The criteria for judging current day "Hip Hop" dance routines is not unlike judging any other style of
dance. However, in order to have the confidence to judge this style correctly, we need to educate
ourselves a bit on what we are looking at and looking for. This will help us, not only in watching what
the current dance community has evolved into already, but also what it may be in the future as well.
Criteria for judging Hip Hop dance:
-Cleanliness (body lines, levels, formations, focus *of face/head*, etc.)
- Musicality (appropriateness of moves applied to music)
-Texture (speed control aka "warping", sharpness)
-Visuals (formation changes, level changes, pickups, drop-offs, holds, use of stage)
-Versatility (applying different styles to set: house, popping or *tutting*, locking, waacking, vogueing,
breaking, krumping; also music choice)
-Performance (Intensity, commitment to moves, facials)
Hip Hop dance (in a nutshell):
Hip Hop was known to originate in the 70's/80's. There are four main elements of Hip Hop:
-Rapping (MC'ing)
-Graffiti
-DJ'ing
-Breaking (B-Boying)
Breakdancing was the original form of Hip Hop dancing, however the evolved form has more styles
than just b-boying included in it. All over the world, a "hip hop" dance class varies in style, solely
dependent on the teacher and their training background. You will find elements of jazz, lyrical,
popping, locking, house, waacking, vogueing, etc. There is no set of fundamental moves for hip hop,
therefore anything goes! Dancers, choreographers, and teachers whose forte is this style will pull
inspiration from anywhere or anything to create a unique routine, different from the rest, and creating
their own personal translation of music to movement.
Other styles of dance often included in current Hip Hop:
-B-Boying/Breakdancing: Originating in the 70's in New York, it was first mass published in the
movie "Flashdance" in 1983. Bboying evolved from almost every dance, acrobatic and martial arts
style such as: tap, jazz, capoeira, balkan, ballroom, folks style, shaolin kung-fu, circus, lindy hop,
Scottish, square and swing. Most bboying routines, or "sets", consist of: Tops and uprocks, footwork,
windmills, flares, airtracks, freezes, swipes, chairs, threading, etc. One of the original bboy crews was
called the Rocksteady Crew.
(James Brown called the boys who hop in dance circles to the breaks of his song: "bboys.")
-Popping: There are many forms of popping (strobing, liquid, boogaloo, tutting, etc). The most popular
form of presenting this style is usually robotics or tutting. For the most part, it is a series of movements
isolating different sections of the body to create the illusion of being a robot.
-Locking: Locking (originally "Campbellocking" from Don Campbell) is a style of "funk" dance, which
is today also associated with hip hop. The name is based on the concept of locking movements, which
basically means freezing from a fast movement and "locking" in a certain position, holding that position
for a short while and then continuing in the same speed as before. It relies on fast and distinct arm and
hand movements combined with more relaxed hips and legs. The movements are generally large and
exaggerated, and often very rhythmic and tightly synced with the music. The basic groove of any
locking routine or dance is a rocking back/upward of the neck. Some of its fundamental moves are
wrist rolls, blasts, pacing, which-a-way, skeeter rabbit, and the scooby doo.
-House: House dance is a social dance, primarily danced to house music that has roots in the clubs of
Chicago and New York.The main elements of House dance include "Footwork", "Jacking", and
"Lofting". House dance is often improvisational in nature and emphasizes on fast and complex footoriented steps combined with fluid movements in the torso, as well as floor work. The "jack" is the
fundamental groove of house, almost the opposite of locking, where the chest and upper body region
has a downward motion with a loose neck. Some basic moves of house are the heel-toe, farmer,
shuffle, loose leg, skate, and quick step, in different variations and along with many others.
-Waacking: Originating in the 70's (where is debatable. Some say New York, some say Los Angeles),
it is derived from the disco/funk era. Began from posing, a man named Tyrone Proctor varied the style
by throwing arms and shoulders into the movements. This style is somewhat similar to locking, where
wrist rolls are often included at the end of the throwing of the shoulders. The basic groove of waacking
is called "punking", where there is a constant expanding and concaving of the chest area.
-Vogueing: Originating in the 80's in New York, vogueing began as a freestyle recreation of
hieroglyphics from Egypt. The style is more about creating pictures/posing with your body to music.
Gatherings for vogueing are called "balls". Each voguer belongs to a family called a "house". A popular
move that many are currently using is called a "dip", often referred to as a "shablam!", in which the
dancer falls directly to the ground onto their backs, one foot tucked underneath themselves and
another sticking straight into the air.
-Krumping: The root word "Krump" came from the lyrics of a song in the 1990's. It is sometimes
spelled K.R.U.M.P., which is a acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, presenting
krumping as a faith-based artform. Krumping was created by two dancers: Ceasare "Tight Eyez"
Willis and Jo'Artis "Big Mijo" Ratti in South Central, Los Angeles during the early 2000's.
Clowning is the less aggressive predecessor to krumping and was created in 1992 by Thomas
"Tommy the Clown" Johnson in Compton, California. Krumping focuses on highly energetic battles
and dramatic movements that tend to be intense, fast-paced, and sharp. Krumping is often related to a
"mosh pit".
Things to watch for when judging different styles:
As the hip hop dance community evolves, so must our ability to distinguish proper form within each
style. Here are some things to look for when watching a routine consisting of various dance styles.
-Bboying: Cleanliness/smoothness of movement and transitions from one bboy move to the next,
clever and acrobatic movement, ability to completely control and hold freezes or combine power
moves (windmills, flares, etc.)
-Popping: Proper isolation of body parts, control of texture, musicality.
-Locking: Proper form (locking body parts at the end of each movement), groove (particularly the
"backwards head bob")l
-House: This style is more free, but be on the lookout for the "jack".
-Waacking: The basic groove "punking" should be incorporated into almost every waacking move
(chest should be overextended out), shoulders should be thrown into arm movements, but still retain
clean lines.
-Vogueing: This style is a little more difficult to judge, but you mainly want to look for clean lines and
pictures. A little sass doesn't hurt either. There should be a distinct amount of intensity when dancers
are going into each movement.
-Krumping: This is another difficult one to judge. Primarily watch for intensity and sharpness of
moves.
Overall, there are many styles included in the modern day version of "hip hop" dance. But eventually,
the dance world will begin to explore outside of the realm of regular choreography. Having the
knowledge of the various different styles that are often included in choreography, we have a more
keen sense of what we like and don't like, and even what we would like to see more of. We can push
and motivate dancers and choreographers in their early stages to think outside of the box and draw
inspiration from other places than just what they see on TV.
Greg Baja
Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer
info cited from various sources on the internet