HIP HOP DANCE IN A NUTSHELL, by Leslie Ann Garcia
Leslie Ann Garcia, professional dance instructor and choreographer.
WHAT IS HIP HOP?
Hip hop is a culture and way of life that shows itself in various forms—poetry, fashion, music, language, art, graffiti (writing or illustrating on public places) and
dance. Hip hop dance is a fusion of different dance styles and cultural influences from around the world. Some of the most well known styles of hip hop are break-dancing, popping and locking. It has the look, music, character
and energy of street life. It is popular today, yet it’s always changing and evolving. It was started in New York in 1970s, mostly by African Americans and Latin Americans.
SOME HIP HOP MOVES APPEARING IN WIZARDAY:
C-WALK
C-WALK
A fast moving dance composed of small foot movements.
Stand with both feet together in the center. Jump towards the right and land on both feet like this:
on your right heel with your right foot in front, and on your left toes with the left foot in back. Jump back to the center with both feet together. Repeat on the left side.
Some of the different variations of C-walk are:
1. SHUFFLE:
Hopping, alternating the foot positions:
your front foot lands on the toes and your back foot lands flat on the ground.
2. SHUFFLE HOP:
Hopping like the Shuffle, but landing on the toes of both feet. Hopping in the direction of the leg that‘s kicked forward.
3. SHUFFLE SPIN:
A move added into the Shuffle. Spin on the toes of the back foot.
GLIDING:
A movement that creates the illusion that you are floating while sliding across the floor on your feet.
KRUMPING:
A freestyle (not choreographed) form of dance that has many fast, sharp, hard-hitting moves. It is known for its expressive, raw, natural movement of the entire body.
WAVES:
A move that creates the illusion that a wave is moving through your body.
ARM WAVES - With arms stretched out to the sides, this movement creates the illusion that a wave is moving from the tip of one hand through the shoulders to the tip of the other.
KNEE DROP:
A transition move -
dropping from a standing position down to the knees, and then either remaining on the floor or rising back up.
MELTING:
A smooth way to move from an upright dance position to a position closer to the ground.
Let your muscles relax and move down very slowly; then stop in the lower position. Your body looks and feels as if it is melting.
WINDMILL:
Continuously rotating and spinning in a circular path on the floor, from the back to the chest, while twisting your legs spread in a V-shape. It looks like the movement of a windmill.
More to come real soon...
* The Hip Hop moves samples are for illustration purposes only. Some of these moves may be complicated and should only be performed under the supervision of an experienced instructor.