Dancing throughout history has been used as a tool of resistance to create social harmony and acceptance among different forms of group. Waacking is also one. Learn more about the dance form with ucanji dance classes
Waacking is a dance form that has an interesting origin story. The dance form gained prominence in the early ’70s in the US in the disco era. The dance form is associated with the LGBT community and the dance itself was created in the LGBT clubs of L.A. Before being famous, the dance form was called “Punking.” Let’s know why?
The dance form has a history of resistance as well. Earlier, the gay community was referred to as punk in a derogatory manner to insult the community. To turn that negative connotation into a positive manner, LGBT people started calling the dance form punking to associate the term with a positive meaning. In no time, the dance form entered into pop culture. As the name had its controversial origin, punking was changed into waacking, with which it is now popularly known around the world. Before that, the dance form was called “Garbo” named after the 60’s icon Greta Garbo.
Waacking is a fun way to express oneself through dancing. Striking arm motions poses, and a focus on expression characterize this dance style. It entails moving the arms to the beat of the music, usually by moving them over and behind the shoulder. Aside from that, it has other components like posing and footwork.
Popularity of Waacking
Tyrone Proctor is considered a pioneer of Waacking. With the rise of AIDS/HIV, the dance form slowly dwindled. But the dance form saw a resurgence in the early 2000s. The pioneers, namely Tyrone “the Bone” Proctor and Viktor Manuel, came out of retirement to train the next generation worldwide for the revolutionary dance form and later on formed the group The Outrageous Waack Dancers which led to the popularity of the dance form further.
With the emerging popularity of the dance form, more and more dancers are now becoming professional waacking dancers. Waacking also inspires younger generations of dancers of all backgrounds around the world. If you aspire to learn the dance form that has stood the test of time and continues to be an expression of life and freedom. If you wish to learn the dance form, learn dance with ucanji from their online dance classes designed to teach dance from beginner to advanced level with their carefully curated dance videos.
