For the sake of continuity, we will refer to it as Hip Hop Dance in this article.

‍You will learn everything you need to learn how to dance Hip Hop, from understanding music to where to find a Hip Hop dance class in your community. Ready to learn how to dance Hip Hop? Let’s get moving.

Part 1: Musicality
What is dance musicality? Why is it important in learning Hip Hop dance? Dance musicality is how dancers hear, interpret, and dance to music. It sets the tone for our movements and gives sounds to follow. 카지노사이트

But, in order to start leaning about music and how we dance to it, the first step is learning how to count music itself.

What is an 8-count?
We use an 8-count to break down the structure of music. It’s sort of like a map to know when you do a certain move. For example, if a choreographer says that a move should be executed on “the 5,” you’re going to count the beats of the music like this: “One, two, three, four, MOVE.”

TRY THIS:
Listen to a song, any song, and try counting in your head – “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.” Match your counts to the beat of the song – this is what you’d naturally bob your head or clap your hands to.

Follow along with this video for some practice, and a further breakdown of all the moments that you can hit within an 8-count.

Different musical elements of a song
*We’re not going into every single sound found in the history of music! Just the basics, so as not to overwhelm or overcomplicate.

LYRICS
The words that the singer is singing! The lyrics are probably the easiest to distinguish, but hardest to count/dance to, since vocals don’t always match the strict structure of 8-counts. Sometimes, choreographers will make moves that correlate with the lyrics by miming actions that match what they singer is talking about. 안전한카지노사이트

BASS‍
The bass is the lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano), or, the lowest sound in a musical composition – its there to support the melody. Different instruments can produce a bass sound (most often drums or bass guitars). Dancers often use the onomatopoeia “boom” to describe a bass sound, and we tend to associate bass sounds with strong, grounded movements like a foot stomp or a Woah.

SNARE‍
It’s the sharp, staccato drum sound you hear in most Hip Hop songs, kinda like the sound you make when you snap a rubber band. Dancers often describe a snare as a “ka!” when they talk about their routine. Dancers usually do quick, sharp movements to match this sound. Think of how a dancer might suddenly shoot their arm to the side and snap their fingers, or quickly turn their head to look at the audience.

HI-HAT‍
A hi-hat is produced by a hi- hat cymbal. Dancers often describe this sound as “tss tss” sound. Hi-Hats are usually paired with sharp movements, but they might melt into something groovier if the sound of the cymbal creates a reverb-y echo. Think of how a dancer might pop their chest right when the hi-hat is struck, and then might add a couple smaller pops right after the first one to mimic the way a hi-hat echoes.

SYNTH
A sound synthesizer produces electric signals converted to sound through amps and loudspeakers. A common type of synth is the synth piano, which may sound like a long, slow bass – a”wobba wobba” sound. This sound goes great with a gooeyyy movement – you want to mimic the way the sound is rippling by using resistance and waves in your movement. A dancer might do this by rolling their chest slowly to a synth.

STRINGS
Guitar strums and melodies are also useful to take note of, for more instrumental / acoustic songs. You can do whatever feels right in the moment to these types of songs!

‍KEYBOARD/PIANO
The piano sounds will also accent, or set the melody/harmony of the song. You can dance to these sounds separately or as chords. If you hear a high-pitched piano note over and over, you might hit that note with an upper-body-focused little move. If you hear a rich set of chords, you might do some flowy, full-body moves to communicate how rich those sounds are.

Try this:
You’ll start to see patterns when you listen to music more carefully. Maybe there’s a bass drum on each 1st and 5th count, or a snare on every even count. As you’re clapping or bouncing or whatever you’re doing to mark the beats in the music, take notice of the sound patterns that exist within it. It’ll cue you in to the musicality you should use when you dance. 카지노사이트 추천

What does Hip Hop dance musicality look like?
Dance musicality is demonstrated in several ways, depending on the dancer’s style, the song, and how they choose to interpret the music.

Check out these 2 pieces to the same song, that are completely different in both style of dance and musicality choice.

‍How Many Drinks – Pat Cruz & Aggie Loyola

How Many Drinks – Carlo Darang

Everyone listens to music differently, as you can probably tell from these two pieces. Choreographers utilize different pictures and textures to portray how they hear the song.

‍Not sure what textures are? Read this: What Are Textures In Dancing?

‍Great choreographers have unique ways of moving to music that bring out sounds you might not have heard when you’re just listening to the song. Now you know what it means when someone says. “UGHHH, their musicality is so sick!” By being more familiar with the different sounds that make up a song and their relationship to the flow of it, you’ll have a better understanding of how to execute moves to embody those sounds more closely.

Part 2: Body Awareness
Have you ever taken a yoga class? Then you’ll know that a big objective of yoga is simply to be present – in the mind, and the body. By doing so, you’re bringing together your mental and physical selves. Similarly, as a dancer, your mind and body must be working together – your mind is the part that understands the music and the intent behind the movement, and your body is the actual tool for moving. Here are ways to train your body to learn to dance Hip Hop.

Try this:
Lay on the floor, and close your eyes. (Turn on some light music here, if you want.)

Then, go through this list of body parts, and focus your thoughts and feelings on each one. Flex or move the part to draw more attention to it. Once you feel fully comfortable with where it is and what it feels like, move on to the next one.

Arms

Shoulder

Forearm

Wrist

Fingers

Fingertips

Legs

Thigh

Knees

Calves

Ankles

Feet

Toes

Hips (Try rotating them in and out)

Chest

Upper chest

Core (tummy area)

Lower abdomen

Neck (Try turning your neck, and also rolling it clock- and counter-clockwise)

It sounds almost too easy to be effective – but the key here is not the difficulty of the movement (which is obviously very minimal). The key is how familiar you’re becoming with these body parts, which requires a surprisingly great deal of focus. Muscle memory starts with muscle awareness! By dedicating your time and energy in getting to know your body, you’re training your most important tool as a dancer!

Body Placements In Dance
Cool, so we’re getting to know what each part of the body feels like in a resting position. Let’s create some pictures to explore how our bodies look and feel in certain placements. We’ll be using 3 main ideas for these exercises:

Focus
Posture
Angles
Focus
What “focus” refers to in dance is the direction your face is facing. Timed right with a committed facial, your focus has the power to make or break a piece.

Whatever pose you’re holding or pathway you’re moving through, your focus is most commonly straight to the mirror (not the greatest habit, but it’s good to watch yourself at first, when developing body awareness), to the right, to the left, up, down – and to varying degrees.

For example, “right 45” can refer to turning your face toward the right, but only halfway from directly ahead and your right side. “Down left 45” signals looking slightly toward the left, with your chin pointed down, so that your eyes are aimed at the bottom corner of the wall. Focus changes will flow naturally as you learn choreography, but sometimes the choreographer will specify certain pictures and combos to have a certain focus.