Dance, a timeless art form, has been captivating audiences for millennia. From ancient rituals to modern entertainment, dance manifests in countless styles, each with its unique vocabulary of movement. While mastering every dance style is a near impossible feat, understanding some Famous Dance Steps can significantly enrich your appreciation for this dynamic art. Let’s explore some of the most iconic dances and steps that have shaped dance history.
Iconic Dance Moves
Roaring into the Twenties: Jazz Age Dance Steps
The 1920s, famously known as the Roaring Twenties, was an era of vibrant jazz music and an explosion of dance culture. This decade gave birth to some truly iconic dance steps that continue to be recognized and enjoyed today.
The Charleston: Kicking Up a Storm
Arguably the most famous dance of the Roaring Twenties, the Charleston is characterized by its energetic and syncopated rhythms. This lively dance involves a combination of steps and kicks, making it both fun and physically engaging. The basic Charleston step involves stepping back and then forward while kicking your legs out to the side. Another variation includes stepping forward and kicking a leg forward, followed by stepping back and kicking a leg back. A signature Charleston move also includes placing hands on the knees and swiveling them from side to side.
The Lindy Hop: Swing into Action
Another cornerstone of 1920s dance culture is the Lindy Hop. This partnered swing dance is known for its improvisational nature and dynamic energy. Lindy Hop involves partners swinging each other around, incorporating bounces and rhythmic steps. More advanced Lindy Hop dancers often include impressive flips and splits, adding an extra layer of excitement and visual spectacle.
Iconic Dance Moves
Hip-Hop’s Evolution: Street Styles to Global Phenomenon
Emerging from urban street environments in the 1970s and 80s, Hip-Hop dance is a more contemporary style that has become a global phenomenon. Hip-Hop dancing encompasses a diverse range of styles, broadly categorized into breaking, locking, and popping, each with its distinctive techniques and famous dance steps.
Breaking: Defying Gravity
Breaking, also known as breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, is instantly recognizable for its acrobatic and ground-centric movements. A defining characteristic of breaking is the dancer’s frequent interaction with the floor, using arms, torso, and head for support and momentum, alongside footwork. The headspin, where a dancer spins directly on their head, is perhaps the most iconic and visually stunning move in breaking.
Break Dance Competition
Locking: The Art of the Freeze
Locking is a style of Hip-Hop dance characterized by sharp freezes or “locks” in movement. Dancers momentarily freeze in a pose before quickly resuming their groove, creating a staccato and rhythmic effect. A fundamental locking move is the “Up Lock,” often resembling a classic muscleman pose, showcasing the style’s emphasis on controlled pauses and sharp transitions.
Popping: Muscle Control and Illusions
While locking emphasizes freezing, popping focuses on creating sharp, jerky movements by quickly contracting and relaxing muscles – the “pop.” This technique creates the illusion of movements happening in isolated bursts. Foot slides are a common element in popping, with the “moonwalk,” popularized by Michael Jackson, being the most famous sliding move, showcasing the smooth and seemingly effortless glide across the floor.
Michael Jackson Popping and Moonwalking
Moshing: Unleashing Energy in the Pit
Moshing, also known as slam-dancing, is a high-energy and often aggressive dance style associated with hardcore punk and other high-intensity music genres. Moshing involves dancers pushing and colliding with each other, creating a chaotic and energetic atmosphere, typically in a designated area called the “mosh pit” near the stage. While moshing is intended to be a form of energetic expression, it’s important to be aware of the physical nature of this dance style.
The iconic move associated with moshing is “crowd surfing.” This involves a person being lifted above the crowd and passed from person to person. While some performers engage in crowd surfing, it is primarily a dance move performed by audience members within the mosh pit.
Country Line Dancing: Dancing in Formation
Line dancing encompasses various forms, but it is most strongly associated with country or western line dancing, largely due to the immense popularity of Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart” music video. In line dancing, dancers form rows, facing the same direction, and perform synchronized steps. Footwork is emphasized, with a variety of steps and patterns executed in unison, making it a social and engaging dance form. For beginners interested in learning, resources like WGNA, a country music radio station, offer breakdowns of basic country line dancing steps.
Recent Dance Crazes: Internet Fame and Viral Moves
Dance and popular culture frequently intersect, with certain dances becoming trendy and sparking widespread crazes. In the digital age, internet memes have become a powerful driver of popular culture, leading to viral dance trends. Recent examples of iconic dances fueled by internet culture include the Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style.
Harlem Shake: The Viral Shaking Sensation
The Harlem Shake emerged as a viral video meme in 2013. Typically, a Harlem Shake video begins with one person dancing freestyle while others remain indifferent, until a sudden cut reveals a large group in costumes dancing wildly and often convulsively – the “shake” – creating a humorous and energetic visual.
Harlem Shake – Ten of the Best
Gangnam Style: The Horse-Riding Dance
Gangnam Style gained global recognition thanks to Korean pop star Psy and his viral “Gangnam Style” music video, which has amassed billions of views. While “Gangnam Style” is a broader cultural phenomenon, the associated dance is a key element of its popularity. The Gangnam Style dance mimics the action of riding a horse, incorporating a distinctive foxtrot-like rhythm and arm movements, becoming one of the most iconic dances of 2012 and beyond.
From the energetic steps of the Charleston to the viral sensations of today, dance constantly evolves, reflecting cultural shifts and technological advancements. While mastering every famous dance step is not possible, exploring different dance styles and moves can be a fun and enriching experience. Who knows, you might even create the next viral dance craze!
