The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played.[1] Ska music has a prominent backbeat played by the electric guitar on beats two and four of a 4/4 bar of music. When ska became popular amongst Britishmods and skinheads of the 1960s, these UK youth adopted these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s 2 Tone era, and has been adopted by some in the hardcore punk subculture.
Originally, skanking consisted of a "running man" motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent-elbow fist-punches, left and right.[1] Over time, variations emerged. The punk version, commonly known as two-stepping, features a sharp striking out look with the arms, and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same. However, this is rarely seen as an act of true aggression but rather a consensual release of emotion.
This rough appearance tends to lead to negative stereotypes of violence, though they are rare at best and almost never tolerated by venue operators, bands, or other audience members. While the flailing, swinging, and pushing may appear dangerous, there is almost always a conscious effort by each dancer in the 'pit' to refrain from actually striking or hurting each other. Additionally, should any one person trip and fall, others in the group tend to avoid trampling them, or even help them to get back up.
The style, speed, and moves used when skanking are as diverse as the music it is performed to, usually dictated by its rhythm and genre. For example, the skanking done at a reggae concert would typically be slower and more restrained than the skanking done at a hardcore punk show. An example of this is the lighter style known as 'stroll' which has become popularized by American ska-punk bands, mainly Big D and the Kids Table. In this style, dancers tend to 'stroll' in a circle around the center 'pit' while rhythmically swaying from side to side with arms bent and marching in sync to the music.
In drum and bass music skanking is very different from ska, punk or reggae skanking. Also referred to as x-outing, x-stepping or dnb stepping, it is characterised by its fast, technical movements. It is often seen at raves and other drum and bass events to show enjoyment for the song, especially at the heavier, more danceable parts of the song after the 'beat drop'.
Referencesedit
^ ab. Archived from the original on 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
excerpt from This is Ska! an early 1960s film on how to dance to Ska
January 01, 1970
skank, dance, other, uses, skank, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, skank, dance, news. For other uses see Skank disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Skank dance news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska ska punk hardcore punk reggae drum and bass and other music scenes The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls where ska music was played 1 Ska music has a prominent backbeat played by the electric guitar on beats two and four of a 4 4 bar of music When ska became popular amongst British mods and skinheads of the 1960s these UK youth adopted these types of dances and altered them The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s 2 Tone era and has been adopted by some in the hardcore punk subculture Contents 1 Types 2 References 3 External linksTypes editOriginally skanking consisted of a running man motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent elbow fist punches left and right 1 Over time variations emerged The punk version commonly known as two stepping features a sharp striking out look with the arms and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same However this is rarely seen as an act of true aggression but rather a consensual release of emotion This rough appearance tends to lead to negative stereotypes of violence though they are rare at best and almost never tolerated by venue operators bands or other audience members While the flailing swinging and pushing may appear dangerous there is almost always a conscious effort by each dancer in the pit to refrain from actually striking or hurting each other Additionally should any one person trip and fall others in the group tend to avoid trampling them or even help them to get back up The style speed and moves used when skanking are as diverse as the music it is performed to usually dictated by its rhythm and genre For example the skanking done at a reggae concert would typically be slower and more restrained than the skanking done at a hardcore punk show An example of this is the lighter style known as stroll which has become popularized by American ska punk bands mainly Big D and the Kids Table In this style dancers tend to stroll in a circle around the center pit while rhythmically swaying from side to side with arms bent and marching in sync to the music In drum and bass music skanking is very different from ska punk or reggae skanking Also referred to as x outing x stepping or dnb stepping it is characterised by its fast technical movements It is often seen at raves and other drum and bass events to show enjoyment for the song especially at the heavier more danceable parts of the song after the beat drop References edit a b Romer Megan Ska Music 101 about com Archived from the original on 2015 07 31 Retrieved 2010 01 31 External links edit nbsp Music portal nbsp Jamaica portal ska FAQ excerpt from This is Ska an early 1960s film on how to dance to Ska Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Skank dance amp oldid 1169846469, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
