58 Remarkable Hip-Hop Dance Facts For Aspiring Dancers

Hip-hop dance is a type of art form where people dance to the beats of music in a specific way.

Hip-hop dancing came into being by taking reference from different dance forms that were prevalent in the '70s. Rocking and bouncing the body is one of the most distinctive moves in this type of dance.

The hip-hop culture comprises four pillars. They are DJing, rapping, graffiti, and break dancing. This culture is influenced by both Latin and American cultures. The culture also draws references from a variety of other dance forms like tap, rock, and jazz.

It was in the '00s that hip-hop dance gained a global reach. This dance spread to people through social media. The platforms that were instrumental for the outreach of hip hop are MySpace, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, and Worldstarhiphop.

Nowadays, hip-hop is danced and taught all around the world. There are various hip-hop dance classes in almost every city on earth. Even though most of these hip-hop dance classes are now closed due to the pandemic, you can still learn about this dance in this article!

Types Of Hip-Hop Dance

It is a common misconception that hip-hop dance is a singular dance style in itself. The fact is that hip-hop dance refers to a range of dance styles.

Categorically, hip-hop dance can be classified into two main derivative styles - street dance and studio dance. Let us look at a few more facts about the different types of hip-hop dance styles.

B-boying was one of the first hip-hop dance forms.

B-boying is a type of street dance.

B-boying is also known as break dancing.

Footwork, acrobatics, and upright moves constitute the foundation of b-boying.

There is a move in breakdance that is called the 'freeze'. This is used by people to punctuate a dance choreography.

Dancers who engage in b-boying are called b-boys and b-girls.

Locking is a style of hip-hop dance that makes use of fast moves, accentuated gestures, and sharp pauses. This makes the hip-hop dancers look like they are locking and unlocking parts of their bodies while dancing.

Popping is another type of hip-hop dance that uses counter-tempo.

Popping is also characterized by bouncing.

Locking and popping are often closely associated with one another and may be used together while engaging in hip-hop dance.

Another form of hip-hop dance is funk. In this style, hip-hop dancers alternate between sharp and fluid dance moves.

Funk is a mixture of soul and disco dance forms.

Funk can also incorporate a lot of locking and popping in its routines.

The funk dance form is generally heavily choreographed with a lot of moves.

Jazz-funk is another form of dance that fuses funk styles with jazz.

Up rock is another dance form when it comes to hip-hop dancing.

The purpose of up rock is to make the choreography look and feel soulful.

Up rock is characterized by shuffles, hand gestures, spins, jerks, and freestyle dance moves.

Liquid dance in hip-hop is the style that looks like a flow or a liquid movement.

Liquid dance focuses mostly on the hands.

In some liquid dance routines, dancers can make use of pantomime.

Pantomime is the method of making your movements theatrical.

Hip-hop dance also comprises Boogaloo, which requires the body of the dancer to move smoothly.

Boogaloo is characterized by the rolling of knees, hips, and heads.

Reggae has Latin influences.

Reggae is a dance form similar to Reggae music, which has undergone considerable evolution over time.

Reggae's Latin influences are mixed with more traditional moves of hip hop to complete this dance style.

The lyrical style of hip-hop is focused on storytelling.

This hip-hop dance style puts more focus on the lyrics of the song rather than the music.

The flexibility of lyrical dance makes it more interpretative than other hip-hop dances.

Stepping is a hip-hop dance that is done in groups.

Stepping requires the dancer to make use of their body parts as percussion.

Stepping includes spoken words, steps or stomping, clapping, and slapping.

Krumping is another style of hip-hop dancing.

Krumping makes use of amplified movements that are free and energetic.

This dance aims to be expressive in a raw yet non-aggressive manner.

Jerking is another style that is popular for being a group dance.

In jerking, people use their legs to show jerking movements.

House is a significant type of hip-hop since it is characterized by hip-hop social dancing.

House dance usually makes use of loud hip-hop music, like at parties.

House dance evolved from house music, which was prevalent in New York and Chicago's underground scene.

Urban is a type of hip-hop that draws inspiration from multiple other dance styles like house, locking, breaking, popping, and more.

Old school, also known as 'old skool', is a type of hip-hop that is considered to be the original style of this dance.

The History Of Hip-Hop Dance

The history of hip-hop dance traces back to the late '60s. Many people and various events transpired to make hip-hop what it is today. Hip-hop is a dance that is more than half a century old.

Hip-hop was popularized as a dance in 1970 when the first professional crew of street dancers performed in the United States of America. The rest is history. Here are a few interesting facts and dates regarding how hip-hop originated.

This dance was first brought to life by African Americans who were living in New York. As a result, the dance has its roots in African American culture.

Street styles of hip-hop came into being before studio styles.

Hip-hop activist, Afrika Bambaataa and Richard Colón, who is a b-boy, advocate that breaking is the purest form of hip-hop.

They say it began in 1970 with James Brown dancing to his own song named 'Get On The Good Foot'.

Richard Colón made movie appearances in the '80s. The movies were 'Beat Street' and 'Wild Style'.

B-boying started as a dance that made use of footwork while standing upright. Later, it incorporated influences from gymnastics and martial arts.

In 1977, two b-boys from Bronx, Santiago 'Jo Jo' Torres and Jamie 'Jimmy D' White, formed the Rock Steady Crew.

In 1983, the Rock Steady Crew performed in the Royal Variety Performance in front of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Rock Steady Crew released their own song called '(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew' in 1984.

Although this hip-hop song was not a rap song, it had a little amount of rap in it.

The history of hip-hop dance is closely associated with the history of hip-hop music. It was during the evolution of hip-hop songs that various hip-hop dance forms were dedicated out of breaking and funk styles.

Unique Features Of Hip-Hop Dance

With the rich history that is associated with hip-hop dance, the art form also comes with a bag full of unique and interesting tidbits. For starters, the hip-hop culture originally started with hip-hop music. The dance forms emerged later. Keep reading to explore the unique features of hip-hop dance.

A lot of the dance forms in hip-hop culture are derived from funk.

Moves like the Cabbage Patch, the Worm, and The Running Man were all derived from funk.

Hip-hop culture contains other factors apart from dance.

Hip-hop is a type of dance that is accessible to everyone irrespective of their age, height, weight, looks, gender, color, creed, religion, or other features.

Hip-hop's universal nature makes it easy for anyone to learn the art.

This makes hip-hop the most popular form of dance.

Hip-hop encourages dancers to study the music.

People with a good sense of rhythm and musicality are more likely to be good dancers.

Even though this dance can be learned by anyone, it is difficult to master the art. It takes years of hard work, perseverance, and practice to excel at it.

Fun Facts About Hip-Hop Dance

What good is dancing if you do not add a little fun to it? After all, we dance to make our hearts happy; we dance to let go of stress; we dance to escape the bothers of the world.

Did you know that the dance was made popular by a DJ named Kool Herc? Read on to learn more fun facts about this dance form.

After the rise of the art form, more and more people began taking over the dance floor at parties.

Hip-hop has always been non-violent. The participants may engage in dance battles as part of a friendly or competitive dance-off.

Michael Jackson, who is known as the 'King of Pop', got inspired by hip-hop dancers.

The American television show 'Soul Train' showcased dancers, especially poppers and lockers, who inspired Michael Jackson.

Jackson Five's music inspired the robotics style of dance.