[[Image:120844215_b137f7aba5_o.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A girl [[hip hop dance|hip hop dancing]], a very broad and common category of street dance.]]
'''Street dance''' is an umbrella term, similar to [[vernacular dance]], used to describe [[dance]] styles that evolved outside of [[dance studio]]s at more everyday spaces such as [[street]]s, [[school]] yards and [[nightclub]]s. They're often [[improvisation]]al and [[social dance|social]] in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with the spectators and the other dancers.
''Street dance'' is also commonly used specifically for the many [[hip hop dance]]s and [[funk dance]] styles that began appearing in the [[United States]] in the [[1970]]s, and are still alive and evolving within the [[hip hop culture]] of today, such as [[breakdance]], [[popping]], [[locking]], [[hip hop dance#New_school.2Fnew_style|hip hop new style]] and [[house dance]]. These dances are popular on all levels, as a form of excercise, an artform, or for competition, and are today practiced both at dance studios and more freely arranged spaces. Some schools use street dance as a form of [[physical education]].
Many street dance styles are [[African American dance]]s as they first appeared within [[African American]] communities.
==Characteristics==
Unlike many other dance forms, most street dances encourage individuality and originality, and that dancers interpret the existing moves freely and even invent new ones to create a personal style of their own. Improvisation is the heart of most street dances, though [[choreography]] is also seen, mostly mixed with improvisation or used for prepared shows.
Generally, a street dance is based on a unique style or feel that are expressed through the dance, usually tied to a certain genre of [[music]]. As new moves evolve based on this feel, the dance is under constant development, and if the feel starts to change it might give birth to a completely new dance form.
==Battles==
[[Image:51189164 3cc8f04821 o.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Battles are an important part of [[breakdance]], a well-known and popular form of street dance.]]
Many street dances involve ''battles'' of some sort (known as [[jamming (dance)|jamming]] in other dance cultures), where individuals or groups of people (called ''crews'' in hip hop contexts) dance against each other, with the observing crowd or a group of [[judge]]s deciding the winner. Battles normally takes place in a ''circle'' of free space on the dance floor, with the dancers taking turns to enter and executing their moves. Normally, if the street dance style is not a [[partner dance]], only one dancer performs at a time, except when people from the same crew performs a choreographed routine. There are some exceptions to this, such as [[uprock]]ing, which uses a line formation with the dancers facing each other on fixed positions on a straight line, dancing simultaneously.
Battles are very improvisational in nature, and the winners are often those who best manage to adapt to the music, their opponents and the current atmosphere. Though battles can become quite energetic, most dancers consider it important to show [[respect]] to other dancers, even to adversaries. To let the feelings in a battle become too personal is generally frowned upon.
==Competitions==
Today, serious street dance competitions are getting increasingly popular, and a number of large reoccurring international events are taking place around the world, such as [[Battle of the Year]], [[Juste Debout]], [http://www.gforceproductions.com G force Street Dance Weekend UK and International Championships], [http://ihiphopdance.com iDance UK Hip Hop Crew Championships], [http://artspectrum.org/alhc.htm The American Lindy Hop Championship], [http://www.jumpoff.tv Jump Off] and [http://www.hiphopinternational.com World Hip Hop Championship]. These contests focus mainly on judged battles but also on choreographed shows.
==Styles==
[[Image:120843875_67f7833e71_o.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Hip hop dance|Hip hop dancing]] by a young girl.]]
Some of the most famous street dance styles of today, such as [[breakdance]], [[popping (dance)|popping]] and [[locking (dance)|locking]], began appearing around the [[1970s]], and [[hip hop new style]] and [[house dance]] around the [[1980s]]. Though some of these styles originally evolved seperatly from each other, most of them are today associated with the hip hop scene in one way or the other, as they share many street dance elements.
More recently, new street dance styles are emerging that are further inspired by hip hop and its music. [[Krumping]], with its focus on highly energetic battles and movements, is an example of such a style that just recently became publicly known. It's also common to see some characteristics of street dance being mixed with other more traditional dance forms, creating styles such as [[street-jazz]], a hybrid of modern hip hop styles and [[jazz dance]]. Such styles are generally focused more on choreography and performance and less on improvisation and battles, and are not always considered pure street dances, though a popular alternative to the more traditional and classical styles of [[dance studio|studio dancing]].
==See also==
* [[Vernacular dance]]
* [[African American dance]]
* [[Hip hop dance]]
* [[Breakdance]]
* [[Popping]]
* [[Locking]]
* [[Krumping]]
==External links==
* [http://www.freshvibesdance.com/ FreshVibesDance.com]Streetdance Courses in South West UK.
* [http://breakdancecrew.com BreakdanceCrew.com] An online community with tutorials and videos for breakdancing, popping, and locking
* [http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=497846 Houghton Mifflin book] A street dance themed novel titled [[Kid B]].
* [http://artspolicy.colum.edu/DVProfiles.html "Dancing on the Through-Line: Rennie Harris and the Past and Future of Hip-Hop Dance"] by Jeff Chang; from the series Democratic Vistas Profiles: Essays in the Arts and Democracy
{{Street dance}}
[[Category:Street dance]]
[[Category:Dance]]
[[fr:Street dance]]
[[nl:Streetdance]]
[[fi:Street dance]]
[[sv:Streetdance]]
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its affiliates. In fact, we fucking despise them.
|
