Uprock, also known as Rocking or Rock Dance, is a competitive street dance that originated in urban areas. Dancers perform to the beats and rhythms of soul, rock, and funk music, but it's typically danced to a specific collection of songs with a hard-driving beat. One such song is "It's Just Begun" by jazz musician Jimmy Castor. The dance involves foot shuffles, spins, turns, drops, freestyle movements, and a four-point sudden body movement called "jerk." Uprock has also been referred to as Brooklyn Rock, Burning, or Freestyle.
Rocking, a dance style that involved two men facing each other, was characterized by hand gestures known as "burns" that aimed to undermine the opponent. Women also participated in this dance form, but it was primarily dominated by men. Burns were executed creatively and artistically to the rhythm of the music and mimicked actions that would be harmful to the dancer's adversary. The bow and arrow and shotgun were two fundamental burns used in these mock battles. The winner of these battles was determined based on their ability to choreograph and execute their burns with precision and synchronization to the beat of the music.
Uprocking, an intricate form of Rock Paper Scissors, requires both skill and poise to avoid the dreaded "sledge hammer" move. While Uprocking is meant to be a playful dance battle, novice dancers can sometimes get too caught up in the moment and escalate things into actual violence.
History
Rock dance originated in late 1960s New York City. As the style evolved, dancers incorporated movements called "jerks" and hand gestures known as "burns" to simulate a fight with their opponent. Apache, a skilled Brooklyn dancer, distinguished himself from others by his adept use of burns during performances.
This street dance style spread throughout all boroughs of New York City and was even adopted by gang members. The competitive nature of Rocking/Uprocking helped popularize it among dancers and spectators alike.
Over time, new moves and gestures were invented, resulting in a constantly evolving dance form that continues to be celebrated today.
Rock dancing emerged in the South Bronx during the 1960s and became a popular way for young people to express themselves. This style of dance was often seen at block parties, teen dances, and other festive events.
The St. Mary's Recreation Center in the South Bronx was particularly known for hosting dancers from all over New York City every Tuesday and Thursday until October 1, 1974 when Rubberband, one of the most famous rock dancers in the city, was tragically stabbed to death by a 14-year-old after an argument over a dollar.
In Brooklyn, dancers like Lil Dave, Bushwick Joe, Chuck, Apache, Vinny, Noel, Blackie, Sammy, Papo774, Angel and several others contributed to this dance culture just as much as anyone else throughout New York City. In Park Slope and South Brooklyn there were also many talented dancers such as Spice One, Lil Star, Brother George, Jose and Ron of J&R Dancers, Paydro, Eve Rock, Nako Avatar, Burn One, Viejo, Slinky, Batman, the Twins IND's and Eddie Santana.
Several dance battles that occurred due to the disrespectful style of battling had caused problems in the past. However, Brooklyn continued with this style of Rock Battle Dancing where it still exists today. Some of the best dancers from the Bronx danced professionally with the Latin Symbolics Dance Company who were the first Professional Urban Street Dance Team in New York City History founded by George Vascones RIP in 1972 as a Mambo Team.
Late 1970s
Rock dance was a serious affair for its participants and supporters, who viewed it as an integral part of socializing. Prize money, women, and bragging rights were all highly coveted, with the spoils going to the better and more popular dancers. In Brooklyn, where the dance remained relatively primitive, dancers would sometimes compete for their respective shirts in a practice reminiscent of gang mentality. This was considered a particularly severe humiliation and one of the highest stakes in a battle, akin to losing one's jacket with gang insignia to a rival member. Losing your shirt could even result in losing your nickname and/or your crew's name.
While Rock Dancers from other boroughs competed in City Wide Rock Competitions and gained critical acclaim, Brooklyn Rockers kept their beloved style of Jerks and Burning confined to local competitions. However, some Brooklyn dancers did venture out to compete against better dancers from other boroughs at contests hosted by clubs like The Bon Sua, The Footsteps, Latin Times, and the Starship Discovery in Manhattan. These dancers often placed in the top 5.
One of the biggest City Wide Rock Contests was held in 1977 at The Hoe Ave Boys Club on 174th St. in the Bronx. Dancers from all over the city competed for top honors, which ultimately went to Hector Barrios and Pete Martinez from the Latin Symbolics Rock Team.
Fading popularity
Rocking faced stiff competition from the disco dance called Hustle during its heyday. Some Rockers preferred the more graceful style of dancing with women that Hustle provided, as opposed to the sometimes dangerous and adversarial nature of competing against other male dancers. As time went on, Breaking emerged as another competitive form of urban dance and eventually replaced Rocking altogether.
However, in the late 1990s, there was a revival of Rocking led by talented dancers such as Danny Boy, Ralph Casanova (AKA King Uprock), Richard Santiago (Break Easy), Burn One, Charlie Uprock, Mr. Loose, Spice One, and Forrest Getem Gump. This resurgence gained global attention through the internet and was mostly centered around Brooklyn-style Rocking done in a Burn & Jerk type of style. In 2008, another resurgence occurred with the Bronx Style led by Willie Marine Boy, Frank Rojas, and Enoch Torres. The popularity of this style is due to its freestyle movement which requires more dancing as opposed to the Burn & Jerk Style favored by Brooklyn.
Notably, second-generation Rockers also emerged from Manhattan and Bronx referred to as Breakers/Bboys including Ken Swift and Doze Green from the Rock Steady Crew who used the term "Uprock" for their standup moves but innovated a different way of 'Uprocking'.
Rock Dance Today
Rock Dance is a thriving art form with active crews located in New York City and all around the world. Some of the most prominent groups include VII Gems Rock Division, BVD (Global), Mastermind Rockers (Global), The Bronx Boys (Global), Dynasty Rockers (Global), Time 2 Rock (CA), Forever We Rock (CA), Breaks Kru, Rock Lordz (MN, KS, NV), Ready to Rock (Global), Incredible Rockers and For The Rock (Russia). Fans can easily follow their favorite crews on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and they can also attend rock competitions held at dance events worldwide.
About the Writer:
Tommy Boost is a Professional Breakdancer, Executive Dance Coach and Dance Industry Consultant from Wales, UK.
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