How to dance house style
What Is House Dance? | STEEZY Blog
House Dance is a style of dance that originated in the late 70’s and early 80’s from underground clubs in Chicago and New York.
The style was influenced by several types of movement, including Tap, African dance, Latin dance, and martial arts.
House Dance is about freedom, improvisation, and feeling the music.
Learn More About House Dance Here!
History of House Music
There are a few different interpretations of how House music and dance started.
It’s important to keep in mind that “dance history” is essentially a collection of people’s life stories.
These aren’t our experiences, and we are not married to any one narrative; these are the ones that were shared with us.
The first House record came from Jessie Saunders in 1984 titled “On & On”, co-written by Vince Lawrence. Similar sounds existed elsewhere before, but intentional branding of it, like “THIS is House music” with a DJ as the artist/producer, first happened in the Chicago community.I’m sure there are many other stories of “firsts” that have yet to be as widely circulated.
– Cody “Coflo” Ferreira
In the late 70’s, the underground heads were starting to get tired of the formulaic cheesiness of Disco music.
Two DJs from New York City, Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles, started to mix Disco with other musical elements – like breaks, afro beats and electronic music.
Shortly after, they started selling their music in record shops in New York.
The owner of a big club in Chicago called “The Warehouse” found this new music and started playing it there.
Other Origins of House Music
I’ve also heard that around the time The Warehouse was more mainstream, record shops got really popular. Record diggers came in asking for the type of music played at The Warehouse, so owners of record shops would categorize those songs in a “House” section to market them.Another story puts Leonard “Remix” Rroy, a DJ from Chicago, as having “accidentally” invented the terminology for House: During the Warehouse period, Chicago was also a hotbed for juice bars (places without alcohol that people went to to dance), as well as communal parties hosted at local high schools.Leonard scored a gig DJing for a juice bar, playing his mixes for the partiers. The owner asked him, “What do you call this music?” and he thought, “Well, I’m making this stuff in my mom’s basement, so I’m gonna call it House.” They started advertising the venue, writing “We play House music here” on billboards and posters.
– Coflo
House music came from community parties, not just at clubs. Larry Levan was playing at The Garage in New York when he got an offer to play at Chicago’s clubs. He said no, but referred Frankie Knuckles. They had no name for it, which gave them more freedom to experiment with the sounds.They just made and played the music and didn’t think it was a big deal – until other DJs were claiming they invented it. It’s hard to label something after it’s been commercialized by other people...
– Louis “Loose” Key
It’s difficult to assign exactly how the music or the term “House” was invented.
But the common thread is that this social, party culture, especially at The Warehouse, paved the way for House music to become its own genre.
People quickly fell in love with this new music they heard at The Warehouse. Like, really in love. Going dancing at the club went from activity to obsession; they based their whole lives around going to the clubs. It was a powerful experience for people.
– Jojo Diggs
House Dance Clubs
Why was (and is) this connection so powerful?
It may help to understand that House Dance was (as were other street dance styles) wasn't just born from both celebration of the music, but also as an escape from some sort of struggle.
People went to the club looking for more than a party. They wanted an emotional and physical release.
The gospel-y vibes, strong bass beats, and hypnotizing lyrics of House music set the perfect atmosphere for this.
Soon, the underground clubs of Chicago and New York became the place of freedom and expression.
There were stages to House’s evolution. The first was very grassroots, when avid club goers would dance to funk, soul, disco, rock, boogaloo music, “Black Music,” or “Soul Music.”You had the people who just went, then you had the people who called themselves “dancers.” They didn’t have circles or platforms, or even the room to dance in a big expressive way.Later, in the 80’s and 90’s, the dancers created a shift in attention to themselves by forming cyphers. It went from individuals dancing wherever they could, to a person dancing and a group noticing, appreciating what that dancer was doing, in a new communal way.
– Coflo
Check Your Body At The Door
Check Your Body At The Door is a documentary about the underground House Dance scene in NYC.
This quote paints the perfect picture of what it was like to be one of these dancers:
"Check your body at the door" means you take your attitude, your baggage, all of that, you check it at the door, and then you go into the club, and you’re a totally different person. You enjoy aggravation free, stress free, life problem free. A club head is someone who literally lives for the club, who makes time religiously to throw down and dance.I am a Club Head.
– Archie Burnett, Check Your Body At The Door
The dancers were not following any rules or practicing steps that someone else taught them.
They, themselves, gave birth to a dance style that was just as free and cathartic as the music made them feel.
House Dance was not based on counts and structure, but on passion, desperation for the movement, connection to the music.
Come as you are. Dance as you. Feel as you are. There’s no rules.
– Barbara Tucker, Check Your Body At The Door
House Dance Influences
And since doors were open to dancers of all styles – House Dance became influenced by several different types of movement.
Everything from the footwork and torso movements of African dance, the grace of Tap and Jazz, a sense of acrobatics from Capoeira, to steps from Latin dance and the athleticism of martial arts– all were ingredients that stewed into House Dance.
Those styles, plus a dash of spontaneity, creativity, and of course – love for the music, created what we consider House dance today.
You don’t have to be black, white, gay, or straight. We have one common thing – and that’s the music.
– Underground Network’s promoter, Don Welsh, Check Your Body At The Door
Codification of House Dance Moves
3 generations later, in the early 2000’s, House Dance moves went on to be codified in New York.
Brian Green, Mop Top, Elite Force, and other House Dancers and organizations such as Dance Fusion and World Soul were critical in creating this “syllabus” for House Dance moves.
To understand any freestyle culture simply ask the questions, “Who, what, when, where, why?”When people dance, and they bring their ancestry, they bring their emotional revolutions.We have to understand that much later certain movements were given labels, but it all starts with people being people.
– Jojo Diggs
Culture of House Dance – "House Is A Feeling"
What does this mean to people?
Most of the people who created House Dance came from rhythm-based backgrounds, cultures that played a lot of drums.That rhythm, that beat – they were born into it.You can learn the footsteps; you cannot learn the feeling.
– Loose
House is some freedom dancing, that’s what it really is, because you go inside and feel the music, and the movements just come out.
– Ejoe Wilson, Check Your Body At The Door
House is a feeling. You can learn foundation, and you should understand where it comes from, but at the end of the day, you learn that foundation to understand how to express how the music makes you feel.
– Jojo Diggs
The feeling of House Dance lives in the Jack, which is the signature groove of the style.
A few base moves of House Dance
- Jack In The Box
- The Swivel
- Farmer
- Shuffle Step
- Heel-Toe
- Stomp
- PBR
- Box
- Train
- Skate
- Loose Leg
Jojo Diggs
Jojo is a dancer, in love with House and many other styles.
She’s an international instructor and choreographer, Mop Top member, and founder and CEO of Diggs Deeper.
Always a fan of Hip Hop and gangster rap in her younger years but growing up in a conservative environment, Jojo never quite felt free to indulge in the music and dance she was interested in.
I felt embarrassed about how much I liked it.
But she started ballroom dancing in her early 20’s, and later discovered the underground dance scene of cyphers and clubs.
When she went to her first House club called Red, introduced to her by Chaz “Asiatic” Cabonce, she instantly fell in love.
House music and dance just made sense to me in a really, really deep place. I wish I had found it earlier in my life.
She learned to freestyle in the club, with other club goers. They would not teach her moves, only encouraged her to be herself and move however the music moved her.
After 5 years of dancing in the club, it seemed strange to Jojo to later learn that there were House classes that people taught at dance studios.
She’d learned House Dance in such an organic, spiritual experience at the club; a House class to steps and counts was an idea hard to fathom.
I felt like there was no way to teach what we did.
But after taking a class, she was blown away with how much of what she was learning were the foundation of things she had been doing with her body, there was a whole world of House she hadn’t known about.
My foundation will always be something that happened from the music.
She has since then become one of the most sought and respected House Dance instructors in the world, training students and educating them on its history.
Jojo has been dancing and teaching for 17 years now, and has no plans on stopping.
Her Beginner House Program on STEEZY Studio takes you through all the foundational House Dance steps, drills, and even freestyle exercises.
Just SOME Notable House Dancers
Brahms Bravo La Fortune
Caleaf Sellers
Ejoe Wilson
Marjory Smarth
Shannon “Which Way” Mabra
Shannon Selby
Tony McGregor
Voodoo Ray
Tony “Sekou” Williams
Brooklyn Terry Wright
Kim D Holmes
Ronald Ricochet Thomas
William “Quick” Reynolds
Basil Thomas (Brutha Basil)
Oscar Baeza
Patrick Wilson
Archie Burnett
Conrad SP Rochester
Omar Kashim Henry
Asia Moon
Adrian Alicea
Carlos Sanchez
Willy Pinedo
Barbara Tucker
Iriena Herrera
“Peace” Moore
Pebbles Zimmerman
Ruth Monroe
Louis “Loose” Kee
Additional House Dance Resources
You can purchase the DVD, or on Amazon Video
.
Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, by Tim Lawrence
About the dancers
The school of thought for dance I was trained under was that your movement is what the you make of it. Dance style represents the time and place and a person. I dance the way I do because of the teachers I had, where I came from, and who I danced with.Coflo Cody Ferreira
grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he met Strutters and house dancers (“Rebels”) at all-ages nightclubs in San Jose.
He started to train under the mentorship of GraVidy, learning Hip Hop and House.
After graduating high school, Coflo connected with a group of House dancers who were also open to doing choreography.
He met Johnny Mendoza of Mindtricks, who taught him how to be professional about his dancing.
Then, the New York influence came in – he saw a performance by Brian Footwork Green on VHS and decided to train with him.
For 10 years, he went through intense, disciplined study of Brian’s technique.
It wasn’t until Coflo started playing the piano and making House music himself, that he was able to unlock a new level of understanding of House.
Coflo is currently still dancing and producing music, involved in Circle of Fire, SoulShifters, and the Non-Profit organization All The Way Live. You can find his music here.
Louis Kee, AKA “Loose”
started dancing decades before House was even introduced.
He started listening to funk jazz, and soul bands in the 70’s, going to community parties, AKA “Tin Can Team” activities in NYC mobile trailer parks.
Bands would play on the portable stages, sometimes hiring a DJ because it was cheaper than having a band.
People started dancing to specific DJs that they liked, sometimes with their crews, battling other crew who danced for other DJs.
Later, Loose started going to clubs.
That’s where all the new music was.Editor’s Note:Radios had to keep their ear to the streets, the clubs, to know what they should play.
This piece was written to tell a part, not the whole, story of House Dance. There were many more dancers and events involved in House’s rich history, so we’re always learning more! If you’d like to contribute your stories, please email me at [email protected]. The mission is to keep the conversation going – and we’re always down to listen. Thanks!
Wanna read the story of Urban Dance Choreography? Check out The Evolution Of Our Dance Community
List of steps and moves from house dance as collected by FraGue
The list of house dance steps below is what I learned in my journey with house dance. It is not complete and will never be as our dances are still alive and growing every day.
Bold is the name of the move that I consider the correct one. Most of the time it’s the name I got taught.
(In parenthesis there are alternative names when written next to the name or general comments when in the back of the line).
In italic letters, I added additional info when I have it. The name after an s stand for source, meaning who I learned the move from. o stands for origin and is used whenever a move is from another style imported into house.
I also add a link to tutorials when I find ones, that I consider good.
How to make the most out of your house dance steps
If you want to find out how to make the most out of the moves you already know, consider grabbing a copy of Dance Smart from Amazon or get a free copy of 7 Questions To Ask Every Move when signing up for my email list.
The List of House Dance Steps & Moves
- Jack in the Box. s Buddha Stretch
- Criss Cross. s Didier o Hip Hop
- Jack Jumps. s Loftex
- Stomp.
s Buddha Stretch - Shuffe (Dodger, Shuffle & Dodge). s Rabah, Loftex
- Pas de Bourée. s Rabah
- Sidewalk. s Caleaf
- Salsa Step. s David Colas
- Snake. s Loftex
- Roger Rabbit (Reject). s Caleaf, Loftex o Hip Hop
- Set Up. s Loftex
- Farmer. s Marjory Smarth
- Gallop.
- Gallop Shuffle. s Caleaf
- Gallop Shuffle Cross. s Caleaf
- Heel Toe. s Rabah
- Heel Toe Hop. s Loftex
- Can Opener. s Loftex
- Player. s Loftex
- Train. s Caleaf
- Scissors.
s Hiro - Lotus (Marjory). s Loftex
- Salsa Hop. s Caleaf
- Swirl. s Loftex
- Chase. s Didier
- Loose Legs. s Caleaf
- African Step. s Loftex
- Triangle. s Loftex
- Diamond. s Loftex
- Crosswalk. s Caleaf
- Crossroads. s Rabah
- Peter Paul. s Loftex
- Pow Wow (B-Boys). s Loftex
- Jogs. s Loftex
- Reverse Jogs. s Loftex
- Pivoting Pas de Bourée (Pivot Step). s Loftex
- Spongebob (Party Machine). s Link
- Scribble Feet (Triplet Step).
s Caleaf - Lofty. s Storm
- Dolphin. s Niako
- Spiderman Style. s Loftex
- Tip Tap Toe (Fort Green). s Buddha Stretch
- The Skate. s Buddha Stretch o Hip Hop
I also have a list of hip hop dance moves, and another one for breaking/breakdance.
If you want to make the most out of your moves, consider grabbing a copy oy my book Dance Smart, which is about concepts you can apply to all your steps. This would mean the world for me and I do a little happy dance every time someone orders the book.
House dance - descriptions of house dance style
Originally House (house) is one of the directions of modern music. The House dance style is very easy to define - this is what is danced to the music of House. What is in the music is reflected in the dance - it's high speed, rhythm, drive.
These are dynamic body movements, characteristic jumps and fast leg movements, a kind of body roll. Wide, energetic movements are performed to short slowing down and then accelerating fragments of house.
Originating in the 80s of the previous century, in Europe, the House style began to gain popularity in the 21st century, gradually gaining popularity along with hip-hop. This dance attracts with its special manner and dynamics, based on musical tastes and the ability to understand and interpret house music. Electro House's music has its origins in funk music and originated in Chicago, while the House dance itself is a product of New York's underground clubs, where dancers moved after hip-hop parties closed due to the spread of violence.
House was born on the basis of Old School Hip-hop and many elements from other styles. To date, there are various varieties in house: jacking (body work), footwork (footwork), stomping (jumping elements), lofting (parterre work), as well as stocking - playing with a partner.
But the basis of the dance is precisely the individual perception of music by the dancer, his feelings and emotions - it is no coincidence that the style did not have the original name and was simply designated as Freestyle dancing.
One of New York's best dancers, Ejoe Willson, says that "what makes hayc different from hip-hop is that when you dance hayc, you are subordinating your body to the music itself, and not to the musical beat, as in hip-hop."
THIS STYLE IS TEACHED
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All for dancing 9000 Grishko 9000 House (House)
House (house) is one of the directions of modern music. House dance style to define - this is what is danced to the music of House. What is in the music is reflected in the dance - it's high speed, rhythm, drive.
House Dance (House )
House is a dynamic and positive dance style.
He was born when house music appeared - in the 80s of the XX century. at the Chicago nightclub The Warehouse. House music is very fast, rhythmic, energetic, and so is the style of dance born by her - House. This style is composed of breakdance, hip-hop, jazz, disco, latin dance moves, which makes it one of the most interesting and popular dance styles.
The dance House at the beginning of its development was hard and sharp, the movements were performed with tense arms and clearly fixed, the body had to be hard, and the step must be firm.
Gradually, the dance movements became more plastic, free, relaxed. There were soft, springy movements of the legs, a gait pushing off the floor.
One of the best dancers in New York Ejoe Willson believes that "hayc differs from hip-hop in that when you dance khayc, you subordinate your body to the beat music itself, and not to the music itself" .
A peculiar swing and wide amplitude movements of the body and arms have been preserved. Along with changes in technology, the popularity of the House style grew - it not only took over America, but also many European countries.
House dance attracts with its energy and positivity. The music of this style is major, the melody is simple and uncomplicated, but together with the movements of the dance, it lifts the mood, gives a lot of fun and a charge of vivacity. No wonder the dance literally turns on both the performers and the audience.
These style features make him the king of discos and club parties.
House dance movement training is based on three basic elements.
The first is quality ( House jacking ), that is, body swaying to the rhythm of the music.
Movements should be smooth and fast, involving the pelvis, back, and neck.
The second obligatory element of the House style is acrobatic wave (House lofting).
The peculiarity of this technique is that the waves pass through the beat of the music, as if not paying attention to its rhythm. The third element is House footwork: steps, pushes, “springs”, rotations that came to the House from African dances and jazz. You will learn these and other movements (for example, jacking) in our studio under the guidance of experienced teachers.
As with all contemporary dances, house has room for improvisation.
Individual improvisations, together with basic techniques, allow each dancer to show their best side, creating unique dance combinations in the style of House .
