How To Do the Bunny Hop

The Bunny Hop is a simple, fun dance that's perfect for all ages. Wedding receptions, birthday parties, the prom...you name it! The Bunny Hop has been performed at any and every family- and child-centered event. The Bunny Hop was invented in the early 1950s at a California high school dance, and is still popular today.

To understand the Bunny Hop, just picture a conga line; the Bunny Hop is a variation of this classic party dance. To start the Bunny Hop, all you need is a lot of fairly coordinated people, a bunch of space to hop and dance around, and some Bunny Hop music. The music required for the Bunny Hop has been recorded by performers such as Ray Anthony and Duke Ellington, and can be found on any party music CD or downloaded from almost any music website.

1. As the Bunny Hop music starts, the group forms a single file line with each person grasping the hips of the person in front of her until a long, linked chain of people is formed in the style of a conga line.
2. At the start of the first verse of the Bunny Hop song, each person kicks out her right leg and taps the floor with her heel, brings the leg back in, then repeats those steps kicking just a bit higher, for a total of two taps on the right side.
3. The previous step is repeated with the left leg: kick out the leg, tap the floor with the heel of the foot, bring it back in again and repeat kicking slightly higher, and bring it back in - just like a bunny hopping!
4. Placing the feet together, each person simultaneously hops forward once.

# The previous step is repeated, only this time everyone hops backwards one time.
# Again simultaneously, everyone hops together, forward again, this time three times in succession, in time to the final three beats of the first verse in the Bunny Hop song.
# Repeat the previous steps, in order, over and over - and you'll find yourself performing the Bunny Hop around the room!