Dance

Hip hop Dance Analysis Hip Hop Dance Analysis The Space Dance and Arts center offers a variety of dance es. Hip hop is one of its most popular classes. It refers to street dance styles that are performed to hip hop music. It is an expression of the urban youth culture. It is also a source of creativity and industry among the youth. My experience in the class helped me understand this because of the energy involved and the opportunity to use one’s creativity.
A regular hip hop dance class is divided into four parts. The first part is warming up to prepare the student mentally and physically for the dance. It is followed by stretching exercises that prepare the body for the intense movements. The third part involves isolation exercises. At this stage, the dancers are taught how to move different parts of their bodies separately. This stage is particularly important as a lesson on creativity because it enables the dancer to master their movements before dancing with others. Creativity involves the use of imagination made possible by understanding oneself first.
The last step is a routine where parts of the choreography are taught and then put together to form a short routine that is accompanied by music and dance. The creativity process involves collaboration where ideas are shared and tested. The inventions inspired by hip hop have had a profound impact on pop music. All creative efforts have an impact on the people involved. It has influenced the attitudes of the youth around the world (Watkins, 2005).
Hip hop is a very vigorous aapproach to dancing. One of the most common hip hop dancing styles is break dancing. It consists of acts conducted near the ground that are called downrock or while standing up. It requires a lot of personal space. Downrock involves the dancer spinning quickly on their head or hands.
The creative aspect of this dance style is emphasized by the fact that it allows dancers to perform freely. It allows people to add their individual personalities to the dance. The other styles are popping, locking, Boogaloo, freestyle, electric boogie moves and social dance. Freestyle allows dancers to improvise individual dance moves.
The genre started in the 1970s (Watkins 2005). The period followed a period of urban renewal and capital flight that resulted in a wide gap between the inner cities populated by black people and the suburbs populated by the more affluent whites (Watkins 2005). One of its inspirations was to contribute towards black empowerment. It was hoped that the energy, loyalty and passion that defined gang life could be directed towards more productive social endeavors (Watkins 2005). However, over the years, hip hop has been held captive by the gang culture.
The hip hop culture is an expression of the youth’s rebellion towards the cultural and political mainstream (Watkins 2005). It is also an expression of the youth’s struggle to define their lives. In the recent past, there has been a rise in dance movies because dance crews engage in dance battles that are contributing to the rise of hip hop. The dances are energy intensive activities from a culture that promotes the ingenuity of youth. It allows dancers to integrate their styles, reflecting a culture that values creativity.

References
Watkins, S. C. (2005). Hip hop matters: Politics, pop culture, and the struggle for the soul of a
movement. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.