Top 10 Decade-Defining '70s Dance Moves

The word funky will probably come up a lot during our conversation, because, wellthe 70s were a very funky decade. This was seen within the eras fashion, music and yes, moves that folks were doing on the dance floor. The funky chicken was derived from a Rufus Thomas tune called, you guessed it, Do the Funky Chicken, and looked exactly like whats implied by that description. Dancers would flap their arms and kick their legs, imitating a barnyard chicken in a move probably descended from an earlier dance, just called the Chicken. Still, it was so silly and fun to do, that the funky chicken has lived on in the hazy memories of those who were there back in the day.

The phrase decade defining definitely fits with regard to the musical career of Ike and Tina Turner during the 1970s. The Nutbush was a dance that arose in the wake of this pairs success, a group effort that involved getting lots of people together in a square. This was a dance tied to the Turners song, Nutbush City Limits, although its origins have also been tethered to the Madison dance craze of the 50s and 60s. Its a relatively simple but fun number, designed to mimic the energetic moves of Ike and Tinas backup dancers, The Ikettes. The Nutbush may not be performed much today, but its time in the spotlight helps underline the importance of Tina and Ikes legacy during the 70s.

The origins of skanking may date back to the reggae dance halls of Jamaica during the 1950s and 60s, but the dawning of punk rock in the 70s exposed this style of dance to a whole new audience. Ska punk and two-tone groups such as The Specials, Madness and The Beat helped popularize this dance that often features swinging arms and running around, either in place or in a circular motion. The two-step skanking found within ska-punk music is often seen as being more aggressive than its Jamaican predecessors. However, skanking also served as an important, connecting bridge between this era of punk and heavier hardcore music that would emerge during the 1980s.

One of the great things about dance is how certain moves ebb and flow between their usage. Mimes had been seen performing roboting moves as far back as the 1920s, while the dance we know now as The Robot started in the 60s, but became popular in the 70s. Why, you may ask? Michael Jackson, thats why. The King of Pop blew minds with a lot of dance moves over the years, but his adoption of The Robot occurred when MJ was still a part of The Jackson 5. Performances of their song Dancing Machine saw Jackson take what was old and essentially make it new again, driving audiences wild with his fancy footwork.

Ask any headbanger or hardcore kid today about all of the varied styles of moshing, a.k.a. slam dancing, and youll probably get tons of different answers. That said, pogoing was sort of the precursor to all of this sort of energetic dancing at rock concerts, and was centered on Britains punk movement of the 1970s. Artists such as The Sex Pistols would see their fans going crazy in the audience, jumping up and down with uncontrolled movements to the musics aggressive beat. That bands doomed bassist, Sid Vicious, even claimed to have invented the dance, helping cement The Pistols legacy as true trailblazers.

This is a dance that goes by many different names, from The Roach to The Walk to the L.A. Hustle. Its also yet another popular form of line dancing, one that gained particular popularity in west coast discos during the summer of 1975. Fast forward to a year later, and The L.A. Hustle officially crossed over the continental United States to New York, becoming known as The Bus Stop. Its not exactly recommended to novice dancers, since The Bus Stop does incorporate a complex series of moves. This is more of a dance that movie fans might be used to seeing in movies like Saturday Night Fever, where couples dressed to the nines were kicking up their heels.

The art of dance can be a lot of things, from personal self-expression to protest. It could be argued, however, that most commercial dances of the 1970s were concerned with one thing and one thing onlySEX. The Bump is pretty much all about personal contact between couples. It doesnt matter if one is bumping hips, rear ends orsomething else, The Bump wanted dance floor pairings to get close. Basically, The Bump walked so grinding and twerking could run, working essentially as dance floor foreplay towards what could potentially be a walk of shame the following morning.

Surely, theres no way that everybody was Kung Fu Fighting things would get dangerous real quick. But with the wave of Hong Kong martial arts films gaining popularity in the United States in the 70s, the odds that youd be karate-chopped on the dance floor were at an all time high. Carl Douglas 74 song Kung Fu Fighting combined the disco craze of the time with a set of clear movement instructions, and boy oh boy did he have a hit! In 1975, it was awarded for being the most profitable soul song on jukeboxes across the nation. You could imagine hearing those intro notes out at the club, and ducking for cover out of fear of being kicked as fast as lightning.

Country music may have a lock upon a lot of the line dancing today, but this style of expression hearkens back a LOT further than TikTok. Line dancing comes from a long history of folk performances and group outings, while the 70s saw television programs like Soul Train bringing line dancing into everybodys living room. One of the coolest things about line dancing is that feeling of belonging, mimicking learned steps and watching friends and family do the same. Meanwhile, classic country line dances such as the Walkin Wazi also showed up during this era, filling up honky tonks every Saturday night.

There are actually a LOT of dances that fall under the Hustle umbrella. Still some commonalities remain between such variations as the Latin Strut, New York Hustle or Tango Hustle: they were extremely popular during the 1970s. Van McCoy and his Soul City Symphony even released a smash hit single celebrating this dance craze, which proved to be as synonymous with the 70s as John Travoltas disco finger. Its important not to marginalize discos dominance during this era, however, since many historians have pointed to the importance of how dance clubs welcomed people from all walks of life into their doors.

Have you ever been scared to dance? What helped you feel more comfortable? Let us know in the comments!