What Are the Different Styles of Hip Hop Dance?

Hip Hop Styles

Hip hop dance is a dynamic genre that encompasses athleticism, flexibility, agility, creativity and soul. This type of dance originated back in the late 1970's and early 1980's, and has evolved tremendously since then. Old school hip hop dance started off mainly as breakdancing, which in and of itself is a truly dynamic and remarkable style of hip hop!

Hip hop dance moves like popping and locking are a couple of the original moves that dancers incorporated into their dance routines back in the early days of hip hop. By the late 1980's the styles of hip hop really began to take on new forms, and innovative dance moves were rapidly being developed.

Although breaking is still largely a part of hip hop dance, more upright moves have become very popular as opposed to sticking mainly to moves performed on the floor. By the 90's and into the 2000's, hip hop dance became very aggressive and intricate. The popularity of this type of dance grew from the streets of New York and L.A., and has spread all throughout the globe!
Although there are many different styles of hip hop dance, some of the main ones include:

- Breakdancing
- Popping
- Locking
- OldSchool
- NuSchool
- House
- Krumping
- The Newer Style of Lyrical Hip Hop

One of the newer styles of hip hop that has emerged onto the dance scene is lyrical hip hop dance. This type of hip hop is a very interpretive and fluid version of the conventional hip hop that has been on the scene since the 1970's. In essence, the dancers are telling a story through their dance routine, and thus must include some sort of acting abilities into the dance routine.
Although traditional dance styles and moves – like popping and locking – are still part of this newer hip hop style, the moves are much less rigid, and are more fluid in their execution. Whereas traditional hip hop moves dance to the beat of the music, lyrical hip hop moves dance along to the words of the song.

For some video samples of these popular hip hop dance moves, visit Fitforafeast.com for a vast library of online hip hop dance videos and lessons to help you get acquainted with this popular genre of dance, and learn how to hip hop dance from home!

To learn the best hip hop dance moves, you need to start with some lessons on the basics. If you want to take online hip hop lessons, the best, most flexible course is available at Hiphopcrusher.com. You can learn hip hop from 10 professional teachers/entertainers and work your way through 5 levels of moves and combos, as well as bonus levels on popping, locking and breaking. Put your new skills together in the final 20 minute master class! Learn at your own pace with these online lessons and dance with confidence!

The Differences Between Jazz Vs Hip Hop Dance

Jazz Vs. Hip Hop Dance - What's the Difference?

Jazz and hip hop have been around for ages. Dance studios everywhere teach both styles of dance - among others - and many of them even teach both together or combine the two. For those who are not heavily involved in the dance scene, it may be confusing to differentiate between these two styles of dance. So the question is, what is the difference between jazz and hip hop?

Breaking it Down

Jazz

In order to understand the difference between jazz vs. hip hop dance, it's necessary to break down each type of dance to gain an understanding of how the two dance styles are distinguished from one another. Jazz involves a variety of different styles in and of itself. Jazz involves Broadway jazz, lyrical jazz, and even jazz-funk. Jazz tends to have somewhat of a ballet influence, considering the smooth moves and long lines that jazz dancers must be competent in. You'll often see ballet-like moves with jazz, such as pirouettes and grandejetes. Posture is generally erect and feet are pointed.

Jazz really can be considered as an umbrella term for many varieties of this dance genre, considering all the influences of different dance styles on this genre. It really is a classic style of dance that is fun and full of energy and class, and what you will most often see on Broadway and other theatrical stages.

Hip Hop

It started back in the 1970's in urban New York City, where street dancers would "break" on street corners, while amazed onlookers would watch. Breaking is one of the earliest forms of this type of dance, which is done with oriented steps with the feet while standing, or with footwork done with both hands and feet on the floor. There are also moves performed just on the hands, as well as spins on the shoulder or head. Breaking often involves a lot of floor work and strength / flexibility.

Hip hop dance is a type of dance style that uses quick movements, and requires quite a bit of athleticism. There are quick movements in all planes involved, creating an almost illusion-like performance. There are a variety of classic dance moves, including bopping, roboting, locking, krumping, popping, turfin, breaking, and jerkin. There are newer variations of house including voguing and house.

Although these two dance styles definitely share some similarities with one another, they are certainly two different styles of dance. It's inevitable that different dance genres will have somewhat of an influence on other dance styles, but they still remain distinct.

While jazz has been part of mainstream competitive dance training for a long time, hip hop is now becoming more commonly taught in studios. However, it is the most popular current form of dance in music videos, at clubs and schools.

If you want to learn to dance this style, check out HipHopCrusher.com today! This is a completely new way to learn hip hop dance online - where you get to choose the lessons you want to learn each time and have access to 10 of the top performing hip hop dancers and teachers in the business. The course is geared specifically for kids and teens, but anyone can learn beginning hip hop with this 'clean' course of over 70 lessons.