Rave Dance Moves

Rave parties was the term given to dance parties which featured fast electronic music along with light shows. House, techno and trance are the most common genres of music played at these parties. Some of these parties involve laser light shows and the air is filled with artificial fog. Since rave parties were started a very long time ago, the advent of legal nightclubs in cities have reduced it's popularity world over. These days rave parties are more inclined towards the use of drugs and other illegal substance, which has questioned the legality of these parties. However, there are some places where rave parties are legal and go on well throughout the year. In fact, rave parties are not only an entity in themselves but are a part of what is commonly called the rave culture. In case you are invited to a rave party, it is not a bad idea to learn some of the dance moves, so that you do not feel out of place in there.

Common Dance Moves for Raves

Apple Picking Move
This is one of the popular moves you will come across. As the name suggests, you need to move your body in the manner you would be plucking out apples from the tree. Do this by raising your arms up in the air and keep moving them up and down in tandem with your feet movement. You can also improvise and shake your head a little bit in conjunction with the music playing to make people believe you are having a great time.

Melbourne Shuffle
If you are familiar with hip hop dancing, practicing this move should not be a problem. The Melbourne shuffle involves very limited movement of the upper body and the primary focus should be on arm movement, along with walking naturally. This rave dance move is like the running man and moonwalk moves normally performed in hip hop.

House Stepping
House stepping dance moves require to move around listening to house music. You should keep lifting your feet up and down continuously along the beats of the song and your arms need to be raised up with your elbows tilted. This rave dance move contradicts the Melbourne shuffle, as the latter calls for minimal upper body movement.

Jump Style
This rave dance move involves hopping and kicking around the raised foot, leaving the arms hanging loosely by the side. Start by hopping on the right foot and kicking your left foot forward in the air. Pull your left foot back towards you and repeat the above movement. Swap your feet and perform the move by hopping on the left foot. You can improvise while performing this move by kicking your foot backwards or sideways.

Liquid Movement
The liquid movement is one of the tougher moves, which you can perform, provided your body is extremely flexible. Compared to breakdancing, where you are required to do popping and locking movements with your feet and hand, the liquid movement should look more natural and not rigid. Let your body loose and let it 'flow' along with the music playing.

The Stomp
You must be familiar with stomping when you are moving about in snow. It is a very simple move wherein you need to keep stomping your foot side to side in tandem with the music beats playing. If you keep doing this for a bit, there are less chances people figure out that you do not know how to dance well at a rave party.

Glowsticking
Glowsticking is a popular rave dance move which involves use of neon glow sticks, which may be either battery operated or activated with help of chemicals. A person holds these glow sticks in his hand and move dances around the dance floor preferably in the liquid movement. More experienced and talented people even juggle around or swirl around the glowsticks they are holding, creating a visual treat with lights for onlookers.

How to Dance at a Rave?

Surrender to Music
The best advise for dancing at rave parties which anyone would give, is to surrender yourself to the music and let it take control over you. Listen to what is playing and simply move along the beats. Keep moving your head, feet and hands, the manner in which you are comfortable and let people observe you are having a good time.

Let Yourself Loose
Do not be rigid or very mechanical in your movements. It is important to let your body loose and look very cool, calm and relaxed in your dance movements. Rigid movements look very awkward and do not go with the music normally being played at rave parties.

Look Around
When dancing at rave parties, keep an eye on the crowd to see what others around you are doing. Sometimes when you are out of moves, checking out others dancing on the floor and imitating their moves is not a bad idea.

Keep practicing these moves alone by yourself for a while, before you start doing them at rave parties. You can also learn to rave dance by watching videos and observing the way people dance. Since there is no particular framework when it comes to dancing at rave parties, you should constantly keep innovating new moves of your own. So just let yourself loose and go wild on the dance floor!