The hip-Hop dance is first broken down into combinations, Then each combination is broken down into counts, and each count into movement. In the end all the moves and all the combinations are put together, and the dance is formed. In order to learn Hip-Hop, you must learn step by step how to create combinations, and then put them together into dance.
A combination is a collection of set movements which are performed continuously. Hip-Hop music is broken down into beats. Hip-Hop combination is broken down into 8 beats, we have 8 moves that are built on each one of the beats. You can think of a combination as a sentence in a song, or a short musical section. You can count the beats yourself. The 8th beat is usually the end of a sentence in a song, when you can “feel” a new section of the song is coming up, just like in a chorus.
The combinations really break down the hip hop beat of the song into smaller sections, so that if we put them together a whole dance will be created, like a song.
In the music world, a song is built one sentence after another.
In the dance world, the dance is built one combination after another.
If we “count” the rhythm, attach each count a single move, connect 8 of these, we have a combination- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
So how do we dance a fast dance?
For a fast dance we just double the moves. We count with an “and” between each beat:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5,….
What do we get? On every eight beats, instead of 8 moves we have 16.
And if we want to slow down the beat we just do one move on more counts, and that lengthens our movements and slows down our rhythm.










photos by Matt Boyle

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