Your guide to the most majestic of night club dances:
Harlem Shake:
Shake originator Al B referred to his dance as a “drunken, alcoholic shake.” He said it comes from the ancient Egyptians and describes it as what the mummies used to do. They were all wrapped up and couldn’t move. All they could do was shake. Al B has been doing the Harlem Shake since 1981. It has since become a meme popularized by DJ/producer Baauer.
Candy Stomping:
Most often seen at raves, trance and hardstyle events. Usually accompanied by glow sticks. Started in the 80s at warehouse raves. Perfect by Korean-American club kids!
Shuffling:
Originally started off as the Melbourne shuffle in the 80s, but the current meme can be credited to LMFAO. If done properly, it looks like a fast moonwalk.
Grinding:
Also referred to as getting your freak on. A slight variation of “The Bump” in the 70s. Reached popularity at middle and high school dances. Fine fine… it’s when a dude dry humps a girl from behind on the dance floor, usually to rap music.
Break Dancing:
Originated in New York in the 70s. Mostly freestyle, but it does have four major elements: freezes, power moves, toprock, and downrock. Just don’t end up like this dude.
Poppin & Lockin:
Urban dance style similar to break dancing. It looks like the robot, with a lot of upper torso, wave-like movements.
Liquid:
Thought to have originated from the Liquid Pop Collective dance crew. The dance is an attempt at a continuous fluid movement, like a “flow” is passing through one’s body.
Crip Walk:
Originated in the 70s by the Crips in Compton. The dance consists of quick and intricate footwork. Supposedly Crips would do the dance after killing someone. MTV refused to broadcast any rap videos featuring the dance.
Tecktonik:
It is a quick dance usually performed to electro music. It rose to popularity in the 2000s and came from Paris. There are many variations to the dance: industrial, disco, and glow sticking, to name a few. It was most popularized by the track ‘A Cause des Garcons’ by Yelle.
Krumping:
A freestyle dance that is used for musical expression, using every part of the body. The dance is popular in the US, and the word came from a song called “Krump” back in the 90s.
Dougie:
The Dougie originated in the 80s in Dallas. It was based on moves borrowed from rap icon Doug E. Fresh. Everyone does it differently, encouraging individual expression and style. Oh ya… it has a real fun song that teaches you how to do it 🙂
Moonwalk:
If you don’t know what the Moonwalk is then we’ve got a problem.
The Hustle:
Your parents (or in some cases your grandparents) used to do this at the club.
Macarena:
The greatest dance ever from the 90s, becoming a bar/bat mitzvah staple for years to come.
Jerkin’:
A dance that became popular in 2009 in Los Angeles. It involves moving your legs quickly in a “jerk” and including variations such as “pindrop,” “reject,” and “dip.”
Robot:
Basically, dancing like a robot. It became hugely popular after Michael Jackson used it in “Dancing Machine.” Involves a lot of popping and street dance style.
The Guido 2-Step:
There are so many variations and they all seem to have something in common. But this one right here… perfection:
One Response
Awesome page! I know most of these styles already.. Also DnB and Jumpstyle which are two or the more popular styles which are not shown here. Shuffling is widely used in Hardstyle events but the official dance of Hardstyle is known as Stampen (NL) there is little or no documentation on this style