Hip hop began as a form of musical expression and artistic culture in the South Bronx neighbourhoods of New York City in the 1970s. There are four major elements of hip hop culture: MCing and rapping, DJing technique, graffiti art and hip hop dance. Over the years, hip hop has crossed borders and cultures from its humble beginnings in Harlem and Brooklyn, becoming the most popular form of dance performance in the world – almost every country in the world has its own local hip hop scene, from music artists to dance crews!There are many dance moves and techniques used in hip hop dance that borrow from other dance forms, such as tap and jazz dance. Hip hop dance also has unique dance styles such as breaking, locking and popping, which were developed by African- and Latino-American communities in the 1970s. Hip hop dance is also unique because of its often improvisational dance performances, or freestyle, where dancers occasionally perform in formal or informal dance competitions, usually known as battles.
Hip hop dance was recognized as a performance dance form more than 30 years ago during the presence of professional breaking, locking and popping crews formed at the time. Some of the most influential dance crews were the Rock Steady Crew, The Lockers and the Electric Boogaloos, who were responsible for spreading the art of hip hop dance respectively.
As hip hop music began to evolve, the dance element evolved with it to include new moves, new styles and new expressions. Dance styles such as new style, jazz funk, lyrical hip hop and krumping have all developed in the last ten years. Hip hop dance movies have been popular since the 1980s, with titles such as Beat Street, Wild Style, Breakin’, You Got Served, Step Up, Honey and Save the Last Dance, and has also been featured in many reality television shows such as America’s Best Dance Crew and So You Think You Can Dance. Hip hop culture now has a presence in theatre performance, featuring spoken word and hip hop dance and music combined in the production.
