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Hardcore dancing is a form of mosh (or slamdancing), an activity performed in a mosh pit at hardcore music shows. Generally the dancing is done to certain visceral parts of hardcore songs specially written to make the audience move around. Common names for these parts are "breakdowns", "beatdowns", "blast beats", and "two-steps."
The practice grew mostly out of the East Coast hardcore scene, especially in New York City. Besides the usual mosh pit routine of pogoing and crashing into each other, participants enjoyed floorpunching to the beat when a slower, more groovy riff was being played. During shows by bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front, Sheer Terror, and Killing Time, this style of dancing was common. In the following years as bands incorporated slower syncopated, metallic rhythms into their songs, the modern "breakdown" and the dancing that went with it was introduced. Sometimes called "kickbox moshing" by its detractors, hardcore dancing now included violent windmills with the arms, karate style spinkicks, and "crowdkills", the act of simply tackling a group of non dancing onlookers, sometimes into the wall. Early Earth Crisis and Biohazard shows were extremely common areas for such activity. Nowadays hardcore dancing is mostly done by fans of the extreme "toughguy" or "metalcore" versions of hardcore (see Hatebreed, Caliban, Blood for Blood, Neglect, Into The Moat, and Death Threat.)
The two-step, a somewhat skillful dance move, is also common in hardcore dancing. It is used exclusively during mid-tempo punk rock styled riffs and beats (for a good example of such a beat listen to "Pushed Too Far" by Sick Of It All or the verses to "Minor Threat" by Minor Threat.) Much like the two step in breakdancing or country line dancing, it involves placing one foot in front of the other and hopping forward onto it, then repeated with the other foot, etc. Combined with forward thrusts by the arm opposite to the forward-stepping foot, the dance creates a sort of "running in place" illusion. The move is commonly practiced and refined to look slick or interesting. It is the move most related to actual real life dancing.
While most participants simply get out on the floor and do it, many actually practice the "moves" outside of shows to look extra good at it.
Because of the vast difference in "scenes" around the world, different levels and styles of dancing are noticeable to the trained eye. For example, Baltimore and New York hardcore crowds are noted for dancing "hard" but also being somewhat respectful and not aiming to cause damage, start fights, or hurt people. On the other hand, many New Jersey and Philadelphia fans are known for brutal dance moves that sometimes border on extreme violence and sometimes lead to injuries and fights. Most Virginia hardcore fans opt for less violence, leaving out much of the kicking moves. Some West Coast hardcore fans are known for apathy towards being skillful or violent and simply do it to have a good time.
Of course with such seemingly violent behavior comes controversy. To those uninitiated or unfamiliar with dancing it can look like a very big fight. Many bar and club owners will not book hardcore shows because of the violent connotations of dancing. Some book shows completely ignorant to its existence and end up shutting the show down because of the violence, or even because of actual damage done to the venue or its property. Many fans of regular punk rock, heavy metal, and older or retro versions of hardcore detest hardcore dancing, opting for more of a traditional slam dance in their pits. This often leads to verbal and physical confrontations when two or more crowds are mixed and each is attempting to mosh in their own style, with each crowd often ignoring or trying to "out mosh" others. Because some hardcore fans are extremely prideful of their own moshing style, some even will attempt to fight or physically force slam dancers from the pit, even if it is obvious that the person is ignorant to hardcore dancing. While not representative of all fans who choose to dance, this behavior is not surprisingly looked upon with disdain from slam dancers, punk rock and metalheads alike.
Some bands (including popular ones) have included examples of dancing in their videos. New York Hardcore Punk band Sick Of It All (though not critical of dancing, as their early shows surely brought just as much hardcore dancing as any band) featured a tongue-in-cheek "how to" parody of dancing in their music video for "Step Down." AFI exposed dancing to a very wide audience with their MTV video for "The Leaving Song, Pt. 2." In addition, one can easily find videos taken by fans at various hardcore punk shows by typing "dancing" or "mosh" into the Kazaa or Soulseek search programs. Of the many videos found on there, among the most popular are 3 preview videos for DVDs put out by the Guerilla Warfare Video Fanzine. All three feature a large array of dancing clips, including people literally bouncing off the wall, circle pitting, and even various injuries, all filmed literally all over the world.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.