Melbourne shuffle
| Melbourne shuffle | |
|---|---|
| Dance type | Rave dance |
| Year | 1980s–present |
| Country | Australia |
| Related topics | |
The Melbourne shuffle is a rave dance that developed in Melbourne, Australia, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[1][2] It is characterised by the T-step (a variation of the jazz tick-tock) combined with a variation of the running man, performed with coordinated arm movements. The dance is typically improvised and performed to electronic dance music.
History
[edit]The Melbourne shuffle emerged within Melbourne’s late-1980s rave and club scene. During the 1990s and 2000s, it became closely associated with local clubs including Hard Kandy, Bubble, Xpress at Chasers, Heat, Mercury Lounge, Viper, Two Tribes at Chasers and PHD.[1] Early Melbourne techno events such as Biology, Hardware, and Every Picture Tells a Story were also popular with shuffle dancers.[3]
As electronic dance music gained wider exposure, the shuffle spread beyond Melbourne through club culture, media coverage, and online video sharing.
Technique
[edit]
The dance involves repeatedly shuffling the feet inward and outward while moving the arms up and down or side to side in time with the beat.[2] Additional elements may include 360-degree spins, jumps, and slides. As described by Vice Media, the core movements combine the T-step with a variation of the running man.[1]
It is often associated with another dance style known as "cutting shapes". Some dancers use talcum powder or apply liquid to the floor to facilitate sliding movements.[2]
International influence
[edit]In 2009, the German hard dance group Scooter released the single "J'adore Hardcore", whose music video featured dancers Pae (Missaghi Peyman) and Sarah Miatt performing the Melbourne shuffle in Melbourne. In 2011, American dance music duo LMFAO referenced the shuffle in their hit "Party Rock Anthem".
A related style of shuffling developed in the United Kingdom and by 2012 was widely referred to as "cutting shapes".[4]
In 2014, researchers at Brown University named a computer security algorithm after the Melbourne shuffle. The algorithm deletes traces of users' access on cloud servers by shuffling the location of data on those servers.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Fazal, Mahmood (28 June 2017). "Which Is Sicker: Melbourne Shuffle or Sydney Gabber?". Vice. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- 1 2 3 Tomazin, Farrah; Donovan, Patrick; Mundell, Meg (7 December 2002). "Dance Trance". The Age. The Age Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ↑ Stanmore, Carl (22 June 2021). "Australia's Forgotten Rave Culture – Who Did It Better, Sydney or Melbourne?". The DJ Revolution. The DJ Revolution. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ↑ "Shuffling: the War at the Heart of London's New Dance Scene". vice.com/en_uk. Archived from the original on 27 March 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ↑ "'Melbourne Shuffle' secures data in the cloud". American Association for the Advancement of Science. 10 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- Pagett, Matt (2008). "Melbourne Shuffle". The Best Dance Moves in the World - Ever! 100 New and Classic Moves and How to Bust Them. Chronicle Books. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-811-86303-2.