Anyone who can move their feet, bend their knees, and step to a beat can dance. Hip hop, in particular, is a great dance style to try if you’re new to dancing – hip hop can range from very basic movements to complex choreography with everything in between. But how difficult is it to learn?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a straight answer for this question. The difficulty level of learning hip hop varies by person and depends entirely on your dedication, starting point, sense of rhythm, and physique. For instance, someone who has experience dancing in other styles and has a good sense of rhythm would most definitely have an easier time than someone who has never danced at all, lives a sedentary lifestyle, and can’t find the beat in music.
If you’re a total newbie to dancing, have no fear. All you’ll need is a little more practice to get it down, and here are some key points to help you determine if it’s a feat you’d like to take on.
Can anyone learn to dance hip hop?
Almost anyone can definitely learn to dance hip hop – though it is much easier with a strong sense of rhythm and a strong body. If you don’t have a good sense of rhythm, it’s not impossible to learn, but it will be a little more difficult. When learning to dance in any style, dance movements are assigned to numbers in what dancers call an “eight count” with each number falling on a beat to the music (while counting, once you get to eight the sequence starts over). Counting in this way is a huge help for people who have a harder time finding the beat in music. It’s simply counting! And the more you practice, the easier it will get.
The next step in figuring out whether hip hop is something you’d like to learn is simply to try it. This YouTube video is a great beginner’s hip hop routine that could help you in determining if hip hop is the right dance style for you. If this particular video isn’t right for you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole dance style isn’t your cup of tea, as hip hop encompasses a wide range of styles in and of itself. Do some online sleuthing to find some different ones; there are a large number of different hip hop tutorials that you can try out that give you a variety of different dance moves, hip hop styles, and music to choose from.
The last avenue you could take is to simply take a class (if they are offered in your area). Gyms and rec centers often have dance cardio workout classes that incorporate many hip hop moves, or your local dance studio might offer adult classes or private lessons.
How long will it take to learn hip hop dance?
Once again, it varies, but it’s mostly determined by how much you practice. Most dance studios (if you’re going this route) offer weekly classes for kids, and the classes run seasonally, typically coinciding with the school year with end-of-year recitals happening around June.
With a weekly class over the course of a whole school year, kids often pick up the basics in no time, with the ability to advance levels every 1-2 years. Eventually these kids will be learning routines with complicated choreography and a variety of stunts like flips, freezes, headstands, and more by the time they reach adolescence (or, if they started a little older, possibly by adulthood).
Adult classes are typically offered less often than for kids (much to my dismay), and so learning the skill and making progress can take a bit longer and require more effort. If a class is not offered near you, there are all sorts of online programs that may be of assistance. Hip hop tutorials on YouTube (like the aforementioned hip hop videos) or exercise programs such as the CIZE program via Beach Body on Demand are excellent to learn the basics.
As you advance in your dancing abilities, there are also other online programs to help you progress, such as CLI Studios, which grants you access to on-demand dance classes and even virtual live classes over Zoom! Whichever avenue you choose, these methods are super helpful for beginners because they allow you to rewind the videos and/or rewatch them as many times as you need to master the routine.
While the self-teaching method works fabulously for the basics, there is only so far we can take ourselves without help with dancing. In my experience, you really need someone to tell you if you are doing the movements correctly, and it certainly helps if that person is a professional. Luckily, some dance studios do offer one-on-one lessons for people who are serious about mastering the dance style, and with help from a professional, you could become a teacher yourself one day!
Can you learn hip hop dance at any age?
Yes! Classes for young kids are offered in almost every dance studio, in almost every dance style. There is really no limit to how young you can start your kids, and there are some very young, very talented kids who can do amazing things in hip hop. Some kids can dance before they can walk! Here is a video of a six-year-old named Aiden Xiong who looks like one of these cases (the dancing starts at 1:45 in the video).
And if you are not a kindergartener anymore, this very entertaining video showcases a dance teacher dancing with her students at age 60, and she’s not exactly taking it easy! There is obviously very little that this woman cannot do, from high kicks to even headstands. She is my idol. Needless to say, she is a dance teacher and has most likely been dancing for years.
If you are starting out at a higher level of life, it may be prudent to start with a bit easier levels and not push yourself too hard. Once again, it matters how much flexibility, stamina, and strength your body has, so make sure that you don’t take on a routine that is too much for your body to handle.
To prove that anyone at any age can dance hip hop, this dance crew called Hip Op-eration Crew is composed entirely of more mature adults and even competes at dance competitions with their hip hop routines. Their members range in age from the 60’s to the 90’s! Their dance moves are a bit limited due to their age and physical abilities, but their style is authentically hip hop. Read more about their dance crew here!
What steps should a person take to begin learning?
If you have done your research, assessed your physical abilities, and decided that you don’t hate hip hop music, then good news: hip hop dance might be the right style for you to learn!
One of the most important tips I have for you to start learning is to STRETCH. If your muscles are not stretched and loose, then there is a greater possibility for injury if you try something that is a bit out of your range. Stretching also improves your flexibility, allowing you to progress in your dancing and you can expand your range of movements that you could be able to do in the future.
Next, find one of the methods mentioned above and go for it! If one method doesn’t work, try another one. In the case of hip hop, or any other dance style for that matter, persistence really pays off. Once you feel comfortable and excel at the level you started with, find something more difficult and see what you’re capable of. Then as soon as you feel confident in your hip hop abilities, see if there is a hip hop dance crew in your area that’s looking for new members. You never know, you could be competing in local dance competitions with your crew one day!
The main thing that really matters is that you give it your best shot and keep practicing. Even if it turns out to be supremely difficult at first, stick with it and it will gradually begin to get easier and before you know it you’ll be popping and locking in your sleep.
