CULTURE
Urban dance styles explained, one by one
Hip hop, breaking, house, locking, popping, waacking, krump, dancehall, heels and commercial: where each style comes from and how to recognise it.
· by UTOPIC · 5 min
"Urban dance" is a very big umbrella. Under it sit styles born at block parties, in clubs, in music videos or in dance studios, each with its own music, history and way of moving.
This is a quick guide to find your way around, especially if you're heading to your first intensive and don't know which class to pick.
In 30 seconds
- The first ones were born in the 1970s, in New York and California.
- Each one has its own music: funk, disco, house, dancehall, hip hop…
- You can spot them by their basics: the bounce, the lock, the pop, the jack…
- Just starting? Hip hop is a good way in, and at an intensive you can try several.
All ten at a glance
Where each one comes from
| Style | Era | Origin | Music |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip hop | The culture, 1970s; the dance, 1980s and 90s | New York | Hip hop |
| Breaking | Early 1970s | The Bronx, New York | The breaks the DJ played |
| House | 1980s | Chicago and New York | House |
| Locking | Around 1970 | Los Angeles | Funk |
| Popping | 1970s | Fresno, California | Funk |
| Waacking | Early 1970s | Los Angeles | Disco and soul |
| Krump | Early 2000s | South Central, Los Angeles | Fast beats |
| Dancehall | From the late 1970s | Jamaica | Dancehall |
| Heels | Took off in the 2000s | Dance studios | Pop and R&B |
| Commercial | With music videos | Music videos, tours and TV | Whatever the song is |
Dates are approximate. Sources: Britannica, Olympics.com, Red Bull, 5 Magazine, KQED, LA Weekly, Dance Magazine and Nordic Journal of Dance.
Four dates to get your bearings
- 1971Don Campbell, the creator of locking, first appears on Soul Train
- 1973DJ Kool Herc's party in the Bronx, usually taken as the start of hip hop
- 2005Rize comes out, the documentary that took krump mainstream
- 2024Breaking makes its Olympic debut in Paris
campbellock.dance (Don Campbell's website), PBS, LA Weekly and Olympics.com.
About the dates
Almost all these styles were born at parties and in clubs, with nobody taking notes. Dates are approximate and some origins are still debated: here's what the pioneers and the most reliable sources say.
Hip hop
Born in New York in the 1970s, alongside hip hop culture: the DJ, the MC, graffiti and dance. As a dance style, what we call hip hop today comes mostly from the social dances that followed, the party dances of the eighties and nineties.
How to spot it
Bounce.
Bouncing with your knees, on the beat.
Rock.
Rocking your body with the music.
Party dances.
Steps with names, like the running man or the cabbage patch.
Breaking
From the Bronx, in the early seventies: b-boys and b-girls danced to the breaks, the instrumental sections DJs stretched out at block parties. Today it's mostly danced in battles.
Its four building blocks
Toprock.
Standing, before going down to the floor.
Footwork.
On the floor, with your weight on your hands and feet.
Power moves.
Spins and acrobatics.
Freezes.
Holding a position.
From the Bronx to the Games
It debuted at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games and was an Olympic sport at Paris 2024. It won't be at Los Angeles 2028: the organisers left it out in 2023.
House
It comes from the clubs of the 1980s, with house music: the Warehouse in Chicago, where the music was born, and New York clubs like the Paradise Garage. It's fast, all about the feet, and danced a lot in freestyle.
How to spot it
Jacking.
A wave that runs through the torso on the beat.
Footwork.
Quick steps, with pivots on the feet.
Lofting.
Smooth floorwork, with spins and slides.
Locking
Created by Don Campbell in Los Angeles around 1970, while he was trying to learn another dance, the Robot Shuffle. It's danced to funk, and it was made famous by the TV show Soul Train and his group, The Lockers, which he put together in 1973 with choreographer Toni Basil.
How to spot it
Locks.
Sudden freezes, as if the body had locked up.
Points.
Pointing, often at the audience.
Wrist rolls.
Rolling the wrists.
Popping
Born in Fresno, California, in the 1970s. The name that comes up most is Boogaloo Sam and his group, the Electric Boogaloos, who took it to Soul Train in 1979, although its exact origins are still debated. It's danced to funk.
How to spot it
Pop.
Contracting a muscle suddenly to hit the beat.
Animation.
Moving in jerks, like stop motion.
Tutting.
Angles with your arms and hands.
Waacking
It emerged in the early seventies in the gay clubs of Los Angeles, danced to disco and soul. It was created by young Black, Latino and Asian men, who called it punking. It's often mentioned alongside vogue, which comes from a different scene: the ballrooms of Harlem, in New York.
How to spot it
Arms.
Fast, as if striking the air on the beat.
Poses.
Exaggerated, inspired by classic Hollywood films.
Krump
It appeared in the early 2000s in South Central Los Angeles. It grew out of clowning, the dance Tommy the Clown and his crew took to kids' birthday parties, but without the make-up and much rawer. Tight Eyez, Big Mijo and Lil' C are often named among its pioneers.
Its four basics
Stomps.
Stamping the floor.
Jabs.
Sharp punches into the air.
Chest pops.
Popping the chest.
Arm swings.
Arms that cut through the air.
Rize (2005)
David LaChapelle's documentary took krump to a mainstream audience.
Dancehall
It comes from Jamaica and its dancehall music, which took off in the late seventies. Many steps have their own name and a known creator. One of the most famous was Bogle (Gerald Levy), who made his name in the nineties and created steps like the Willie Bounce and the Log On.
How to spot it
Named steps.
Many with a known creator.
Wine.
Rolling the hips.
Isolations.
Moving one part of the body and keeping the rest still.
Heels
Danced in heels. It draws on jazz, hip hop and vogue, among others, and it became popular mainly in dance studios from the 2000s, helped along by pop music videos. People of any gender dance it.
How to spot it
Lines.
Clean, as in jazz.
Floorwork.
Plenty of it.
Heels.
On for the whole class.
Tip
If your intensive has heels classes, ask what shoes they want and try them before you travel.
Commercial
The dance of music videos, tours, adverts and TV. It mixes hip hop, jazz and other styles depending on what the song calls for, with very clean choreography made for the camera and the stage.
How to spot it
Made for camera.
Clean routines, built to look good on screen.
In a group.
Often dancing for an artist.
A mix.
Hip hop, jazz and whatever the song calls for.
Where to start
If you've never danced, hip hop is a good way in: its groove foundation works for lots of other styles. Otherwise, follow the music you like:
Pick by music
| If you like… | Try |
|---|---|
| Rap and R&B | Hip hop |
| Electronic music | House |
| Funk | Locking or popping |
| Disco | Waacking |
| Pop and the stage | Commercial or heels |
Try a few
The best thing is to try a few: at a one-week intensive you can go through four or five styles and find the one that hooks you.
Which styles you dance at UTOPIC Summer Camp
At UTOPIC Summer Camp
- Every class is a choreography class, and the style depends on who teaches it.
- Past editions included hip hop, house and locking, among others.
- The UTOPIC IV teachers are announced one by one from 20 December.
If choreography to urban music is your thing, here's UTOPIC Summer Camp's hip hop choreography intensive: one week on the Costa Brava, between August and September 2027.
