Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as:

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance), boogaloo cultural movement in Oakland, California. As boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as "robottin'" in Richmond, California; strutting movements in San Francis ...

, locking, house dance, waacking, voguing, etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a culture, a moment in time, a way of life, influenced by natural social interaction. A street dance is a

vernacular dance Vernacular dances are dances which have developed 'naturally' as a part of 'everyday' culture within a particular community. In contrast to the elite and official culture, vernacular dances are usually learned naturally without formal instruction.An ...

in an urban context. Vernacular dances are often

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

al and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with spectators and other dancers. These dances are a part of the

vernacular culture Vernacular culture is the cultural forms made and organised by ordinary, often indigenous people, as distinct from the high culture of an elite. One feature of vernacular culture is that it is informal. Such culture is generally engaged in on a ...

of the geographical area that they come from.

History

Street dance evolved during the 1970s outside dance studios in any available open space. This includes streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards,

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

s, and nightclubs. This is partly because African Americans who created the style were generally not accepted into dance studios because of their race. A significant feature of street dance is that it was historically a dance of young people offering a sense of freedom and giving a 'voice' to unrepresented communities. Due to the mix of styles within street dance, its origin can not be traced to one precise area, however, America is the birthplace of most street styles. Breakdance originated in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and Lite Feet emerged in Harlem, both in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, while popping and locking developed during the 1970s funk era in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, USA. Clogging, which evolved in the streets and factories of

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

in the mid-19th century, is an early form of street dance.

References

External links

* {{Dance

History

See also

References

External links