The name ‘dancehall’ comes from Jamaican dance halls and clubs where the music was first played as a form of social entertainment. In its most basic form, it is a DJ rapping over a rhythm.
Bogle (also known as Mr Wacky or Father Bogle) is considered to be one of the greatest dancehall dancers of all time. He created many well-known moves like Row di Boat and Willie Bounce, and some of the most popular dancehall artists claim that Bogle is their greatest influence.
Many moves seen in hip hop videos are actually taken from dancehall styles.
Often, dancehall songs are created around the name of a move, so the song and dance feed off each other.
Olympic athlete and world record holder Usain Bolt is a very famous fan of dancehall, sometimes busting out moves before and after his races.
Popular dancehall artists
Sean Paul
Beenie Man
Elephant Man
Rihanna
Bob Marley
Movies that feature dancehall
Dancehall Queen
Stomp the Yard
You Got Served
How She Move
Breakin’
Best of Ashley’s dancehall YouTubing
Get Busy – Sean Paul
Pon de Replay – Rihanna
Baby Boy – Beyoncé
Letting Go – Sean Kingston and Nicki Minaj
Turn Me On – Kevin Lyttle
Glossary
Hello again!
Dancehall is one of the funnest styles I’ve ever done – it’s so groovy and joyful and, best of all, you can put in loads of your own ‘flava’.
I’ve written down some dancehall terms for you – don’t they have cool names!? I also really admired Bliss’ chori for the music video. So I’ve included some choreography terms that you might like to think about if you ever want to make up your own dances!
Keep it fresh, groovers.
Love, Ash
body rolls when your whole body moves in a wavelike motion; you can start from the arms, hips, head, or wherever you like
butterfly when the knees go in and out in a ‘butterfly’ shape; can be with both legs or just one
chop di grass when one arm cuts across the body, up and then down, and the body follows it
elbow stand like doing a handstand, but on your elbows, and usually one leg will be bent while the other is extended over your head
frog back a side-to-side touch step done with bent knees
front split in dancehall, these are often jumped or dropped into – with popping, head rolls, or whining
isolations when you move one part of your body while keeping the rest still (hips, ribs, etc.)
leg mount when you lift one leg behind you or to the side; the aim is to have it extended in the air
log on a step push step to the front, switching sides, sometimes with the hands pushing forward
nuh linga almost like a cha cha step, the whole body grooves from left to right
pon di river a bouncing step from side to side, the opposite leg to arm comes in and then out, the leg crosses across the body
to di world a single, single, double step, where the body moves side to side and the arms raise up
whining the waist or hips move round and round in a smooth circle
Choreography Terms
formation the shapes different bodies make when they dance
levels when the same step is performed at different levels
pathways the way dancers move between each other, and how they use the space
shadowing when one dancer will perform the same sequence but just a beat or so behind another dancer
symmetry when dancers can either mirror each other or deliberately angle themselves away (asymmetry)
tempo this is all about timing: you can switch from fast to slow, with the beat, or against it etc.
About the Author
Samantha-Ellen Bound has been an actor, dancer, teacher, choreographer, author, bookseller, scriptwriter and many other things besides. She has published and won prizes for her short stories and scripts, but children’s books are where her heart lies. Dancing is one of her most favourite things in the whole world. She splits her time between Tasmania, Melbourne, and living in her own head.
AVAILABLE JANUARY 2016
AVAILABLE JANUARY 2016
COLLECT THEM ALL!
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Silver Shoes 6: Lights, Camera, Dance!
9780857989062
Published by Random House Australia 2015
Copyright © Samantha-Ellen Bound 2015
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW, 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au
Random House Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Random House Australia in 2015
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Author: Bound, Samantha-Ellen
Title: Lights, Camera, Dance! [electronic resource]
ISBN: 978 0 85798 906 2 (ebook)
Series: Silver Shoes; 6
Target Audience: For primary-school age
Subjects: Hip hop dance – Juvenile fiction
Dancers – Juvenile fiction
Music videos – Juvenile fiction
Dewey Number: A823.3
Cover illustration by J. Yi
Internal illustrations by Sarah Kate Mitchell
Cover design by Kirby Armstrong