Dance in the 21st Century Worldwide history of dance

Hip Hop dance

Thesis- A thorough deconstruction of this sort of dance reveals that history and various tools today (most of which involve technology) have helped to catapult it to be one of the most influential styles of dance in contemporary times.

First Support

Type of Hip Hop dance

Breakdancing to dance troupes

Happy medium -- the Pharcyde

Fluid, compelling, unique

Second Support

"Boy band" Hip Hop dancing

New Edition

Bobby Brown exemplifies with autonomous, agile footwork

Third Support

Evolution of dance

James Brown inspired the Jacksons (Mike), who inspired New Edition

and the Pharcyde who in turn inspired Michael Jackson

Conclusion

Technology provides the bridge for dance memes and influence

Mobile devices, internet access

The history of dance is a lengthy and decorative one, which is certainly worthy of serious scholastic pursuit. It encompasses numerous styles and reasons for dancing, as well as a plethora of cultures, ethnicities, races and religions. Numerous aspects of these different facets of dance are still highly visible in the 21st century, especially in a country such as the United States which is a virtual hodgepodge of people from varying socio-economic divisions. However, despite the multitude of dance types, the one that has consistently excited me ever since I became aware of dance from a fully conscious perspective is what is commonly referred to now as hip hop dance. Although the term hip hop is widely used with a variety of differences, the type of hip hop dancing I am referring to is that which accompanies hip hop music. The vast majority of such music...

A thorough deconstruction of this sort of dance reveals that history and various tools today (most of which involve technology) have helped to catapult it to be one of the most influential styles of dance in contemporary times.
The true history of hip hop dance began alongside hip hop itself, in the streets of the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970's. Hip hop has always encompassed three different elements -- music (mostly rapping and deejaying), dancing and graffiti. When the hip hop culture was first forming, breakdancing was the form of dance which usually accompanied this music. Still, there is a clear distinction between the contemporary version of hip hop dancing that I am partial to and formal breakdancing, in which individuals would spin around on their backs and heads. It is also noteworthy that the type of hip hop dancing that I am most attracted to is not the sort of maneuvers with extensive companies that are performed in dance troupes, or the sort of thing that artists such as Justin Timberlake or Robin Thicke perform. The dancing that I like is less rigid than breakdancing, and definitely more fluent than anything those aforementioned artists do in their videos and concerts. Specifically, the dancing of the Pharcyde, a seminal Los Angeles-based hip hop collective from the 1990's is the type of dancing that I like. The four original members of this group can move in a way that I have never conceived of, and are one of the few groups (or actually dancers period) whose dances truly, truly move me. In fact they do so viscerally. In all honesty I have never seen anyone dance quite like the Pharcyde. This link shows glimpses of their unique dancing.

Additionally, I should mention…