Dancehall is a popular music that originated in Jamaica in 1970s. It has its roots in
reggae. One very important aspect of Dancehall music is its use of Jamaican
Creole rather than Jamaican standard English. In this context Dancehall became
much more local in flavour, giving expression to the various cultural aspects of the
lifeworlds of the Jamaican youth . The musicians worked on new and different
themes and also recycled older rhythms from the late 1960s. Hence, Dancehall
was a major shift from the more internationally acclaimed roots reggae.
Dancehall dance is basically a very catchy street style dancing and has evolved
and developed sponteneously during street parties in Jamaica. Dancehall as a
dance form as it evolved concentrated generally on the moves. There are a huge
number of dance moves, more than 800 perhaps. There is a unique connection
between music and dance in Jamaica. There are sometimes songs about only one
dance move and there are songs about several dance moves as well. Dancehall is
all about attitude and energy. Sometimes these two aspects are given far more
importance than technical skills. This style today has become immensely popular
and one can see it in videos made by popular artists like Rihanna, Justin Bieber,
Major lazer etc.
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