Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska,

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

and other music scenes. The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played.Romer, Megan, Ska Music 101, about.com
/ref> Ska music has a prominent

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...

played by the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

on beats two and four of a 4/4 bar of music. When ska became popular amongst

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mods and

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

s of the 1960s, these UK youth adopted these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, se ...

era, and has been adopted by some in the hardcore punk subculture. __TOC__

Types

Originally, skanking consisted of a "running man" motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent-elbow fist-punches, left and right. Over time, variations emerged. The punk version, commonly known as two-stepping, features a sharp ''striking out'' look with the arms, and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same. However, this is rarely seen as an act of true aggression but rather a consensual release of emotion. This rough appearance tends to lead to negative stereotypes of violence, though they are rare at best and almost never tolerated by venue operators, bands, or other audience members. While the flailing, swinging, and pushing may appear dangerous, there is almost always a conscious effort by each dancer in the 'pit' to refrain from actually striking or hurting each other. Additionally, should any one person trip and fall, others in the group tend to avoid trampling them, or even help them to get back up. The style, speed, and moves used when skanking are as diverse as the music it is performed to, usually dictated by its rhythm and genre. For example, the skanking done at a reggae concert would typically be slower and more restrained than the skanking done at a hardcore punk show. An example of this is the lighter style known as 'stroll' which has become popularized by American

ska-punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

bands, mainly

Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and ...

. In this style, dancers tend to 'stroll' in a circle around the center 'pit' while rhythmically swaying from side to side with arms bent and marching in sync to the music. In drum and bass music skanking is very different from ska, punk or reggae skanking. Also referred to as x-outing, x-stepping or dnb stepping, it is characterised by its fast, technical movements. It is often seen at raves and other drum and bass events to show enjoyment for the song, especially at the heavier, more danceable parts of the song after the 'beat drop'.

References

External links

ska FAQexcerpt from This is Ska! an early 1960s film on how to dance to Ska
{{punk Ska Syllabus-free dance