Jacking, Jackin’, or the jack is a
freestyle dance move
Dance moves or dance steps (more complex dance moves are called dance patterns, dance figures, dance movements, or dance variations) are usually isolated, defined, and organized so that beginning dancers can learn and use them independently of each ...
in which the dancer ripples their
torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...
back and forth in an undulating motion. It emerged within the context of
Chicago house
Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture
History and origins D ...
music in the 1980s.
Origins and interpretations
The style is said to have developed in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
nightclubs like the
Warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
and the Power Plant, where house pioneer
Frankie Knuckles
Francis Warren Nicholls Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), known professionally as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music, a genre of mus ...
was resident
DJ, and
Ron Hardy's Music Box, during the early 1980s.
[Tim Lawrence: Acid ⎯ Can You Jack?](_blank)
(2005).
Music journalist
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture.
Reynold ...
has argued that just as
house music
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
evolved from
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
music (among other influences – see
House music
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
), jacking evolved from the expressiveness of disco dancing.
Even more than disco, house music endorsed an “abandonment of subjectivity and self-will”, promoting the “ecstasy of being en''thrall''ed by the beat”.
He sees jacking as a reflection of this abandonment of subjectivity:
A similar account on the sexual content of jacking was suggested by Barry Walters in his 1986 article on house music in SPIN magazine:
DJ and record producer
Chip E. also explains the body movements in jacking with a reference to sexuality:
"Jackin' house" as a style of music
The terms "jacking", "jackin'", or "jack" found their way into numerous titles of early house music records, such as the ''Jack Trax'' EP by
Chip E. (1985), "Jack'n the House" (1985) by
Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (1985), "
Jack Your Body
"Jack Your Body" is a song by American music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, originally released as a single in 1986. It was included on the album ''Hold on to Your Dream'' (1987) under the alias J.M. Silk. The song topped the UK Singles Chart fo ...
" by
Steve "Silk" Hurley
Steve W. "Silk" Hurley (born November 9, 1962), also known as J. M. Silk (for "Jack Master Silk"), is an American club DJ, house music producer, and songwriter.
From 1985 to 1988, he had four top-10 singles on the US Dance chart, including th ...
(1986), "
The Jack That House Built" by Jack 'n' Chill (1987), or "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" by
Hithouse (1988).
The term is also transferred to certain styles of house music called "jackin' house".
What is Jackin House? History and meaning of Jackin House
Pressure Radio.
See also
* House dance
References
External links
Sally R. Sommer: "C'mon to My House: Underground-House Dancing"
in: Dance Research Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2001, pp. 72–86.
Czarina Mirani: Spin Slide and Jack: A History of House Dancing
on 5 Magazine
''#5 Magazine'' is an online magazine founded and edited by Rio Ferdinand.
History
Ferdinand considered naming the magazine ''Rio'', but felt it not a tangible option over time. The first issue was published in April 2009. ''#5'' has featured ...
, 2005.
Barry Walters: Burning Down the House
SPIN magazine, November 1986.
Tim Lawrence: Acid ⎯ Can You Jack?
Liner Notes to an acid house compilation, 2005
Makkada B. Selah: Powder Burns – Essay on house dance
in Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
, 2007
{{Street dance
1980s fads and trends
1980s neologisms
Culture of Chicago
Dance moves
Dances of the United States