Hip-Hop Dance

If you’ve ever watched the television reality show, “So, You Think You Can Dance,” you know a little bit about hip-hop, because it’s one of the dance styles they use in the competition. If you haven’t seen the show, but you live in an urban area where teens get together and do street dancing, then you’ve seen hip-hop. It’s usually performed to pop, funk or hip-hop music, an up-beat style with rapping (passionate speaking, rhymed and punctuated by the beat).

Hip-hop is extremely popular with all teens, but especially with blacks and Hispanics. It originated in New York City back in the 1970s and the music is an evolved form of disc-jockey talk-overs (speaking over a playing record). The dance evolved from informal street dancing, also known as breakdancing, and involves extremely rhythmic and athletic movements such as hand-stands, head-stands, spinning, kicking, hopping and stomping with head, arm and hand motions. All these movements require a highly developed sense of balance and coordination, in addition to an extremely physically fit body.

Hip-hop dancing has become so popular all over the world that dance studios are offering classes in hip-hop techniques and there are several competitions held for hip-hop dancers to display their unique talents. Professional hip-hop dancers suggest that anyone attempting the dance warm up first, since it is an intense physical work-out. The warm up is done is several stages, beginning with the head and neck and working through all the muscle groups. You then will do a short cardio, followed by some stretching. Now, you’re limbered up and ready to dance!