Hip-hop's in my blood what about you?????

[gonzohiphop]

:P :wink:

Hey everyone...I am a 23 year old female from Calgary, Canada and I am an avid hip-hopper. I guess I got started last summer when my best friend showed me his moves, he danced just like Usher. I mimicked him a few times and I was hooked. I have a natural nack for it, I have even started choreographing my own stuff that I have not really taught to anyone yet. I have not been involved in any dance classes but am eager to teach others and work in a dance environment. Does anyone know how to get started to become a dance instructor/ assistant???

Thanks guys!!!

T.

:banana:

[NeoDevin]

from Calgary, Canada

I feel for you girl! :wink: :lol:

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df gonzohiphop!! Glad to have you with us! Haven't doen hip hop personally, I think. :?

Here are a couple threads which you might find interesting. I'm on vacation right now so cannot do extensive searching, but definitely use our search function to see what we have on how to get into teaching dance while you wait for others to respond. Lots of useful stuff alreday here!!

What makes for a qualified dance instructor? (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2798)

Looking to teach dance (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2271)

Opening your own dance studio (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1732)

To all the danec teachers out there (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1610)

[gonzohiphop]

Thanks....that should be a good start!

T.

[Spitfire]

Welcome gonzohiphop, :D

I haven't done hip-hop, but it's nice to watch. 8) Are you just into hip-hop or do you do other types of dancing as well?

I like your avatar.

[ALLcity]

:P :wink:

Hey everyone...I am a 23 year old female from Calgary, Canada and I am an avid hip-hopper. I guess I got started last summer when my best friend showed me his moves, he danced just like Usher. I mimicked him a few times and I was hooked. I have a natural nack for it, I have even started choreographing my own stuff that I have not really taught to anyone yet. I have not been involved in any dance classes but am eager to teach others and work in a dance environment. Does anyone know how to get started to become a dance instructor/ assistant???

Thanks guys!!!

T.

:banana:

I hate to burst your bubble but what Usher does isn't really HipHop in the strictest meaning of the term. Not to say that Usher isn't a great dancer and not to say that he doesn't incorporate some HipHop into his dancing (and even his music)...but really he is an R&B singer (which isn't HipHop) that is also an incredible dancer. I know people, including the dancers themselves, term the style of dancing he does and what we see in a lot of other videos as "HipHop" but that really is a misnomer.

There are two major styles of traditional HipHop dance...One originating from the Eastcoast (primarily the South Bronx, NYC) and the other originating from the Westsoast (primarily the Bay Area of Southern, CA.). Both styles developed independently of each other and in fact only the one style from NYC was termed HipHop at first.

The Eastcoast style is called B-boying/B-Girling, or what the media and popular culture erroneously calls it - breakdancing. Breaking involves footwork, toprock, downrock, power moves, freezes, etc. and is derived from an older street dance called "rocking" which is more commonly known as "uprocking".

The Westcoast style is called the Funk Styles, sometimes people incorrectly label all the funk styles as "popping"...but popping is only ONE style under the umbrella of funk. The Funk Styles include popping, locking (think Rerun from What's Happening), boogalooing, waving, strutting, tutting, ticking, etc. Usher incorporates alot of Funk Styles into his choreography. The Funk Styles, as the name suggests, grew out of the California funk culture but quickly got incorporated into HipHop as both styles (breaking and funk) grew in popularity among street dancers and urban youth involved in the HipHop culture.

The only reason that I post this is that it's important for those of us who claim to be "HipHoppers" to define the culture ourselves and not let the media or others who just have a superficial interest in HipHop to define it for us. HipHop, not just as a dance, but the culture as a whole, which also includes graffiti art, MCing (rapping), turntablism (DJing) & beatboxing, has a lot of history and tradition behind it that needs to be preserved for the younger generations getting into it.

If you are really interested in getting immersed in the HipHop sub-culture and being a true HipHopper then I suggest visiting some of these sites for more knowledge on the subject...

http://www.zulunation.com - HipHop's first and biggest organization. Created by Afrika Bambaataa the Godfather of HipHop who also coined the term to describe our culture.

http://www.templeofhiphop.org - HipHop preservation society founded by graffiti writer, lyricist and college lecturer KRS ONE. They are the ones who founded the annual HipHop appreciation week (which is the 3rd week of may).

And now some great HipHop dance sites...

http://www.electricboogaloos.com - The creators of popping and boogaloo style (Funk Styles).

http://www.rocksteadycrew.com - Oldschool Breaking crew and official Zulu Nation B-boys.

http://www.mrwiggleshiphop.net - Member of the famous RSC & EB's dance crews (lots of great info on HipHop and especially HipHop dance).

http://members.aol.com/WEPAMAN/uprock.html - All about "rocking" (the precursor to breaking).

Also there is a DVD out now called "The Freshest Kids" and it's probably the best documentary ever made on HipHop dance. I think you can order it from their website - http://www.thefreshestkids.com

I know your query was about becoming a dance instructor but I think it's important to know as much about HipHop as you can before you try to teach it because that's the only way (besides skill and talent) that you'll get any respect as a teacher of HipHop.

I hope you have much success in whatever direction you decide to take your interest in HipHop...PEACE AHKI!

[SDsalsaguy]

There are two major styles of traditional HipHop dance...One originating from the Eastcoast (primarily the South Bronx, NYC) and the other originating from the Westsoast (primarily the Bay Area of Southern, CA.). Both styles developed independently of each other and in fact only the one style from NYC was termed HipHop at first.

:shock: Ummm, I don't clame to know anything about hiphop, but I do know that those of us living in California most certainly do not consider the Bay Area part of SoCal.

[ALLcity]

:shock: Ummm, I don't clame to know anything about hiphop, but I do know that those of us living in California most certainly do not consider the Bay Area part of SoCal.

haha sorry...didn't mean to offend any californians! i guess the bay is more mid-to-northern cali? excuse my ignorance of californian geography!

[SDsalsaguy]

:shock: Ummm, I don't clame to know anything about hiphop, but I do know that those of us living in California most certainly do not consider the Bay Area part of SoCal.

haha sorry...didn't mean to offend any californians! i guess the bay is more mid-to-northern cali? excuse my ignorance of californian geography!
Not a problem ALLcity. The Bay Area is actually one of those funny things... it's generally considered NorCal to anyone who lives south of it, but central to those who live there and further northward. :lol:

[ALLcity]

:shock: Ummm, I don't clame to know anything about hiphop, but I do know that those of us living in California most certainly do not consider the Bay Area part of SoCal.

haha sorry...didn't mean to offend any californians! i guess the bay is more mid-to-northern cali? excuse my ignorance of californian geography!
Not a problem ALLcity. The Bay Area is actually one of those funny things... it's generally considered NorCal to anyone who lives south of it, but central to those who live there and further northward. :lol:

haha anything below sac-town is southern cali to us northwesterners! (oregonians & washingtonians)...yeah i may have over simplified it by saying the bay area...but some of the hot spots for the development of the funk styles was fresno, oakland, sacramento and of course LA.

[d nice]

I'd have to disagree anything south of Fresno is L.A. :D

Okay seriousely what Usher does in his videos is definitely hip-hop, he animates, glides, pops, locks, waves etc. Just because he also mixes in some jazz stylings as well as his own flavor doesn't take him out of lineage. Hip-Hop is not rap, it isn't even really music, it is culture. Hip-hop as music is anything that represents that culture, that lifestyle, both good and bad, it is about the urban experience...R&B music can be hip-hop, pop music can be hip-hop, Rap music is almost always hip-hop, but if we use rap in its original meaning concerning music: the rhythmic delivery of words in an almost spoken form over beats and samples, Kid Rock and Rage Against the Machine qualify as much as the Beastie Boys and Run DMC.


allcity is definitely right about those of us in the culture defining ourselves and not letting the media, or anyone else do it for us. We may not always agree about where the line is on things, but that is for us to workout.

His recommendation of The Freshest Kids is right on. BTW check out the section where they talk about the real originators of so much of what they do. They show clips of tap dancers and lindy hoppers from the 30's... in there are some of my mentors and friends. Hip-Hop is about the fusion of traditionalism and innovation, respecting our past while paving a new road to our future.

One Love

[d nice]

If you want to teach hip-hop you should REALLY look into taking some dance classes, preferably hip-hop, but any dance will do if the hip-hop classes aren't available.

A) you don't want to operate in a vacuum. A good instructor is constantly trying to expand their own knowledge, expose themselves to new ideas, and challenge themselves to achieve new things.

B) Being a good dancer is actually the last requiremnt for being a good teacher... no wait I'm wrong, being a good dancer actually isn't a requirement at all. Being able to inspire, energize, and break things down for your students are the requirements. BEing a good dancer often makes those three things easier, but not always.

C) YOu have to keep your ego in check. As long as you are still learning, as long as you are aware there is so much more that you don't know that is out there, it will keep you humble. Arrogant teachers eventually drive their own students away, even if they are amazing dancers and teachers... stay grounded.

D) The more dances you learn the better your body control and body awareness grow to be. Hip-Hop more than nearly any other dance requires in insane amount of body control and awareness. Don't cheat yourself or your students, study as many styles of hip-hop as you can and pick up at least one dance form that is not hip-hop.

[ALLcity]

I'd have to disagree anything south of Fresno is L.A. :D

Okay seriousely what Usher does in his videos is definitely hip-hop, he animates, glides, pops, locks, waves etc. Just because he also mixes in some jazz stylings as well as his own flavor doesn't take him out of lineage. Hip-Hop is not rap, it isn't even really music, it is culture. Hip-hop as music is anything that represents that culture, that lifestyle, both good and bad, it is about the urban experience...R&B music can be hip-hop, pop music can be hip-hop, Rap music is almost always hip-hop, but if we use rap in its original meaning concerning music: the rhythmic delivery of words in an almost spoken form over beats and samples, Kid Rock and Rage Against the Machine qualify as much as the Beastie Boys and Run DMC.


allcity is definitely right about those of us in the culture defining ourselves and not letting the media, or anyone else do it for us. We may not always agree about where the line is on things, but that is for us to workout.

His recommendation of The Freshest Kids is right on. BTW check out the section where they talk about the real originators of so much of what they do. They show clips of tap dancers and lindy hoppers from the 30's... in there are some of my mentors and friends. Hip-Hop is about the fusion of traditionalism and innovation, respecting our past while paving a new road to our future.

One Love

Sure alot of what he does is HipHop but HipHoppers don't just do HipHop they are HipHop...you've seen the Freshest Kids and just like in that video when Mr. Freeze says any idiot can spin on his head or whatever doesn't make him HipHop...in my opinion what seperates someone from just doing HipHop and being HipHop is at the very least knowing and understanding the culture...I'm not going to get into a debate as to what makes music HipHop or not because we can go on back and forth forever on that topic.

About the tap dancers and stuff, I remember way back in the day some cat talking about how alot of bboying moves were inspired from the older dances like tap and it was cool to actually be able to see some of that old footage of those dancers and how alot of their moves looked so much like bboying.

PEACE!