*disclaimer: The dance knowledge section is based on our current observations, research, and/or interviews. What we write here is merely just to shed some light onto the subject to those interested in learning about these topics. We encourage you to also do your own research and search for the truth yourselves! We will continue to update these with every bit of information we can find. If you’d like to contribute to any of these sections, feel free to contact us. Enjoy!

Mid 80′s – early 90′s
Dance driven songs like Gucci II Crew’s “The Cabbage Patch” and B Fats’ “Woppit”, set the tone. The party dances being done to Hip-Hop music gave birth to Hip-Hop Dance. Later years, there were moves like the Running Man, Roger Rabbit, Criss Cross, among many others. Reggae dances also had an influence on Hip-Hop dance with moves like the Butterfly, Bogle, and Pepper Seed.

Music during the golden era of Hip-Hop which used a lot more funk, soul, and jazz samples gave it that sound and vibe that also brought a new energy in the dance. Outside of the party dances, the way dancers freestyled to hip-hop during this era gave the dance that raw identity that I will never forget when I first saw it.

In the New York Area, one of the groups most noted as pioneers of Hip-Hop dance, is the group Elite Force, also known as The Mop Tops. There were dancers like Misfits, and Wiseguys, who were also well-known Hip-Hop dancers of that time. The unique styles of these groups has influenced many dancers to this day. They were featured dancers in Alive TV’s documentary segment, “Wreckin Shop from Brooklyn”, as well as House documentary called “House of Trey”. Hip-Hop music and dance was at it’s rawest during this era (in my opinion).
After a time when media over-saturated television and film with movies like Breakin 1 & 2, Beat Street, etc, there came a point when artists started featuring more and more Hip-Hop dancers in their videos. Buddha Stretch, member of the Mop Tops is considered to be the first Hip-Hop choreographer. He went on to choreograph for artists such as Michael Jackson, Will Smith, and Mariah Carey. There were also crews from the LA area like the Soul Brothers, and Scheme Team, SWAT who were featured on tv and music videos. Whodini was one of the first rap groups to incorporate Hip-Hop dancers in their shows. Big Daddy Kane also had a duo named Scoob & Scrap as his dancers.

Even a few music artists danced during these days, like Big Daddy Kane, MC Hammer (I don’t care what people say about him, this guy got down!), and Kid N’ Play. Members from later groups like Jurassic 5, Pharcyde, Divine Styler, and Black Eyed Peas also had some sort of freestyle dance background prior.

*New Jack Swing vs Hip-Hop
Some people often refer to old school hip-hop dance as New Jack Swing, or Hype Dance. Mostly because some of these dances weren’t seen by the mainstream until they saw them in music videos. The term New Jack Swing was actually a name for a genre of R&B music in the 90’s. Teddy Riley (producer and artist) was the creator of this New Jack Swing sound, and a lot of the other music videos that fell along this genre also incorporated hip-hop dancers in them. So people probably associated the dancing with the music, also calling the dance they saw, New Jack Swing. To many originals and pioneers of Hip-Hop dance though, they always called the dances Hip-Hop and not New Jack Swing, for the dance steps were created even before New Jack Swing music was created.

Late 90s – 2000′s/Now
New York was always known as the mecca of Hip-Hop, originally. But more and more regions were producing their own Hip-Hop sound. Different regions around the US had their distinct twist on Hip-Hop music, and the same also applied to the dance. Over the years, New York still introduced many party dances like the Harlem Shake, etc. The Southern Hip-Hop sound was also getting more popular, and a lot of moves came out of that Area, ATL stomp, Bankhead Bounce, etc. South Central LA introduced it’s Krumping dance style, and Oakland CA introduced a style called TURF. New York’s next generation of dancers have styles called Get Lite/Lite Feet, and Flexing, as with other cities like Memphis Jookin’, and Jerkin’ from LA.

To me, these new generation freestyle dances represent the same parallel as how hip-hop dancers freestyled during hip-hop’s golden era in the mid 80’s and 90’s. We are still researching about these newer generation styles and will post more updates as we learn. One thing is for sure though, that the social dance aspect of Hip-Hop is still going strong in this generation, with dances like the Harlem Shake, Chicken Noodle Soup, Dougie, Cat Daddy, etc. It isn’t any different than all the social dances from the 80s/90s. Some of the moves are even very similar to another in terms of mechanics, but the feel is just adjusted to the rhythms used in the music today.

(I am compiling more info together to create another section just for Krumping, Turfing, Flexing, etc. The more I see the really good dancers of these styles, the more I am appreciating them. Keep you posted).

*New Style vs Hip-Hop
To my understanding, the term New Style originated from Europe referring to New York Style. Dancers from Europe who learned Hip-Hop from some of the OG hip-hop dancers in the US brought it back to Europe and called it New York Style, but later down the line, the term was shortened to New Style. Not sure what the main reason was for it yet, but basically New Style is just Hip-Hop.

*One thing that we are noticing more with all the vocabulary and terminology in Hip-Hop dance is that different cities may have a different name for a certain step. The best thing to do is just learn the step and the dance, and keep an open mind when it comes to it’s real name. Respect that city’s history when it comes to how they named that step. Whether we agree or not, many dance steps have already been done in the past at some point, either from jazz, lindy hop, african, salsa, etc, so keeping an open mind will only give you insight on how all dance styles and movements are related and also the cultural importance behind social dance.

*Studio/Commercial/Video vs Hip-Hop
As with the term New Style, there are other people and places using the terms Studio Hip-Hop, Commercial Hip-Hop, etc. What we feel they are referring to with these terms are more based on choreography and not specifically the Hip-Hop social dances. One thing to keep in mind with these terms is that if Hip-Hop dance’s roots come from the rock/bounce, and social dance steps, and none of these classes or music videos that use the term studio hip-hop, commercial hip-hop, or music video hip-hop are using/teaching any of those, then should it even include Hip-Hop in it’s name? Just something to think about.

Choreography
Just wanted to touch quickly on choreo in relation to the subject matter. Choreography is mainly just movement/placement. A dance style (like locking) can be be choreographed, just like extras in an action movie scene is choreographed. What you see at the events like World of Dance, Body Rock, etc are a majority of groups who do choreography. They may not be street dancers, and their routines may have some street dance vocabulary in it. I don’t consider choreography to be a dance “style” because it does not have it’s own vocabulary (Maybe not yet? All dance styles have a vocabulary of basic steps that make it a style). I see choreography as a sub culture under dance and still see it as an art because of it’s elements visually in staging, formations, transitions, and execution. It is meant more for the stage as opposed to the cypher where an exchange between individual dancers happen.

Much like other street dance styles, Hip-Hop the dance, has it’s own fundamental moves, vocabulary, essence and unique feel. It revolves around social dance. Although the moves CAN be taught in a studio, the best way to learn/experience the raw feel of Hip-Hop (in my opinion), is out at the gatherings with other dancers where all the energy and vibe is at! Search youtube for the clips below. All the dancers’ styles and movements are distinctly different, but the essence and the spiriti of how they do the movements all feel pretty much the same.

Some great documentaries on Hip-Hop dance:
Wreckin’ Shop from Brooklyn
Suns of James Brown
Everything Remains Raw
Respond to Sound parts I & II
House of Tre
Show & Prove: Freestyle Dance
Rize (Krump dance documentary)
Herb Alpert’s music video, “North on South Street” also featured dancers from Scheme Team.

*We’ve also included a few clips and trailers from these documentaries for you to see.