How to Krump Dance

The krump dance is an energetic and aggressive style of dance born from dancing groups in Southern California. Krumping involves one-on-one and group dances that involve physical contact, exaggerated movements and playing a certain role based on your desired style of krumping. In order to krump dance on your own, you need to appreciate the artistic and cultural nuances of the form.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• CD player
• Face paint

Release Energy and Emotion Through Krumping

1. Adopt a particular style before you begin to krump dance. Krumping styles are identified by certain names like "goofy," "jerky" and "fast" based on the overall attitude of the dancer. Consider face paint and clothing appropriate for your style to accentuate your moves.
2. Incorporate a variety of music genres in your krumping routine as you learn. Traditionalists favor old school hip hop for their routines but newcomers to the style have utilized a range of music from classical to Middle Eastern pop.
3. Learn about the hierarchy of krumping communities in cities like Detroit and Los Angeles. Krumping is a non-violent form of confrontation between different groups that struggle for supremacy in their particular neighborhood. The aggression and energy use in krumping is meant as a way of showing off superior skills to competing dancers.
4. Utilize popping as a key part of your krumping routine. Popping is the flexing and releasing of muscles to simulate a shock or sudden movement of extremities. Your development of solid popping skills will help you add more flare to your krumping performance.
5. Practice the difficult krumping move of locking as you become more proficient. Locking is the sudden pause of your entire body in a contorted state followed by a continuation of your regular routine at a high tempo. Locking moves are perfected when you can freeze your body in a position without tipping your hand about the next dance move.
6. Watch the movie "Rize" to understand the history and growth of the krump dance in America. Director David Lachapelle provides an honest look at the urban origins of krumping and a variety of performances rendered in documentary style. You pick up the movie at your local video store, or order it online through retailers like Amazon (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid confusing krumping with clowning and break dancing when speaking with dancers. There are similarities among all 3 dance styles, but krumping involves an expression of personal anger or frustration lacking in the other styles. Potential instructors of the dance style may be offended if you use these 3 genres interchangeably.