Dance classes provide several benefits for children, including regular exercise, creative encouragement, and social time with peers. Hip-hop dance, which evolved from underground street styles, can teach your kids how to move with rhythm and feel more comfortable with self-expression. Here are a handful of moves you may notice as you watch your children during hip-hop lessons.

4 Hip-Hop Dance Moves

1. Arm Wave

The arm wave involves moving the arms in one fluid undulation from right to left and left to right. With the feet slightly apart and arms extended, children will make an L-shape at each joint, starting with the fingers on the right hand and moving to the wrist, elbow, and shoulder. They'll repeat this same series of motions in the opposite order with the left arm.

2. Happy Feet 

Starting with the feet together, kids will lift the toes on the right foot and pivot the heel to the right while simultaneously lifting the left heel and pivoting the right toe to the right. They'll repeat this same motion on the other side. Next, they'll hop slightly forward onto the heels and then back to the center before hopping forward onto the toes with the heels slightly splayed outward. 

3. Dip & Step

With the feet spread wide, this move starts by dropping the hips with the knees bent and shoulders relaxed. Next, your kids will lift one foot at a time to hop over to the left and allow the feet to meet. They'll repeat this same dip and step movement on the other side. 

4. Criss Cross

Starting with the feet apart, your kids will cross their right foot over the left, move back to the starting position, and then cross the left foot over the right. They'll repeat these leg movements while keeping the arms relaxed when the legs cross. They'll extend their arms out to the sides when the legs return to starting position. 

When your kids are ready to move to the beat of hip-hop music, enroll them in Dancexcel. Located in Brunswick, OH, this dance studio offers lessons in hip-hop dance along with ballet, tap, and jazz classes to children starting between the ages of 1 to 18. Call (330) 273-5525 to sign your kids up for dance classes, and visit the website to learn more about upcoming program schedules.