History of Hip-Hop Dance: Evolution and Popularity

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History of Hip-Hop Dance
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Introduction
The purpose of the paper is to highlight the history of hip-hop dance. The paper is also
concerned about its evolution through the years and how it has grown up to be one of the most
popular dance forms especially among the young generation. It is not that this particular dance
form has a very old history, but surprisingly it has occupied a significant place in the modern
world of art in combination with music of early times. The main reason which resulted in the Hip
–Hop dancing is a tendency to do something revolutionary and initiate a movement. Since,
without contrary there is no progression, a group of young people bought this form of dance to
the streets and it gained popularity in no time. The paper will conclude by giving an overview of
the entire topic and also reflect on the topic.
Discussion
This particular dance form can be dated back to the early 1960s and 70s when a kind of
art revolution took place as found from Bbc.co. After much research it has been found that the
dance form called the Hip –Hop dancing has germinated in the New York City in the latter half
of the 20th century. According to Thoughtco.com it began as an art form that was different from
the high class stage performances, sophisticated opera shows affordable by only a handful of
people. The Hip –Hop dance became the biggest method of entertainment for the people from the
common mass. It was affordable, energetic, pleasant and all encompassing. Although it was a
form of street dancing, it did not mean that it was not for the people of academy. The moves of

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Hip-Hop were highly inspired by the aesthetic and complex music rhythms along with the style
of the African dancing.
All these components came to be forming a new style called Hip –Hop dancing. The
main components were music and movement that gave rise to this new form of art. However, it
has to be mentioned that although there are elements of African dancing such as tap and swings,
the Hip –Hop dance form has become an individual style and has its own class, identity and
standards. Up to the 1980s, it was mainly a street form of dance but after the moves became
more institutionalized. The moves found new names such as popping, breaking, locking and
others so much that it ultimately found more formal venues. With the help of trained
choreography, the moves found new forms but the popularity and competitiveness has still
remained the same.
There have been many innovators of this dance form. Among them few innovators are
customary to mention. They are Dan Karaty, Chucky Klapow, Michael Jackson, Robert
Hoffman, Comfort Fedoke, Soulja Boy and others informs Pazera. At the beginning, the Hip-
Hop dance form used to be a group dance form but now people do perform it as a solo dance
performance. Due to the advent of social media and television shows, such dance forms have
received popularity with electrifying speed. In the early days, the hip –hop dancers used to take
the help of light poles that has been replaced by DJ light s and music. Another aspect is also
related to the hip-hop dance which is Soulja Boy. According to Danehyet al.it is both the name
of a hip –hop dance as well as the stage name of a popular and successful rapper named DeAndre
Cortez Way.
It is important to note that hip –hop is nothing but the breaking of the monotonous nature
if dance prevalent in the age. Thus breaking is evident in movies such as Wild Style, Breakdance