The Dancing Thread

[The Derrit]

So I've coincidentally been finding a lot of interesting dance videos online, and I was thinking that it would be great to get into some sort of hip-hop/general club style dance, or at least have a rudimentary knowledge of what to do on a dancefloor. It could come in handy someday.

I noticed that HalcyonSpirit had commented that he was a dancer, but does anyone have tips/pointers for where to go to learn this kind of thing on my own time? There's only so much you can pick up from imitation, and a great chance you're gonna do it wrong anyways.

Also, feel free to share just sweet videos of dancing, funny stories, etc.

I'll start: This is a video from Genesis (the huge SSBM/SSBB tournament that happened mid-July), apparently some of the melee players can bust some moves. I was thoroughly entertained, its not great footage but its cool to see smashers doing other things too.

[SynthesizedStampede]

Haha, video was dope. But yeah, in terms of dancing, what I've learned over the past four years of bboying is that you learn the foundational aspects of the dance, then once you have those down fluently it's just all about doing what you feel and integrating your personality into your style.

However, the best thing to do is to not worry about what others think of you and to purely have fun. Even if you feel you're stuff's not clean, you get cleanliness through repetition. Having fun does wonders in terms of creativity and overall enjoyment of dancing in general.

I'm far from the best bboy out there, and because of school and work practice a lot less than I should, but I think that whole "fun" aspect is one of the most important ones. The whole "fuck it, let's do this" sort of attitude seems to have gotten a lot of people places.

Hope you have fun with dancing as much as I have!

[Meteo Xavier]

This is the coolest dance I've ever seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhl-2WoFGd4

[HalcyonSpirit]

I noticed that HalcyonSpirit had commented that he was a dancer

Holy crap, someone noticed me on here. I'm moving up in the world!

Anyway, yeah, I dance, and I love it. I recently came to a decision on what style to pursue, and it is Locking. I'll also be dabbling in other styles to supplement my less structured dancing I've been doing.

If you want to start learning any kind of dancing, you first need to figure out what style fits you best. There's a crapton of different styles out there. Off the top of my head, I know of Popping, Locking, Wacking, Lofting, and Voguing. You're probably going to have to do some research, take a look at examples of each, and then narrow the field to a few different styles. Then try each out for a bit and see which one feels right to you. Like I mentioned, I recently did this.

Since I'm most familiar with Locking, I'll give you a few good videos to show it off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFzJF9DcOAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9wSeeeKtlI (this one has Locking and Popping in it)

Hilty and Bosch are two of the best Lockers out there, right along with the GoGo Brothers. I like both pairs (couldn't quickly find a good GoGo vid, though). Khan is also up there on my personal list.

If you or anyone else decides to go with Locking, here's a collection of introductory videos detailing some of the basic moves:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=FavMocha&view=videos

That's where I'm learning all my stuff right now.

I'll answer any questions anyone might have, but I'll see if I can get my friend on here instead; he's the one that inspired me to start dancing in the first place, and he's been Locking for over a year now. He's pretty good. You'll see him on here as SciRe, if he decides to poke his head in.

[Nutritious]

Hey Halc, I've done some similar stuff to what you've linked to for a few years now on the side. Don't know all the terms exactly, but probably would include popping, locking, liquiding(?), floating/gliding/whatever, and tutting. Never really did anything with it, but it's a blast just to do for fun.

[Salluz]

I can do some dances, others I can't. Not sure in specific.

I can moonwalk. Wish I had my camera to show how I do.

[Diodes]

If you find out a good way to learn, let me know, because this is something I've been trying to do for like the past 6 years, heh. Well, in those 6 years I've learned a few things:

- I've been able to find hip-hop classes at the local rec center, fitness centers, and at college. These have helped a lot, actually, like you said it's hard to learn from just imitating, and I learned things I never would have figured out from just watching dance videos.

- I've also taken dance classes in modern, jazz, ballet, and belly. These may not be your thing, but I've found that the more dance classes I've taken, the more they are a bit cumulative. They may have different terms, but a lot of the techniques used in different styles of dance are the same. For instance, I originally learned spotting in jazz, and it's the same exact thing in hip-hop.

- This may seem obvious, but if you're trying to practice at home, having a big open space with mirrors on the wall is nice. I have a dinky floor-length mirror in set up in my living room, not ideal but it helps. Now if only we had hard-wood floors instead of carpet, because I find it impossible to practice spins on the carpet. x_x

- I haven't done too much with this, but I have seen videos on YouTube on lessons of specific techniques. So if you know the name of something specific that you want to learn, try finding a tutorial on it.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[HalcyonSpirit]

Regarding carpeted floors, your best bet is to put on some socks that are moderately thick. They tend to slide the best compared to shoes and barefoot in my experience.

As for learning, here's the thing that I've seen and been told by others (like my friend), and this is true for almost all kinds of dancing: there are a lot of moves that everyone does, but almost all have their own personal spin on it between dancers. Between how it's executed and the kind of aura it projects, it becomes a style of your own. This is especially true for styles such as Locking, Popping, etc.

*removed because apparently I can't explain crap well enough to show what's going through my mind while I'm learning this stuff*

Hey Halc, I've done some similar stuff to what you've linked to for a few years now on the side. Don't know all the terms exactly, but probably would include popping, locking, liquiding(?), floating/gliding/whatever, and tutting. Never really did anything with it, but it's a blast just to do for fun.

Yeah, it is. I got into it by just letting loose and feeling the groove. At that point I wasn't concerned about styles at all, I just wanted to move. And I did. Now I want to refine it, and I'm finding it just as fun as the dancing itself. I'm not going to take it super-seriously because I just don't feel doing that; plus, that goes against the whole point of Locking: having fun with it. Finding your own niche is one of the best parts of learning, which usually involves experimenting with different styles and coming up with your own moves. It's a BLAST.

[Meteo Xavier]

I had no idea you were a dancer, Justin.

[SynthesizedStampede]

Whoa Halcyon, you're into locking? Out of all the dances I DIDN'T expect anyone to bring up. That's so awesome. Locking is one of those dances I really really want to learn, but just don't have the funkiness in me to do. Bboying and popping are probably the farthest I'll delve into the hip-hop dances.

Hilty & Bosh are amongst the best I've seen. I always skip to the final battle of the UK BBoy Championship 05 locking battles because they're so clean and crisp with their movements. Their routines are fire too. Nice to see it exposed more man! I think people really confuse the "locking" in "popping and locking" to just simply the muscle flexes in popping's hitting, ticking, and such.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Whoa Halcyon, you're into locking? Out of all the dances I DIDN'T expect anyone to bring up. That's so awesome. Locking is one of those dances I really really want to learn, but just don't have the funkiness in me to do. Bboying and popping are probably the farthest I'll delve into the hip-hop dances.

Ha, why's that? Locking is one of the most entertaining to watch simply because of the funkiness. It's even better if you learn how to do it yourself. I'd have been surprised if locking wasn't brought up fairly quickly in some form or another. I'm only just starting to learn the fundamentals (I only seriously started to practice specific moves a few days ago), but yeah, I really am into locking. And yeah, it is awesome.

Hilty & Bosh are amongst the best I've seen. I always skip to the final battle of the UK BBoy Championship 05 locking battles because they're so clean and crisp with their movements. Their routines are fire too. Nice to see it exposed more man! I think people really confuse the "locking" in "popping and locking" to just simply the muscle flexes in popping's hitting, ticking, and such.

Yeah, it's understandable about the confusion. When people think of locking, they think of "locking the joints" or something, which you tend to see more in popping than locking. Locking is quite a different beast!

Hilty and Bosch are definitely superb and fun to watch, but their style is just one of many. I like watching competitions all the way through just to see all the different people dance. You really get to see the variety possible in locking that you simply can't grasp if all you watch are Hilty and Bosch. Take, for example, the second video I linked earlier, between Khan and Lice'Funk. Two completely different styles, neither of which are like Hilty and Bosch, both of which are very enjoyable to watch. All of it locking. THAT is awesome.

[Salluz]

- This may seem obvious, but if you're trying to practice at home, having a big open space with mirrors on the wall is nice. I have a dinky floor-length mirror in set up in my living room, not ideal but it helps. Now if only we had hard-wood floors instead of carpet, because I find it impossible to practice spins on the carpet. x_x

This.

I remember having an extremely hard time learning moves. I realized that I was very visual and couldn't learn it by hearing other people's words; rather, I had to watch the move and/or myself.

[TSori]

woo a dancing topic on ocr!

I'm a locker. It is definitely a lot of fun. I've been trying to find some battles, but there isn't much in my area of the country. Unfortunately locking isn't really popular in the US except on the west coast.

But yeah, to anyone that's interested in picking up a dance style, look around at whats out there.; Find one that fits your personality and what you want to do with it. And thats not to say you can't make up your own, or combine elements from diff styles together.

in fact thats where the term "pop and lock" comes from. Popping and locking are two distinct and different dance styles People have combined elements of both. Unfortunately that's led to the misconception that they are the same style, but there isn't actually any such style as "pop and lock" Its two separate dances. Their origins are pretty closely related though. as is bboying (breaking)

[Dj Mokram]

Yay a dance thread!

I've been dancing for some years.

Started off with hip-hop and up-rock basics (pop, lock, boogaloo).

Then moved on to ground b-boying (breakdance. not a big fan of power-moves though).

Next I've been studying a lot of dances and moved from jazz, to salsa, to contemporary and finally house-dance.

No classical ballet, thank God for that.

Never taken any lesson, I've learned by myself or with others dancers, or had what I like to call mentors.

I've had serious repeated injuries, and after re-education, have been teaching for some years.

Nowdays I'm retired, but am still training mostly in jazz-rock & samba/house, for my pleasure.

One of my favorite dancer is called Free, originally member of a group from Seattle called Circle of Fire.

. Don't expect spectacular moves though, it's all feelling in this.

If anyone need some advice on how to get started, feel free to ask.

[Salluz]

I've gotten much better because... as retarded as it sounds, I just now learned to use my cerebellum to do what requires more feeling than thought. In that case, what I'm imagining becomes real in real time. I learned to do this during instructions for guitar practice.

[TSori]

Salluz, thats a pretty useful method (assuming I understand you correctly). When I'm learning, and making stuff up, I have a mental image of myself dancing. If you can picture yourself doing it in your head, its a lot easier to make it happen in the real world. Martial arts use that technique of learning extensively.

Having a mirror helps alot with this too, because you have a way to make sure you're matching what you're picturing. It also keeps you from falling into the bad habit of looking at your feet or hands all the time.

[The Derrit]

so i've been looking into it and i'd love to learn some liquid stuff. i'd also like to bboy but i'm way too tall and long legs are awkward for that sort of thing.

[Dj Mokram]

Dude, I'm 6.23 feet tall.

Long legs are far from a hindrance in bboying.

Quite the opposite actually, as your moves take more space, thus look more impressive.

The only drawback is that you can't make windmills in your living-room.

[The Derrit]

haha i'll take your word for it.

any idea of where to get started, online or otherwise? i'd like to surprise my friends with this when i get back to school

[Dj Mokram]

I'm not sure what you can learn to do properly in one month...

But sure. Give me sometime to dig up some bookmarks.

What style are you interested in the most?

[SynthesizedStampede]

One of my favorite dancer is called Free' date=' originally member of a group from Seattle called Circle of Fire.

. Don't expect spectacular moves though, it's all feelling in this.

Aw dude, Free's one of those inspirational guys that manages to get to everybody about expression in bboying haha. He's really down to earth too, talked to him a couple times and he's just really chill about everything it seems. Crazy footwork man, definitely shows the side of bboying that people really don't delve into.

Seattle represent!

[The Derrit]

I'm not sure what you can learn to do properly in one month...

But sure. Give me sometime to dig up some bookmarks.

What style are you interested in the most?

haha i honestly don't expect to but it would be kinda nice. either way i'd like to get some sort of base of knowledge or at least a place to find it

and yeah, i'd say i'd like to learn liquid/this type of thing the most, and then if i could pick up bboy along the way

[SynthesizedStampede]

Hmmm for bboying, a nice place to start is bboy.org. Reason being that it's really new-user friendly, but just don't stick along that site for long. People tend to turn into what some call "e-boys" (where the E comes from, I don't know) where they just post their pictures/solo videos online instead of getting immersed into the whole bboy aspect and don't go to jams or battle. It has a nice section though for learning moves, and I admit that I learned my hollowbacks from a useful video on that site.

However the bboyworld.com forums is probably the most useful and thriving bboy community right now. It has videos from all around the globe, track lists for DVDs, general bboy news and the like. Bboyworld.com however has a lot of new and old bboys alike, so if you choose the right topics you'll get to see the mindset of the old school vs. the new school and the like.

But for bboying the best way to learn is to try and find (maybe via those two sites) a jam to go to and experience it yourself. Don't hesitate to meet new people: while in battles people are fierce a lot of them are real humble and nice. They're no celebrities, they're people just like us, and just asking them any questions you have won't hurt. It's good to try and get information such as local practice spots and some bboys even have classes. Again, that bboyworld forum is a really good source for a lot of information.

However, I really have to emphasize that "experience the bboy jam" part. If you go to a really good one, it's insanely fun, even if you're just watching. The whole atmosphere just engulfs you haha.

[Dj Mokram]

Ah, looks like Stampede beat me to it.

Yeah, BBoy world is THE place to get more accurate info, & recent videos.

I've never hit bboy org personally so I can't elaborate on it.

Just try avoiding places crowded with e-boys if possible, you'll loose your time.

It's often attention-seekers, posting video of the move they've been trying to do for 5 years, because they never really train.

As for liquid... wait what's with that liquid thing? At least call it properly.

For training, luckily boogaloo and such don't need a lot of space.

So you can find some video on the net, chat with a few people and get started at home.

I've been trying to find you some good vids on that, but couldn't find something decent yet.

I'll post here if I find anything of interest.

Meanwhile, you should search for basics on how to do Waves, Pops and Glides to begin.

Finding a training spot near where you live, and get to know the people there will help a lot.

As you can get advice and improve on the fly, which is invaluable to your progress.

Well it's all about experiencing new moves, meeting new people, and having fun.

And I'll second Stampede suggestion: try to go to one big event, like BBoy city or Freestyle Session, to experience the real thing.

You won't be disapointed.

[The Derrit]

Ah, looks like Stampede beat me to it.

Yeah, BBoy world is THE place to get more accurate info, & recent videos.

I've never hit bboy org personally so I can't elaborate on it.

Just try avoiding places crowded with e-boys if possible, you'll loose your time.

It's often attention-seekers, posting video of the move they've been trying to do for 5 years, because they never really train.

As for liquid... wait what's with that liquid thing? At least call it properly.

For training, luckily boogaloo and such don't need a lot of space.

So you can find some video on the net, chat with a few people and get started at home.

I've been trying to find you some good vids on that, but couldn't find something decent yet.

I'll post here if I find anything of interest.

Meanwhile, you should search for basics on how to do Waves, Pops and Glides to begin.

Finding a training spot near where you live, and get to know the people there will help a lot.

As you can get advice and improve on the fly, which is invaluable to your progress.

Well it's all about experiencing new moves, meeting new people, and having fun.

And I'll second Stampede suggestion: try to go to one big event, like BBoy city or Freestyle Session, to experience the real thing.

You won't be disapointed.

My big issue here is that I live in New Hampshire. So i'm not really near anything by a long shot lol i don't think there's much of a dancing culture here.

but you never know til you look!