Jacking is a dance technique that was popular in the late 1980s[1]. "Jacking" came from the early Chicago house music scene. The dance itself was sexually charged, with couples (often two men or two women) grinding their pelvises together. The style gave birth to the dance styles popular during the early UK acid house scene. When referring to house dancing this word has taken on a slightly more specific and less sexual meaning. Jacking is the technique that comes from moving the torso forward and backward in a rippling motion, as if a wave were passing through it. When this movement is repeated and sped up to match the beat of a song it is called jacking, or "the jack." This technique is the most important movement in house dancing because it is the foundation that initiates more complex movements and footwork. Just as House music itself grew from the disco tradition, so too did Jacking develop from the self expressive stylings of disco dancing[2]. Unlike partner dances such as the waltz and foxtrot, both disco and house are considered a freestyle dance.
Because of jacking's association with early house music, many early house tracks used the word in their titles. Examples include Raze's "Jack the Groove" and Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body".
External links
- The House Dance Project
- Lawrence Liner Notes
- A History of House Dancing
- "Time to Jack"
- Video clip "House Dance Practice"
References
- Reynolds, Simon. "Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture." Routledge, 1999. pp. 1025-1039.
