10 STEPS TO LEARN TO DANCE HIP HOP AT HOME
Hip hop is a dance style related to a cultural movement that was born in the early 1970s in the United States of America. This cultural movement emerged as a reaction to conflicts and needs experienced in social neighborhoods, namely neighborhoods with black and Latino people in the suburbs of New York. The groups organized themselves in gangs in these streets, with the purpose of living some leisure moments. With the appearance of cars with powerful sound equipment, street parties began to appear, where “battles” took place as a method of competition between the gangs. Hip hop dancing is seen as a manifestation of this movement: it started in the Bronx County, moving to Harlem and Brooklyn until it became an always fashionable dance worldwide.
Nowadays it is men who are most in demand for this style of dancing. However, women are also increasingly being captivated, especially among the younger population. Today, there are also “battles” – competitions – between different hip hop dance groups. Many people want to learn to dance at home without going to classes and academies, and now it is possible thanks to the popularity of this dance style and everything that is made available to everyone in technological and social media.
- The Basics – increasing sound and comfort
The first step in learning to dance hip hop is to choose a song by some artist who performs this variant of music. Concentration on the music is fundamental: it is important to turn up the volume to maximum and feel all the beats of the music.
To start practicing hip hop steps, it is also important to choose a practical and comfortable outfit. Also the footwear has to be light, so that the steps can flow.
- The body posture
To dance hip hop, relaxation is also an important element: being tense will not help at all. As far as posture goes for a beginner, it is to stand with feet shoulder-width apart. This way it is possible to have greater freedom of movement. Keeping your arms alongside your body is also a good tip: this helps to avoid crossing your arms or having some kind of nervous “tic” with your hands.
- Start moving
One of the things that hip hop asks in regards to body movement, is that the person knows how to move their hips and get into the rhythm. It will be important to get excellent movement both forward and backward as required by the beat. This is the first step towards some more radical movements.
It is also important to emphasize especially for beginners, that dancing hip hop is not just about imitating other steps or artists. The most guaranteed way to do it, comes down to relaxation and relaxation in the movements being done.
- Dance steps: dougie and stanky leg
There are some basic hip hop dance steps, which then allow evolution to some more complex ones. The Dougie, for example consists of moving the shoulders and arms from left to right. The Stanky Leg consists of stretching one leg out and rotating it, and can also be done in the opposite direction.
These two dance steps are the simplest and allow beginners to get a feel for how to start dancing hip hop.
- A more complicated step
Breakdance is also a variant of hip hop, which is why some steps are common. One of the most classic steps is to put your hands on the floor and rotate one of your legs around your body. This more complex step requires its practitioners to raise their hands and jump, so that the rotating leg does not hit anywhere on the body.
- The movement of the feet
Agility in the feet is fundamental to hip hop. The basic T-step is the most usual for beginners; however, it’s with the beat of the music and letting yourself go with the beat that you get the most positive results. There are several ways to combine the feet with the rest of the body movement.
- The famous Moonwalk
It was Michael Jackson who introduced this well-known movement into dance culture, with the music video for the single “Thriller”. This step already requires some practice and work: sliding the feet while moving backwards. Nowadays, many artists use this step, if only for a few moments.
- Observe the real artists
Nowadays, there are more and more artists in the music world with hip hop culture. It is not only in English music that these artists stand out, but also in Italian or French music. A good idea is to watch the video clips of these artists and understand some of their movements. As mentioned before, hip hop is not all about imitation; however, it is possible to learn something from other artists.
- Information available on the Internet
On Youtube, for example, there are lots of videos of choreographers teaching step-by-step how to dance hip hop. Also on the Internet there are several websites and tutorials that provide all the information on hip hop culture and some advice to follow.
- With effort everything is possible
There are people who will adapt more easily to dance. Others need more time and more training to succeed. The important thing is not to give up and to be as dedicated as possible: let your body move and flow to the rhythm of hip hop music.
