Hustle (dance)

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The Hustle is a catchall name for several disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Today it mostly refers to a type of swing dance based on various earlier forms of hustle and similar in style to East Coast Swing, though in the 1970s there was also a line dance called the Hustle. Modern Hustle is sometimes referred to as New York Hustle.

History

Based on older dances such as the mambo, the Hustle originated in Hispanic communities in New York City and Florida in the 1970s. This was originally a line dance with a Salsa-like foot rhythm, that after some fusion with swing and eventual shortening of the count to "&1 2 3", became the present "New York" Hustle.

Van McCoy's song

A line dance which was called Hustle became an international dance craze in 1975 following Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony's "Hustle". Tipped off by DJ David Todd, McCoy sent his partner Charlie Kipps to the Adam's Apple discotheque of New York City's East Side. McCoy wrote the tune and arrangement while watching a secretary Kipps had noticed at the disco demonstrate the dance. The forthcoming album was renamed Disco Baby and McCoy was named "Top Instrumental Artist" of 1975. (Jones and Kantonen, 1999).

Line dance

There was also a popular line dance known as Soul City Walking, which was danced to the eponymous record by Archie Bell. In the Soul City Walk dancers dance backwards, then forward, then to the right and then to the left. They jump forward and backward, and click their heels. They do some quick tap steps and then turn to the left to face a new wall. The Soul City Walk was the best known and most frequently performed line dance in the discos of the '70s. The steps for the hustle line dance are preserved in a short instructional video. See external links, below.

Depicted in Saturday Night Fever

The 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever, which showed both the line and partner forms of hustle, as well as something referred to as the "tango hustle", popularized the dance. Afterwards, different line dance and couple dance forms of the Hustle emerged, but also died quickly again because most of the hype was created by the movie.

New York Hustle

The couple dance form of hustle is usually called New York Hustle or Latin Hustle. It has some resemblance, and steps in common, with swing and salsa dancing. As in the Latin dances, couples tend to move back and forth in a "slot" on the dance floor, as opposed to following a line of dance as in foxtrot.

One similarity between hustle and swing is that the lead takes the rock step on his left foot, however, if the dance is taught by counting, the rock step happens at the beginning of the count – "and-one, two, three" rather than at the end of the count as in swing – "left, right, rock-step". This can confuse beginner leads who are used to triple-step swing, because the lead rock-steps on the right side of his "track" in the swing basic but on the left side in the hustle basic.

One difference between hustle and most other partner dances is that clockwise movements, for both the individual and the couple, predominate. Counterclockwise movements predominate in most ballroom dances.

Common steps

• Basic - similar to the basic from single-step swing, except rock step is at beginning
• Turn - 180° clockwise turn taken between 2 and 3 count, followed by a rock step
• Left Turn - 180° counterclockwise turn taken between 1 and 2 count, followed by a rock step
• Side Break - lead sends follow out still holding her left hand, then picks her back up
• Wheel - couple in double hand-hold pumps arms like a bellows. couple as a whole rotates 180° clockwise
• Inside Turn or Loop Turn - similar to the loop turn from swing. follower twirls 360° counterclockwise.

Sources

• Jones, Alan and Kantonen, Jussi (1999). Saturday Night Forever: The Story of Disco. Chicago, Illinois: A Cappella Books. ISBN 1-55652-411-0.
• Lustgarten, Karen (1978). The Complete Guide to Disco Dancing: The Easy Step-By-Step Way to Learn Today's Top Dances. United States: Warner Books.

References for historic Hustle styles

• Harris, et al, eds. Social Dance: From Dance A While. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. ISBN 0-205-27477-3
• Kilbride, Ann T. and Algoso, A. The Complete Book on Disco and Ballroom Dancing. Los Alamitos, CA.: Hwong Publishing Company, 1979. ISBN 0-89260-150-7

Video clips

• wmv from [1] contains a quick show of the basic step variations of today's Hustle
• beginner steps (mpeg) from [2]
• Michael & Betty showing a very smooth Hustle and Two men and one woman dancing Hustle, both from the Hustle Dance club

External links

• Description of New York Hustle
• Hustle Line Dance Video
• Secrets of a Hustle Dance Instructor
• Historic view of disco couple dancing
• Hustle & disco dance in israel
• Specifics about Hustle
• List of Hustle bands and interpreters
• Information About the Hustle
• International Hustle Dance Association