Hip Hop & Modern Dance

Hip-hop dance refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles primarily breaking, locking, and popping  which were created in the 1970's and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul train and the 1980s films breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop mainstream exposure. The dance industry responded with a commercial, studio-based version of hip-hop—sometimes called "new style"—and a hip-hop influenced style of jazz dance called "jazz-funk". Classically trained dancers developed these studio styles in order to create choreography from the hip-hop dances that were performed on the street. Because of this development, hip-hop dance is practiced in both dance studios and outdoor spaces. - Azizi