Hustle
Hustle appeared in the South Bronx around 1972, created by Puerto Rican teenagers. The first version used a five-step count without turns; a six-step version with more turns followed. It is danced to disco in 4/4 time but counted in six beats, uses syncopated rhythm, and shares steps with mambo and salsa. Willie Estrada is named among its early pioneers, and Van McCoy's 1975 hit spread the dance nationwide.
Two main forms exist: partner hustle, also called New York or Latin hustle, danced in clubs, and line hustle, which the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever showed to a world audience. The Bronx County Historical Society's exhibition When the Bronx Moved: Histories of Dance, 1970–84 presents hustle among local dance forms. Hustle remains a social dance with classes and competitions.
Sources
- Hustle (dance) — Wikipedia
- 1970s Disco Dances (Richard Powers) — Social Dance at Stanford
- When The Bronx Moved: Histories of Dance 1970–84 — Bronx County Historical Society
Organisations connected with this dance
- Bronx County Historical Society (Museum of Bronx History)
- Social Dance at Stanford (Department of Theater & Performance Studies, Stanford University)
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.