Polynesian dance is a group of dance styles including Tongan, Hawaiian style dances such as the Hula, Tahitian, Samoan, New Zealand (Maori) and Fijian. Many of these dances expressed feelings or told stories and were often paired with traditional instruments and storytelling.
Dancers that perform musical theater are usually referred to as “triple threats” for their ability to sing, dance, and act because the style of dance blends the performance of choreography and vocals in the form of singing and acting.
Modern dance emerged as a form of artistic expression and freedom from dancers who were bound by the strict and conforming rules of ballet or dancers that did not have the financial means to attend formal dance training in ballet schools.
Locking emerged from the West Coast in the 1970s, and was created by Don Campbell. This style of dance is usually performed to funk music, and the movement is characterized by locks, wrist rolls, Uncle Sam points, high fives, the hambone, The Scooby Doo, Scooby Walk, Scoobot, and sudden stops inside fluid grooves.
Line Dance is a social and fun type of choreographed movement, danced in lines and sometimes positioned patterns. The basic choreography of line dancing includes formations of 1 or more lines of people that perform the same steps in sequence to the music.
Krump is a style of street dance affiliated with Hip Hop that began in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, and is known for it’s intense rawness and controlled power, giving it an aggressive and almost combative appearance.
Funk was created in the 1970s in California. It is a culture, and a movement, with signature music and dance. The funk sound is the perfect fusion of several genres including jazz, hip hop, and disco. It’s also a type of dance that is used to describe many street dance styles from this era including tutting, the robot, popping, and locking all of which you can read more about in our dance styles guide here.
Freestyle dancing is complete improvisation of movement by the dancer. Dancers do not plan or choreograph their motions beforehand and there is not a rehearsal of the routine. All movements are decided intuitively and in the moment, creating an original dance experience.
Drill teams require dancers to move in unison to specific, sharp dance movements. Two popular types of drill teams include military drill teams and dance drill teams.
Disco is a subculture and a popular style of dance music that began in USA nightclubs in the 1970s. It was the defining music of this decade and is a combination of funk and soul music. Disco’s distinct sound made it synonymous with dancing, fun, and nightlife.