Dancing
The origins of the name "Melbourne Shuffle" are unknown. The term was first brought to the public attention by Sonic Animation's Rupert Keiller during a TV interview in Sydney. The Age referred to it as looking like "a cross between the chicken dance and a foot stomping robot" to the untrained eye, but locals simply called it "stomping".
Some dancers sprinkle talcum powder or apply liquid to the floor beneath their feet to help them glide more easily, some including 360 degree spins or jumps into their moves. Others apply smooth plastic tape or duct tape to the soles of their shoes.
Originally consisting of the "T-Step" combined with arm movements, during the 1990s the "Running Man" has been adopted into the dance, accentuating the new focus of keeping time with the beat. The "Running man" involves a 2-step motion in which the front foot is brought backwards with two hops while the back foot is brought forwards in a walking motion, creating a "running on the spot" motion, hence the name. The "T-Step" is a fast sideways heel-toe motion on one foot twisting at the ankle. The dance is embellished by spins, arm pumps, slides, and kicks. Modern implementations of the dance include motions from other dances such as Crip Walk, Toprock and Jumpstyle, which have brought the less-adaptive t-step to the background. Some dancers even omit the t-step completely.
Although Hardstyle has been a dominant genre to dance on within the Melbourne Shuffle for many years, referring to the dance with "hardstyle" is incorrect. "Hardstyle" is an umbrella term for many different rave dances globally, as well as a genre of electronic music. Hardstyle is a rave dance, while most other styles were typically performed in clubs and dance parties.
With the spread of the Melbourne Shuffle through YouTube, dancing styles have evolved from each other to a point in which people refer to styles with an abbreviation coming from the area in which the style came from, such as "AUS"/"Melb" (Australia/Melbourne), "MAS"/"Malay" (Malaysia) or "Cali" (California). These distinctions cause a lot of confusion for newcomers and those who are unfamiliar with the dance.
Read more about this topic: Melbourne Shuffle
Famous quotes containing the word dancing:
“Players, Sir! I look on them as no better than creatures set upon tables and joint stools to make faces and produce laughter, like dancing dogs.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“I avoid talking before the youth of the age as I would dancing before them: for if one’s tongue don’t move in the steps of the day, and thinks to please by its old graces, it is only an object of ridicule.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“Interpreting the dance: young women in white dancing in a ring can only be virgins; old women in black dancing in a ring can only be witches; but middle-aged women in colors, square dancing...?”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)