How To Perform the Chicken Head Dance: Hip Hop Dance

Learning how to dance - whether it’s salsa, mambo, rumba, hip hop - is not easily achieved just by reading instructions off a printed page. The best way to learn how to dance is to dance along with somebody. If no one is available, the next best thing to do is to watch an instructional video and follow along. Learning how to dance by following printed instructions is possible, but, in the face of a live teacher or an instructional video, it is only the third best thing. The chicken head move, commonly found in hip hop dance, is an example of a dance step that is easier to learn through live instruction rather than printed ones. However, for many people, printed instructions are all they have access to. This article, then, is for those who want to learn how to perform the chicken head dance in hip hop dance.

1. Familiarize yourself with hip hop music. This step is very important for you to become familiar not just with the style and structure of hip hop dance music but also with the distinctive beat of hip hop music.
2. Dance to the beat. Without considering whether you are correctly dancing hip hop or not, try to dance to the music at first. This will help you get further into the hip hop beat. Don’t be afraid to move those parts of your body that the music seems to compel to move. Once you’ve done these first two steps, follow the succeeding instructions for performing the chicken head move.
3. Put out your right foot forward. Do so on the ball of your foot, but keep the heel raised. Imagine a horizontal line drawn on the ground. Your right foot at this point should be above the line; your left foot should be below it. Your right foot doesn’t have to be directly in front of your left foot.

4. Lean your right shoulder slightly forward. As you do, raise your arms forward, slightly bent, with your fingers curving slightly inwards and spread slightly.
5. Pull back your right foot to starting position. Then, slightly lower your bent arms.
6. Put out your left foot forward. Do so on the ball of your foot, but keep the heel raised. Imagine a horizontal line drawn on the ground. Your left foot at this point should be above the line; your right foot should be below it. Your left foot doesn’t have to be directly in front of your right foot.
7. Lean your left shoulder slightly forward. As you do, raise your arms forward, slightly bent, with your fingers curving slightly inwards and spread slightly.
8. Pull back your left foot to starting position. Then, slightly lower your bent arms.
9. Repeat steps 2 to 8 as often as needed by the music.

If you accurately execute the instructions given above, you should be able to perform what is known as the chicken head move in hip hop dance. As you might have already guessed, this dance move in hip hop simulates the distinctive walk that chickens make.