What is hip-hop?

Hip-hop is a culture consisting of music, dance, fashion, and art. I will explain the dance portion of Hip-hop. It began with break-dancing combined with interesting forms of street dance. A false belief is that hip-hop dancing began in African ceremonies and culture, however, Hip-hop is more a product of America. The three dances of hip-hop; locking, bboying, and popping, all have their own stories.

Locking: Locking is a very dynamic dance. Consisting of lots of poses and "freezes". In 1970 Don Campbellock was attempting to do the Funky Chicken but kept freezing-up in certain poses. Friends said that he looked "locked up". Thus the term Locking was placed upon these dance moves which were adopted by the current culture and spread nationwide.

BBoying: Bboying goes back to 1972 at Kool DJ Hercs house and block parties. It is a form of UpRock, a mock fight form, where the person drops down to a crouching position on the 4 beat of every measure. Today, dancers have added other elements such as flares, headspins, windmills, and other gymnastic moves to form the type of Bboying we see today.

Popping: The history of Popping is very difficult to compile because we must look at over 26 different styles of Popping. There have been many styles developed that are known only to one crew or in one specific area of a town, such as the G-Style. Many believe that popping began around 1976 by a dancer named Boogaloo Sam out of Fresno, California. The reason they believe Boogaloo Sam invented popping, is because he was really the first to define it as "the constant tensing and relaxing of muscles while dancing to create a sharp, surging stop/jolt effect."

Hip-hop has gained popularity in recent years. Hip-hop dancing is way to express one's creativeness. It is good exercise for those who dance it. Dancers can improve their flexibility, body balance, and muscle coordination. There is no age limitation for those who want to learn to dance this style.