House dance
House dance is a social dance primarily danced to house music that has roots in the clubs of Chicago and of New York.[1][2] The main elements of House dance include "Footwork", "Jacking", and "Lofting".[3][4][5] House dance is often improvisational in nature and emphasizes on fast and complex foot-oriented steps combined with fluid movements in the torso, as well as floor work.
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[edit] Characteristics
"House Dance is an amalgamation of the post-disco era.[1] A lot of their movements and what took place in certain key places, the Jack and a number of clubs after that. It was a community based dance so vocal points were surrounded by music and DJs, but many of the dancers who were not looking to create, ended up becoming a part of that dance vocabulary."[6]
The major source in house dance movement steams directly from the music and the elements within the music such as Jazz, African, Latin, Soul, R&B, Funk, Hip Hop, etc. The other source is the people, the individuals and their characteristics, ethnicities, origin, etc. You have people of all walks of life partying under one roof. Thus you have exchanges of information (body language) house dance is a social dance before these competitions.
In house dancing there is an emphasis on the subtle rhythms and riffs of the music, and the footwork follows them closely. This is one of the main features that distinguishes house dancing from dancing that was done to disco before house emerged and current dancing that is done to electronic dance music as part of the rave culture.
Major contributors to the house dance scene in New York City include Ejoe Wilson, Brian "Footwork" Green, Tony McGregor, Marjory Smarth, Caleaf Sellers, "Brooklyn" Terry Wright, Shannon Mabra, Tony "Sekou" Williams, Shannon Selby (aka Shan S), Voodoo Ray, Chris Sawyer, and many others. Some notables before them such as Bravo, Karate Kris, Archie Burnett, as well as countless lofters and garage heads who danced at places such as Paradise Garage, Studio 54 and The Loft.
[edit] References
- Reynolds, Simon. Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge, 1999. pp. 1025–1039.
- Sommer, Sally R. "C'mon to My House: Underground-House Dancing." Dance Research Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 72–86.
- Cheeseman, Phil. "The History Of House" , Dj magazine, December 2003.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "The History Of House".
- ^ "What is house?".
- ^ "Spin Slide and Jack: A History of House Dancing", 5 Magazine, 1 August 2005.
- ^ "Major Contributors in House Dance".
- ^ [http://www.housedancer.com/the-articles/major-contributors-in-house-dance
- ^ "Sharing The House #4 - Byron Cox Interview", YouTube.
[edit] External links
- The House Dance Project comprehensive guide to House Dance
- House History at Homestead history retold by some of the founders
- MindBodyFLO.com Some of the House Dance culture in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Basic House Dance Moves video tutorials
- NYC House Dancers showcase video
Competitions and festivals:
- House Dance International international competition and festival focusing on House Dance - USA
- Juste Debout urban dance competition and festival, including House Dance as one major part of the event - France
- SDK Europe competition focusing on Hip Hop New Style, House Dance, Popping and Locking - Czech Republic
- House Dance Europe - Italy
- WDC (World Dance Colosseum) - Japan
- HOUSEDANCEFOREVER international House Dance battle - Netherlands
- House Dance Conference USA
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