What is True Hip-Hop Dance?

I get this question a lot and it is a very loaded question. If you go to any dance school, you will see classes that are listed as hip-hop. I have tried talking to the schools and my first questions is, “So it’s a breaking class right?” I usually get a weird and confused stare and the answer usually is, “No, its a hip-hop class.” I move on and ask about the rest of their offerings and walk away in frustration. Maybe its me or the community that I belong too, that creates this frustration. After all, not everyone is knowledgeable about the culture as I am. I do know that dance studios operate a business, and in order to sustain the business, you have to sell. Hip-hop definitely sells. With the advent of shows like SYTYCD, ABDC and WOD, “Hip-hop” dance has become very popular. The question that remains is, I that really hip-hop? The answer in my mind is yes and no. You might get different responses depending on who you ask. For me, the choreography classes that have become popular, have elements of hip-hop but is only a reflection of the dancer teaching the class. The class in essence, should be called, John’s dance choreography class. The labels that people use are dangerous because if used incorrectly, can miss-educate the masses. It is almost too late to fix what has been destroyed by TV shows claiming to have hip-hop dancers. To me, the only hip-hop dancers are the b-boys and b-girls that compete and usually get booted or voted off the show. The rest are choreo dancers, doing routines to someone else’s choreography. Let me know what

Welcome

Welcome to the Freestyle Dance Collective blog. The goal of this blog is to promote freestyle dance in the community. Freestyle dance is the true form of expression and creativity. I hope we can continue to grow together and keep freestyle dance alive for years to come.