Dance Reggae
Reggae became popular on dance floors in the Caribbean in the 1960s and has been evolving ever since, influencing (and being influenced by) other types of music and dance as it has matured. Because it's now globally popular, reggae dance has countless regional variations, but with a little practice, almost anyone can learn the basics of this unique style. Start practicing today to "nice up the dance" (get the party started!)
Contents
Steps
Learning Basic Reggae Steps
- Feel the beat. Reggae music usually uses a steady, mid-tempo beat — perfect for newcomers to the style. To start, play some reggae music and try to pick out the beat. As you do this, count along with the flow of the music from one to four. Your counting should match up with the rhythm or "feel" of the song — for most reggae songs, this isn't too hard. When you reach four, start over from one again. You should sound like this: "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one..." (and so on.)
- Reggae music almost always has a strong offbeat rhythm. For our purposes, this usually means that you should hear the steady strum of a guitar or a repeating piano chord between your numbers as you count them. In other words, your counting should sound like this: "One (strum), two (strum), three (strum), four (strum)," and so on.
- If you're having a hard time counting in time with the music, listen to the drums in the song. Most reggae drumming has a strong "hit" on beats "two" and "four".
- Move with the "ridim." Once you've got a feel for the beat of your reggae song, start to move! Start swaying from side to side with the "ridim" ("rhythm," in Jamaican patois) of the song. Bob your head up and down and lean from side to side, turning your shoulders as you do so. Try to match up your movements with each beat of the song — in other words, lean right on "one", lean left on "two", lean back again on "three", and so on. Don't be shy — the only way to learn how to dance is to start doing it!
- When you're comfortable with a basic swaying or leaning motion, try swinging your arms back and forth with the music. You can leave your hands at your sides while you do this, but you can also try bringing your hands up to chest level and moving them rhythmically with the music — it's up to you.
- Move your hips in a rhythmic motion. Dancing reggae is all about "wining" ("winding"). Once you've found the groove of the music and are comfortable with your basic leaning and swaying motion, try moving your hips. To start, roll your hips in a circular, rhythmic, "hula hoop" motion along to the beat of the music. Try to match each rotation of the hips to every beat (or every other beat) of the song — this should feel natural.
- Note that this movement is usually more pronounced for women — men on the dance floor usually use more subdued motion of the hips.
- Grab a partner or two. What fun is dancing on your own? Like most other forms of dance, reggae dance is a highly social experience. Try practicing your moves alongside a few other people. Once you start to feel the groove of the song, you should naturally start to split off into groups or partners — don't be afraid to single out someone on the dance floor for one-on-one dancing.
- Traditional reggae partner dancing is somewhat similar to ballroom dancing, but the partners usually stand close to each other (or with bodies touching) and, obviously, make rhythmic hip movements.
- Modern reggae dancing may more closely resemble hip-hop or pop dancing and incorporate a female-back-to-male-front stance.
- Express yourself!. The key to reggae music isn't following a strict set of rules — it's all about just relaxing and doing what feels natural. There's no one "right way" to dance to reggae music — the way you move to the music should be an expression of how you feel. Approach the dance floor with an open attitude, try to focus on the music, and let your body do the rest of the work.
- As you express yourself, however, be sure to share the dance floor. In reggae, the dance floor is a public space — something for everyone to enjoy. While particularly good dancers may get the attention of the crowd for a while, they shouldn't hog or command the dance floor.
- Practice with classic reggae tunes. Need some listening material to get in the reggae mindset? Try listening to some old-school (also called "roots") reggae. This classic style is great for reggae beginners because it's usually smooth, medium-tempo, and has a strong back beat, making it extra-easy to feel the "ridim" of the song. Below are just a few reggae artists associated with the roots reggae movement that you may want to investigate:
- John Holt
- Culture
- Israel Vibration
- The Abyssinians
- Gregory Isaacs
- Sylford Walker
Practicing "Bad" Moves
- Try skanking. One dance move that's indelibly associated with ska and several other reggae-related musical offshoots is "skanking." Skanking basically looks like a quick, exaggerated marching or running-in-place movement that uses small kicks for every step. Be careful — once you're skanking at a high tempo, it's easy to kick or run into someone if you're not paying attention. To try skanking, use the following steps:
- Ball your fists up and start marching in place to the tempo of the music, moving your hands up and down as you go.
- Start sliding your feet back along the floor after each step. This should make it look a little like you're running in place.
- Start kicking your feet out with each forward step you take, continuing to make your exaggerated marching movements with your arms. When you get it right, your skanking should look a little like a cross between the can-can and an old-fashioned jig.
- Try the doing "the rock." This dance move is remarkably simple — practically anyone can do it. With its slow, smooth movements, the rock pairs best with mellower reggae and dancehall tunes. To do the rock, use the following steps:
- Begin by grooving and swaying to the music as you normally would.
- Loosely ball your fists and bring your hands up to your chest. Start to roll each shoulder back to the beat of the song — first the right, then the left, and so on.
- Continue this leaning, rocking movement, exaggeratedly (but smoothly) rolling your shoulders back with each beat. Roll your hips slightly and make pointing or gesturing hand motions for added effect.
- Try doing a ragga-style twist. Ragga music, a more upbeat, intense variation of reggae and dancehall music, often uses dance moves that are inspired by modern hip-hop dance. This means lots of "popping," "locking," "dropping," and more! For a great go-to ragga dance move, use the steps below:
- Plant your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms out from your sides with your fists and forearms pointing down to the ground.
- Twist at the waist as far as you can comfortably go to one side. Start to slowly, smoothly twist back in the opposite direction, keeping your arms out as you go.
- Roll your hips back and forth to the beat of the music in an exaggerated motion as you twist. Repeat back in the other direction or transition into another move when you can't twist any further.
- Try doing a "wine up" dance for a modern twist. If you've listened to modern dance hits inspired by Jamaican music, you've probably heard this phrase used in the lyrics or shouted over the music as part of an ad-lib. This wine-up dance move, with its provocative, suggestive movements, is intended mainly for women to use (although, if you're a man and you'd like to try it, go ahead!) Use these steps to give it a shot:
- Plant your feet about foot or two apart and relax your body. Start grooving to the rhythm of the music as you normally would.
- Place your hands on your hips and start to roll them in a circular motion. As you roll your hips to the front, tighten your stomach muscles, and as you roll your hips to the back, stick them out.
- If you can, start to open and close your legs to the beat of the music, touching your knees together on each beat (or every other beat).
- For added flair, throw in occasional swiveling movements of the head and shoulders to accompany your hip and leg movements.
Tips
- Learn the history of reggae music. Reggae has a long and colorful history as a music style and as a source of social, political, and even religious expression. Learning the history of reggae as an art form won't necessarily make you a better dancer, but it will give you an appreciation for the music that can help fuel your desire to listen and dance to reggae.
- Learn Jamaican slang/patois. Like any other form of music, the lyrics of reggae songs can cover a huge variety of subjects, like love, happiness, anger, poverty, social strife, and everything in between. Reggae also often offers a uniquely Jamaican perspective on political, economic, and social issues. To be able to understand the lyrics in your favorite reggae songs as well as possible, you may want to familiarize yourself with the basics of Jamaican slang, or "patois" (pronounced "pat-wah"). Jamaican patois is a hybrid of English, Jamaican slang, Caribbeanisms, and even loan words from Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages. Below are just a few common patois words and phrases:
- Babylon: The corrupt establishment; the system; the "man."
- Clot: "Cloth." Usually used as part of an insult or pejorative to imply dirtiness.
- I: Often replaces "me" and "my".
- Ragga: "Raggamuffin." A scoundrel or person of ill repute.
- Jah: God.
- Wine or Whine: "Wind," as in, to dance seductively.
- Zion: Ethiopia, the Rastafarian holy land.
- Try dancehall music for a faster-paced challenge. One of reggae's most enduring subgenres has been so-called "dancehall" music. Originating in the 1980s, this uptempo, pop-friendly form of music is now often associated with a hip-hop and electronic dance music. Below are just a few well-known dancehall artists — there are many, many more:
- Elephant Man
- Mr. Vegas
- Craigy Dread
- Don Carlos
- Try ska music for a "rock" edge. Ska was originally a Jamaican form of music that preceded reggae in the early 1960s. Today, after extensive adoption by influential Western rock and punk bands like The Clash, the term "ska" now usually means a fusion of rock/punk and reggae, a fast, hard-hitting form of music with reggae-influenced horn arrangements and a strong back beat. Below are just a few well-known ska artists:
- Five Iron Frenzy
- Operation Ivy
- The Beat/The English Beat
- Desmond Dekker (for old-school Ska)
- Try ragga music for an up-tempo workout. Though they sound similar, ragga and reggae are not the same thing. Beginning as an offshoot of reggae and dancehall music in the 1980s, ragga music now incorporates elements of hip-hop and electronic music for a sound that's usually a little louder and faster than garden variety reggae. Some ragga songs are even so far removed from their reggae roots that they lack the characteristic offbeat reggae rhythm, opting for a more modern dance-inspired beat instead. Below are just a few artists from the last few decades known for making ragga music:
- Papa San
- Cutty Ranks
- Chaka Demus
- Admiral Bailey
- Major Mackerel
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