Hip Hop is a dance style that originated in the US over 50 years ago.
Back then, people used to meet up, dance and battle against each other - the beginnings of dance battles!
Dancers are divided in 2 groups - those who like to train choreographies, and those who like to freestyle (obviously, many people enjoy both as well!)
So for Freestyle Dancers, battles are still a huge factor until today.
You get to dance against someone else within the same dance style, and a number of qualified judges will then decide the winner of the battle.
Yesterday, I went to a Battle in Hamburg called Geometry of Dance.
As many of you know I enjoy both choreography and freestyle, and I've watched and participated in many many dance battles already.
It's always a very fun event, people from everywhere get together to dance and have a good time!
You get to see others perform (which might inspire you), meet new people and enjoy the atmosphere!
This particular battle offered 3 different styles / categories of dance:
Hip Hop, Krump, Breakdance and Popping.
Hip Hop, of course, is one of the most popular dance styles nowadays.
But Hip Hop originated from different other styles - like popping, locking and breakdance.
In a Freestyle Battle, there are almost no rules - you simply move your body to the music and can use different elements from Hip Hop.
Krump is a relatively new, highly energetic and expressive style of dance.
It only got popular in the early 2000's, and differs quite a lot from traditional Hip Hop.
The moves are much more static but extremely powerful, sometimes even aggressive, and the attitude plays a huge role in the performance.
Breakdance is almost a mixture between dance and acrobatics!
This is actually one of the styles that later inspired Hip Hop.
I'm sure you've all seen breakdancers doing crazy athletic moves on the ground - it's a very athletic type of dance that needs a lot of balance, muscular tension and focus.
Popping is a dance style that accentuates strong beats with a "pop", a sudden contraction of muscles!
Popping is a style that requires a lot of muscles and tension.
You need to be able to flex your muscles to the beat as much as you can, accentuating the hard hits!
And lastly, there was actually a Fusion battle - combining Hip Hop and Breakdance!
Freestyle dance is such an amazing sport - it combines athleticism with creativity, and you get to fully be yourself and move to the music however you want!
Everyone has their own style and makes up their own moves, which is why it's so fun to visit battles and watch different people dance!
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© Sirwinchester