Street dance

65044146 kamonwan History of street dance Street dance is a that came to being outside the traditional dance studio. Street dance is often performed in open and outdoor spaces such as streets, dance parties and parks. Street dance is a vernacular dance. This means that it developed naturally as a part of the culture of the time. Vernacular dances are usually interpretive and social by nature, meaning they encourage interaction with their audience and are a product of their surrounding. An example of a vernacular dance is break dancing, which was created in the 1970s in New York City. Street dance is a term that covers lots of different social dance styles and the eclectic nature of the style has given way to new vocabulary such as popping, locking, krumping and waving. Street dance was once used as an expression of resistance and cultural identity outside the mainstream. The energetic nature of street dance makes it popular with children on a variety of levels, as an art form, a competitive activity or for physical exercise. That’s why many schools are introducing street dance to their physical activity curriculum. Interest in street dance has surged during the last five years due to the use of street dance to sell products, on television and in music videos. Many children are inspired by the talent shows which focus on this genre of dance. Take a look

at the video below to see a group dance on the television show ‘Alesha’s Street Dance Stars’. Street dance genres As the history of street dance refers to all dances that were born and developed in public places and clubs, there are many dances that are classed as street dance that may surprise you. Street dance is often split into ‘old-school’ and 'new-school’. Old-school street dances are tap dancing, locking, popping, and break dancing. In new-school there is hip hop, house, and techno. Key features of street dance Read on to discover the key features of street dance: • Movements can be initiated and isolated to specific body parts, for example hips or shoulders, with movements having sharp changes of direction and focus. • A lot of movement will lead from how the torso is reacting to the music. • Accented beats and syncopated rhythms are paired with strong, sharp contractions of the centre of body and other body parts such as the elbows.

• There’s a strong relationship between the different layers of music production, which in turn denotes various movement dynamics. To learn more about dynamics in dance, read here. • The ground is important. Downward stressed grounded movements and quick, short steps are interspersed with long, smooth steps. There are even still held positions (freezes) mixed in. • Most street dance moves have a lot of strength and power behind them. This is normally gained by the dancer thinking ‘from the floor up’, in terms of the energy travelling through their body. Street dance moves and glossary Here we look at some famous street dance moves and keywords you will come across when teaching street dance: Accentuation - Emphasis added to certain movements in a dance or performance. Backspin - A power move where you are balled up and spinning on your back. Body and arm waves - Moving your body or arms in a way that makes it look like a wave is passing through them.

Contraction - The movement of muscles that is required to move different parts of your body. Crazy legs - A leg-orientated dance move where legs and feet are moved very quickly. Down rock - an element of breakdancing where your hands and feet are on the floor. Footwork - A style of street dance involving fast movement of your feet with accompanying twists and turns, originating in Chicago! Freezes - Stopping all body motion, often in an interesting or cleverly balanced way. Glides and slides - A group of foot movements that try to create the illusion that you are moving smoothly across the floor or that your legs are walking, while your body is moving in an unexpected direction. Michael Jackson’s moonwalk is a famous backslide! Hip-hop - A variety of dance styles that usually involve hip-hop music, breakdancing for example. Isolations - The snappy rhythmic movements of separate body parts such as your head, shoulders and hands, which are associated with urban dance. Knee spin - A spin on one or both knees, typically in a kneeling position. Pivots - A rotation of the body so that you are turning around your vertical axis. Six steps - A basic movement of footwork where your arms support your body above the floor and your legs walk in a circle. Syncopation - The emphasis of beats that are normally unstressed or weak. In street dance, it means dance patterns with a difficult rhythm. Threading - A dance step that creates the illusion that a part of your body is being continually threaded like a needle with a thread. Three step - A more complicated footwork move that involves kicking.

Top rock - Any combination of steps performed from a standing position. It is usually a warm-up for the down rock move. Street dance facts • There are no rules to street dance, as emphasis is placed on improvisation and freestyle. • There is normally a ‘battle’ element central to the dance style - competitive one-upmanship, which can be informal or a formalized competition. • Even though it’s relatively young as a dance style, street dance has heavily influenced popular culture and can be seen in music videos and television advertisements. • The UK has developed a vibrant hip-hop and street dance scene, with many regular battles and events. The most common street dance styles locking, hip-hop (aka hip-hop freestyle or new style), popping, house (aka house dance) and breaking (aka B-Boying or its media-created name breakdancing). Below we will briefly introduce those five styles and show a videoclip to understand how they look.