locking

• Popping A standing dance style based on the technique of quickly contracting

• Strutting A precursor to popping and boogaloo. Included moves like

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