House dance is a style of urban dance that has its roots in the early house music scene of Chicago in the 1980s. It was developed by primarily African-American and Latino dancers who were seeking freedom on the dance floor from the constraints of more traditional jazz, ballet or modern styles.
The music at its core is that which falls under House Music genre – electronic club-style music with a four-on-the-floor beat. Over time, different sub-genres within this have emerged such as deep house, techno-house, soulful house and many more.
This style is heavily influenced by other earlier styles like tap dancing and especially salsa footwork- which emphasizes speed changes in body movements along with intricacy and transitions than hip hop. House Dance also borrows some steps from swing era dances namely lindy-hop and charleston.
One thing that distinguishes House Dance from most other street styles (with an exception being waacking/vogueing)is its emphasis on improvisation over choreography- making it even harder to teach or codify.The movement vocabulary is less defined for House-Dance as compared to Ballet for instance. Although there are specific foundational steps like Jacking/Machine Gun/Pounding & Jukin’/Stomping known among others; but overall,Individual freestyle expression using basic concepts like footwork patterns,Locks,Pivoits,Twists etc is valued more than set moves/steps/tricks during battles.Judging systems may not only focus on creativity/originality but musicality/clarity might be taken into account while deciding winners offering some solace in comparison to strength based B-boying battles
In essence,Housedance alignes closely with vibe/mood over performance.It’s hard to explain exactly what makes this style so special – it needs to be experienced/viewed live! One defining feature however we could talk about would be “Loft Style” .Lofts in New York city particularly made popular in 60s were places where jazz and funk heads would tune up their distinct tastes.In the same way,House dance dialogues primarily with House music.One could argue that house isn’t just a dance style but a lifestyle that defines all else- what one drinks, wears and shouldier moves
New york also brought its own variations to the form further moving away from Chicago jacking battling nature.Then came popular house DJ Frankie Knuckles (also referred to as father of house) who moved to New York after starting his successful Legendary Warehouse Club which soon became the place-to-be for anything-House dancing. These dancers started borrowing from other styles like salsa, locking, popping & waving – blending them together – creating unique steps+feel.
In order for a student/dancer making first contact with Housedance –the fastest way is finding social clubs near your location.The level of experience among different attendees can vary massively depending on how “underground” these events are affording everyone chance to learn with no judgement or elitism.Playing around some basic step patterns along fine tuning’em attending houseshows/MC hosted club dances are definite ways of expanding horizon.Knowledging oneself about history/culture surrounding House-Dance will not only help gain more insight during performers by letting you appreciate each nuance creeping into each move but also might promote onto becoming an ambassador/exporter/building bridges within/between communities through art forms.For artists around WORLD there exist plenty of workshops/slides/tutorials online .
That said,Housedance as known today still doesn’t receive large-scale mainstream recognition. In spite if having global roots,Certain countries have strong local scenes (Brazil/Paris/London) offering employment opportunities honing young talent nevertheless many houses require leaps of faith encouraging positive attitudes towards community building,sustainability over commercial battles.This lack of visibility plays a key role.Housedancers however don’t let this keep them down.People tend to stay in this style for its community of like-minded folks, it being unpretentious and welcoming to all ages/sizes/genders.Ravers who seek liberation from the popular EDM swamp find solace on dance-floor where they can connect with themselves/others on a heartbeat level.Besides that IT’s FUN! around the world From studios/nightclubs/parks/church basements,Plenty of dance-offs/battles are fought off battle-floors just as well in hallways, underground tunnels, staircases. For House-Heads there ain’t really no “Wrong” or “Right” way – all you need is passion,determination,courage along willingness to Express yourself musically.It presents an exciting physical approach where what matters most is Loving and Celebrating oneself while enjoying the Music.
House dance is an urban style of dance that emerged in the early 1980s from the house music scene in Chicago. The dancers who developed House Dance were primarily African-American and Latino, seeking to break away from traditional jazz, ballet or modern styles, and find freedom on the dance floor. This unique style of dance has been heavily influenced by earlier styles like tap dancing, salsa footwork, and swing era dances.
At its core lies electronic club-style music with a four-on-the-floor beat which falls under the House Music genre. Over time, sub-genres within this have emerged such as deep house, techno-house, soulful house among others. One thing that distinguishes House Dance from other street styles is its emphasis on improvisation over choreography- making it even harder to teach or codify. Its movement vocabulary is less defined than classical forms like Ballet for instance.
The focus in Housedance remains on individual freestyle expression using basic concepts like footwork patterns,Locks,Pivoits,Twists etc during battles rather than set moves/steps/tricks offering a more level playing field.Judging systems may not only focus on creativity/originality but musicality/clarity might be taken into account while deciding winners offering some solace in comparison to strength based B-boying battles.
Housedance aligns closely with vibe/mood over performance hence being hard to explain what makes this style so special – it needs to be experienced/viewed live! One defining feature however we could talk about would be “Loft Style” .Lofts in New York city particularly made popular in 60s were places where jazz and funk heads would tune up their distinct tastes.In the same way,Housedancing dialogues primarily with House music.One could argue that house isn’t just a dance style but also a lifestyle that defines all else- what one drinks,wears,and shouldier moves.
New York City brought variations then came popular house DJ Frankie Knuckles (also referred to as father of house) who moved to New York after starting his successful Legendary Warehouse Club which soon became the world’s hub for everything House dancing. These dancers started borrowing from other styles like salsa, locking, popping & waving – blending them together creating unique steps+feel.
To learn Housedance one can easily find social clubs near their location and just start playing around some basic step patterns or attending residential dances/events are definite ways of expanding horizon. Getting familiarized with cultural history surrounding House-Dance will not only help appreciate each nuance into every move but also promote becoming an ambassador/exporter/building bridges within/between communities through art forms.For artists around WORLD there exist plenty of workshops/slides/tutorials online.
Despite House Dance having global roots, it has yet to receive mainstream recognition in many parts of the world. Certain countries have strong local scenes (Brazil/Paris/London), offering employment opportunities honing young talent nevertheless many houses require leaps of faith encouraging positive attitudes towards community building,sustainability over commercial battles.Ravers who seek liberation from the popular EDM swamp find solace on dance-floor where they can connect with themselves/others on a heartbeat level. It’s FUN! From studios/nightclubs/parks/church basements,Plenty of dance-offs/battles are fought off battle-floors just as well in hallways, underground tunnels,staircases—For House-Heads there ain’t really no “Wrong” or “Right” way – all you need is passion,determination,courage along willingness to Express yourself musically.It presents an exciting physical approach where what matters most is Loving and Celebrating oneself while enjoying the Music.”