Hip Hop dancing could not exist without Hip Hop music. The beginning of Hip Hop music dates back to the 1970's in NYC, when a mixer called Kool DJ Herc took two identical records and played one behind the other on two turntables, extending the break (part of a song where all sounds fall away except for the drums). He would make announcements to the dancers, who would take on the dancefloor when the break was coming on. This is where the term breakdancer comes from!
Meanwhile, on the West coast of the United States, there was a new cultural movement known as funk. Don Campbell started a dance phenomenon known as Locking (which started as a joke, as we know, and has a mannequin-like feel) and formed a group called The Lockers who appeared on TV multiple times. Boogaloo Sam from the Electric Boogaloo Lockers started a style known as Popping, who took inspiration in popular alien and robot movies from the time. These two are known as funkstyles (locking & popping) and wanted to replicate the movement of artificial life.
East Coast and West Coast dance styles became fused by the media in the 1980s because of the music that was common between them. But each dance form had a different musical influence, dress code and terminology. Today, HIP HOP is an umbrella term for all these styles, and some choreographers blend them together, while some performers specialize in one particular form.
Even though Hip Hop dancing started in the street, it has influences from modern dance, tap, swing, African dances and even martial arts. There is a battle culture that has existed since the beginning. When good dancers were noticed, the cypher or circle was naturally created by the other people and an unexpected competition would take place.
PC: photo from https://vanhoaduongpho.com/
|