How to do the ska dance
Skank Dance: Origin, Characteristics, Moves & More
If you love ska, punk, or reggae music and culture in general, you may have already heard of the skank dance. This dance emerged in the 50s, but it remains popular to this day. If you go to any ska, punk, or reggae concert, you will definitely see someone skanking. After all, it’s such a simple dance, consisting of only two steps.
This article will tell you everything that you need to know about the skank dance and skanking. You’ll be able to master it in no time!
Contents
- Skanking Definition
- Skanking Dance Origin
- Skank Dance Characteristics
- Punk Skanking (Two-Stepping)
- Reggae Skanking
- Drum and Bass Skanking
- How To Skank (Traditional Style)?
- Step 1. Get Used to the Skanking Music
- Step 2. Stand Up on One Leg, Shift Your Weight Forward
- Step 3. Bend Your Raised Leg Backward
- Step 4. Kick Out
- Step 5. Hop and Transition Your Feet
- Step 6.
Swing Your Arms
- Skank Dancing Clothes
- Final Words
Skanking Definition
Over time, there have been many variations of skanking. But the original form, which emerged from Jamaican dance halls in the 50s and 60s, involved a “running man” motion with the legs to the music’s rhythm. Meanwhile, the arms of the performer will bend at the elbow, fist punching out, alternating left and right.
Skanking Dance Origin
Skanking’s roots can be traced back to Jamaica in the 50s and 60s. There are very few records of exactly where and when people began to skank. What we do know, though, is that skanking was created within dance halls that played ska music.
If you’ve never heard of ska music, then it’s a genre of music that was also developed during this period (in the 50s). It is the predecessor to rocksteady and reggae music. It combines music from the Caribbean (mento and calypso) and America (jazz, rhythm, and blues).
Skanking was developed because ska music has a danceable backbeat, typically played on the electric guitar.
The beat is usually on the second and fourth beat of a standard 4/4 music bar.
In the 60s, ska music spread to the United Kingdom. Eventually, it became hugely popular there among subcultures like mods and skinheads. Skanking underwent many modifications during this period when British youths took up these dances and altered them.
In the late 60s, skanking’s popularity lowered. But it went through a revival during the 70s and the 80s, with the arrival of 2-Tone music. It’s a type of music that combines Jamaican ska music and popular punk rock, and new wave music.
Today, you can still find the skank dance performed in hardcore punk groups and concerts.
Skank Dance Characteristics
At the beginning of the article, we already touched on the “classic” skanking move. It involves a running-in-place motion with your feet to the beat of the music while swinging your arms and elbows back and forth.
However, this is not the only style of skanking out there.
Punk Skanking (Two-Stepping)
In punk, the skank dance meaning is different.
It goes by another name, which is two-stepping.
Instead of having the bent-elbow and fist-punching look of the original dance, the arms have a distinct striking look in punk. It’s almost as if the dancers are trying to punch whoever is in front of them. And that’s precisely the point! People can use this dance in a mosh pit to knock out people around them.
Don’t worry, though. Rarely does anybody in a moshing will take that as actual aggression or violence. Instead, people will only look at it as a form of stress and emotional release. And if you enter the pit, it’s basically a form of consent that someone else may rough you up. So, be prepared if you try to enter.
Although moshing and skanking at a punk concert sounds and looks violent, in actuality, it’s anything but. Nobody is actually trying to seriously hurt anybody here. True violence is never accepted by anyone, from the venues to the bands, and even the other audience members. Anyone who “plays” too rough in the pit is going to get kicked out quickly.
Moshers will generally try to not hit other people at critical points like the kidney or the face. And if someone was to fall, people will make a conscious effort not to trample on them. More often than not, they will even try to pick the fallen up!
Reggae Skanking
While punk skanking is all about maximum energy and furious release of emotions, skanking in reggae is more laid back. If you go to a reggae concert, you will find some people “strolling”. It’s a simple, more relaxed form of skanking that’s done at a slower pace.
People will stroll in a concentric circle around a “pit”. While they do so, their arms and elbows will sway from one side to another to the beat of the music.
This form of skanking was popularized by ska-punk bands, like Big D and the Kids Table.
Drum and Bass Skanking
In drum and bass music, skanking is known as “x-stepping’, “x-outing,” or ”DNB stepping.” While traditional skanking is known for its wild and free movements, x-stepping leans toward being fast and technical.
You’ll find many people dancing at raves and parties, typically after the beat drop portion, where the music kicks into high gears.
How To Skank (Traditional Style)?
If you’re looking to practice the traditional skanking style, here are all of the steps to take.
Step 1. Get Used to the Skanking Music
This is especially important if you haven’t heard ska music before. It’s important to feel the beat because skanking is all about following the backbeat of the song.
Start with a good song, then tap your feet along until you’re in tune with the music and the rhythm.
A good song that you can start with is Pressure Drop by Toots & The Maytalls. Its slow tempo is excellent for beginners. You can find songs with faster tempos to practice later, once you’re used to the steps.
Step 2. Stand Up on One Leg, Shift Your Weight Forward
While you’re skanking, one leg will always be on the floor at all times. Stand up on one leg with both of your knees bent (so that you can move your legs quickly).
Then, shift your weight forward. It’s an unnatural position, so it can take some time to get used to.
Mastering his position is important since it can maintain your balance once you start moving.
Step 3. Bend Your Raised Leg Backward
Still standing on one leg, bend your raised leg backward until the back of your foot touched your buttocks. Imagine you’re about to kick a soccer ball.
Step 4. Kick Out
Kick out!
The kick should be timed exactly to the beat of the music. You will want to time it in such a way that when the beat drops, your leg is fully extended outward, as well.
This is one of the more difficult skank dance moves for beginners to master. It’s also the reason why we recommend you to start with a song that has a slow tempo, first. Timing the kick so it coincides with the beat becomes surprisingly tricky once you up the tempo.
But don’t push yourself too quickly. Start slow, then speed up. You also don’t have to “get” the beat 100% correctly all of the time.
The main thing is to have fun and express yourself. No one is really scoring your performance here!
Step 5. Hop and Transition Your Feet
But the kicking isn’t the most difficult part just yet. The hopping part is.
Now that you have kicked to the rhythm, hop onto your kicking leg while drawing your other leg backward.
Basically, your legs have to be reversed: the leg that you previously stood on should now be bent backward, while the leg you were kicking early is now supporting your body.
Try to relax as much as possible. If you’re too tense, your switch can look awkward and clumsy.
And as always, practice at a slow pace first until you become used to the transitioning motion. Then, speed up if you want to.
Step 6. Swing Your Arms
Bundle your hands into fists, then bend your elbows. When you kick back your leg, throw the opposite arm forward.
For example, throw your right arm forward if you kick back your left leg. Then, bring your elbow back down to your waist, and repeat the swinging motion with the other arm.
There are many variations to this step. The instruction we gave above is for the traditional style of skanking. Depending on what you’re in the mood for, you can throw your arms up into the sky or throw your arms but not bend your elbows. It’s up to you to decide!
Check more: Hora Dance – Did you know this type of dance?
Skank Dancing Clothes
Skank dancing doesn’t have a definite uniform or costume that you have to wear like formal ballroom dances. You can wear whatever you want and nobody will blink an eye. However, you should still dress functionally.
Wear something that’s comfortable and won’t impede your arm or leg movements. Since you’re going to be throwing your arms a lot, a tight-fitting dress or shirt won’t do. Wear something loose. The same goes for bottoms. If your pants are too tight, you may risk tearing them when you kick out your legs.
As for the shoes, pick something with a lot of traction.
If you go to a concert, there’s a good chance that the floor is wet from beer and beverages. You don’t want to slip up while you’re in the crowd. Additionally, your shoes should also be tight-fitting. You don’t want to see your shoes go flying when you kick out your legs.
Aesthetic-wise, pick something that suits the occasion. Something that’s hip or chic will do perfectly for a concert that plays ska, punk, or reggae music.
Final Words
Whether you’re a die-hard punk or reggae fan or you’re just someone that wants to practice a fun little dance, as you can see, skanking is the perfect dance to learn. Its simplicity means anybody can pick it up in an hour or two.
Share with us your experience with skanking in the comment section below! We’d love to hear your stories.
How to Dance the Ska – Heather Augustyn
haugustyn
We have seen the photographs of Ronnie Nasralla and Jeannette Phillips teaching us to dance the ska, step by step.
These guides appeared on the back of various LPs, especially those by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires. But a dig through Daily Gleaner archives this week revealed that these dance steps also appeared in the newspaper in the summer of 1964, and so I post them here for you to see. They are essentially the same as those on the back of the albums, but they are sponsored by Desnoes & Geddes, the brewer of Red Stripe.
First a little background, which I posted earlier this year. Ronnie Nasralla told me how he came to create these dance steps to showcase the ska with Seaga and Byron Lee. “Let me tell you how it started. One day, Eddie Seaga, who was my close friend, called me. Eddie Seaga was friends with my sister. He was my sister’s boyfriend and he used to come by my house and I help him with his political campaign. Advertising was my forte. So I did all the advertising for the government, Eddie Seaga at that time. I help him with all his promotion. He told me he heard a music that was breaking out in Western Kingston called ska and he asked if I could promote it for him, so I said, ‘Well, I’d like to learn about.
’ And we organized and I said, well Byron Lee is the best person to promote it. So we get together with Byron Lee down in Western Kingston and I learned the ska music. Eddie organized a dance at the Chocomo Lawn in Western Kingston—it’s an outdoor nightclub. And Byron played there and all the ska artists performed with Byron and it was a sensation. He [Seaga] said to me, ‘Ronnie, move around the crowd and see what they are doing on the dance floor and see if you can come up with a brochure about how to dance the ska. So I did that, saw the people dancing around and came up with a brochure about a week after, how to dance the ska, give them different steps in the ska, and something that they could use to promote ska worldwide. That brochure was used by the government, they put it in all the record albums and it was sent all over the world and I was asked to go to the states and promote the ska with somebody and I got Jannette Phillips to dance with me. Jannette was a dancer, a belly dancer, a friend of my sister.
We took pictures doing the different steps and the brochure was produced and given to the government and it was put in all the ska albums,” says Nasralla.
Nasralla had traveled to the U.S. with the group of musicians from Jamaica to promote the ska at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. You can read more about this visit in my posts here: Ska Ska Ska! Jamaica Ska!
Without further ado, here are the advertisements from the Daily Gleaner, so get ready to put on your dancing shoes!
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Talk show with Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov.
In the socio-political talk show every day the presenters and guests of the program discuss the main topic of the day. The studio invites political and public figures, experts on topical issues.
Laureate of the "TEFI" award in the nomination "Socio-political prime-time talk show" (2017).
Laureate of the "TEFI" award in the category "Social and political prime-time talk show" (2018).
The hosts of the programs, Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov, were awarded the TEFI award in the nomination "Host of the Prime Time Socio-Political Talk Show" (2017, 2018).
Laureate of the "TEFI" award in the nomination "Social and political prime-time talk show" (2019).
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