Hip-Hop
Hip hop is a street dance style that appeared in the United States in the 1970s. The style got its name from the music genre and developed as a part of American hip hop culture. Hip hop became popular thanks to the TV shows that were rather popular at the time. Namely, the dancers were featured in such popular TV shows and movies as Beat Street, Breakin’, Soul Train, and Wild Style. By the 1990s and early 2000s, hip hop became extremely popular in the U.S. as well as in other countries all over the world. It was featured in many TV shows, music videos, movies, etc.
The style’s distinctive feature is freestyle and improvisation, which makes it so dynamic and unique. As a matter of fact, due to such nature of the style, freestyle competitions, also known as “battles,” were extremely popular in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Just like other popular dance styles, hip hop has many derivative styles and substyles. In particular, hip hop brought to life such dance directions as:
- Jazz-funk
- Jerkin’
- Turfing
- Krumping
- Memphis Jookin’
- Lyrical hip-hop
Nowadays, after more than fifty years since the style first appeared, hip hop is still extremely popular all over the world. In fact, due to the influence of American popular culture, there is no country in the world where hip hop isn’t known. Moreover, hip hop is no longer just a street style since there are many professional dancers who even participate in competitions and championships. Among the most well-known hip hop competitions are Hip Hop International, UK B-Boy Championships, United Dance Organization, World of Dance Tour, and many more.
