Honestly, I tried keeping up with them in my head and failed. The dancers were obviously experienced because they could get steps down quickly and remember them after just a few times. That realization brought to my attention that dancing truly is an art form. It takes a dedicated and wanting person to dance. I could see the drive in a few individuals. Some of them looked like they truly wouldn't want to be anywhere else; like dancing is their biggest passion. .
One central theme that i gathered from hip hop dance is leg and arm movement. I noticed that as a leg moves, an arm is about to move also, or vice versa. Certain leg moves would be swift and short, while others were slowed down, long, and exaggerated. The long and slower moves were my favorite because they completely shift the fast pace to a slow one and it catches your attention. I found it very exciting. I also noticed a lot of elbow movement. Many times as arms move elbows would almost "jab" in the air, creating a fast sharp move. Also, I saw various hand activity. For example, at the end of a certain move, the dancers would do a "serving" type of motion with their hands. They'd also be very animated and pretend their doing something using their hands. For example, the dancers did a motion that looked like they were steering a wheel, and then quickly jumped in to a new move. I observed that they tend to lead with their wrists. Shoulders were used a lot also, sometimes slow and sometimes fast. That dancers would either pop their shoulders out, in, or dip them. .
A second theme that I caught was hopping or jumping. They are very fast and light about it. I remember the instructor repeating a few times to be "light on your toes". The dancers delivered just that. I observed their footwork and they made it look so light and effortless. They weren't stopping their feet, which I liked. There was a lot of articulation of the feet.
