STYLES OF URBAN DANCE
There are many styles of dance that fall under urban dance and here you will find many of the main ones...
Hip Hip Dance
Hip hop dance today usually refers to new style hip hop. These can be learnt as moves or routines and are the most popular that you are likely to see in music videos.
Locking
Locking can also fall under the term urban dance, it is however generally a lot happier a dance style than the others as opposed to giving it lots of attitude. This is a funky dance style characterised by pauses or locks between the movements.
Popping
Popping technique involves the contraction and relaxation of different body parts to create a 'pop'. Using this technique many dance moves can be performed, often illusory in nature. It is also often combined with other styles such as animation, waving and boogaloo also.
Tutting
Tutting is also frequently performed with popping though it is a different dance style. It uses geomteric positions and right angles to create different shapes and poses, similar to what you would see in art from Ancient Egypt.
Breaking
Also known as bboyin' or bgirlin' this is a style of dance that makes extensive use of floorwork. Many of the moves are acrobatic in nature or draw from gymnastics. It consists of toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes/ suicides. This style of dance is danced to breakbeat as it was when it was created.
Capoeira
Capoeira was created in Brazil by slaves from Africa in the 16th century. It can involve and combines martial arts, dance and music and those taking part may take things doing various things in the roda (circle).
Free Running/ Parkour
A new urban art form, free running or parkour involves using the urban landscape and its monuments/ structures for acrobatics. It may involve leaping between buildings, vaults, spins, flips and also tricks and stunts. Parkour generally doesn't include tricks and stunts and is more about efficiency while free running allows for the individuals to express themsleves.
Bump & Grind
Sometimes called grinding involves 2 or more people with their bodies making contact as they dance. Bump and grind is usually when a man/ woman will grind up against a woman's behind, usually explicit or insinuating sexual movements.
Krumping
This involves free, energetic and expressive movements which were initially done by the dancers as a way to release their anger and aggression. This is a freestyle form of dance, with routines being rare or being incorporated into routines with other dance styles.
Jumpstyle
This is usually danced to electronic music and is a rave dance that makes use of a lot of footwork. It is popular mainly in Europe in countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.