The Influence of Social Media on Hip-Hop Dancers and their Classes

Abstract

The popularity of social media has influenced the field of the arts including the world of hip-hop dance as well. The platforms allowed hip-hop dancers to reach entire crowds throughout the online surfaces. Choreographers and dancers became famous by their shared videos, which soon lead to the appearance of a growing number of edited, performance-like, therefore, manipulated class footages. These posts show a distorted image and unrealistic expectations regarding the purpose of taking classes. The influence of these videos has been unknown so far but it is a heated topic amongst hip-hop dancers. The relation of social media and hip-hop dance was studied through a qualitative research with participants from Budapest, London and Los Angeles (n=6). The results show that social media sometimes individually and other times regionally can be an advantage or a disadvantage both for hip-hop dancers and the classes that they take. The platforms also influence hip-hop teachers and their students mentally and physically, it effects their motivation, sponsorship and job opportunities as well.