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A Cool Kid’s Dictionary of Dance Moves

Dance3New dance trends are popping up all the time and with the unique names they’re given, it’s almost impossible to keep track of them all. Although seemingly non-threatening, this fact could have dire consequences. Imagine you find yourself in an unfamiliar club with new friends you desperately want to impress. You’ve heard them use some strange terms to describe what they like (dubstep, crunk and shoegaze), but the music is blaring and you have no idea how to dance to it. Should you do the Dougie or the Electric Slide? It’s scary and it can happen to anyone, but fear not! If your real friends are anything like this example, you’re on your way to avoiding total embarrassment.

Dubstep

The wobble bass is pumping and the bass drops are hitting hard. Dubstep music is blasting through the speakers at 140 beats per minute and your friends join the throng of dancers. You could rush in and try to awkwardly mimic their motions and hope they don’t notice the slight delay amidst the strobe lights, or you could brush off the robot moves your creepy uncle showed you when you were eight and really wow them. Great dubstep dancers are masters of isolation. They move a small part of their body but nothing else in time with the robotic rhythms in a way similar to the “Robot” made famous by Michael Jackson. Add to this an impeccably timed dead stop before the slow motion groove and you’ll be dazzling in no time.

Dance2Crunk

After impressing everyone with your dubstep moves, you and your friends head to a hip hop club. It’s time to switch it up and learn to crunk. Since it works well with a lot of fast hip hop music and is largely improvisational, this versatile dance should be learned by all. Crunking hit mainstream audiences when Lil Jon decided dancing should look crazy and drunk. It combines fast hip hop music with a lot of butt-shaking and hand gestures to give an overall crazy appearance that can border on complete madness. Be careful not to overdo it though, or you may end up having an epileptic fit.

Shoegaze

Dance1At the end of the night, your group descends into a dirty basement bar and everything finally slows down. You’re hit by a wall of sound created by heavily distorted guitars and indistinguishable lyrics that washes over your recuperating body.  Now it’s time get introspective and literally look down at your feet. Shoegazing is all about being detached and non-confrontational so keep your eyes down and move side to side a little without bumping too aggressively into anyone. Bob your head in time with the music and no one will ever know this is your first time at a shoegaze concert.

Now you’re ready for up to three whole scenarios. But remember, even if you panic and draw a blank, you can always resort to the Harlem Shake.

What are the names of some of your favorite dance moves?