Melbourne Shuffle
Encyclopedia
The Melbourne Shuffle is a rave and club
Club Dance
Club Dance was a TV show The Nashville Network aired for 7 years between 1991 and February 5, 1999 for a total of 1848 episodes, with re-runs until June 28, 1999The show was filmed in Knoxville, Tennessee set at a fictional "White Horse Cafe"...

 dance that originated in the late 1980s in the underground rave music scene in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The basic movements in the dance are a fast heel-and-toe action with a style suitable for various types of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

. Some variants incorporate arm movements. People who dance the shuffle are often referred to as rockers, due in part to the popularity of shuffling to rock music in the early 1990s.

Pre-shuffling dances

Shuffling originated from 'Stomping', which in turn originated from previous historical celtic dances. Stomping originally incorporated tap
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...

 and traditional ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 -style foot shuffling. The clog
Clogging
Clogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive...

 and sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...

 can easily be matched to some earlier experimental rave and club dance moves that evolved into Stomping.

Late 1980s–early 1990s

In the late '80s, the Melbourne Shuffle began to emerge as a distinct dance, incorporating more hand movement than its predecessor, Stomping. Breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...

 and techno music was gradually replaced with the more hardcore forms of rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...

, such as hard trance
Hard trance
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...

. When b-boys started attending Shuffling dance events, they brought in their own set of hip hop dance
Hip hop dance
Hip-hop dance refers to dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles notably breaking, locking, and popping which were created in the 1970s by African Americans and made popular by breaking, locking, and...

 moves, for example, the running man
The Running Man (dance)
The Running Man is a street and fad dance that originated in late 1986 early 1987 and was performed most notably by MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice during their live concert shows and music videos, but achieved renewed popularity in the 2000s. It is also used in some forms of the Melbourne Shuffle dance...

 and gliding. Ever since these hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 influences became predominant, the Melbourne Shuffle has also been practiced outside of raves (a characteristic of hip hop dance culture).

Where the Melbourne Shuffle was originally danced, the places were not considered to be named 'raves', but rather 'dance parties'.

Mid–late 1990s

A number of videos documenting the style during this era exist as the style increased in popularity. There are many variations of this dance but the main heel-to-toe movement remained the key motion, giving it the name "the Melbourne Shuffle". Notably arm-movements are much more prevalent than in later renditions of the dance.

2000–2008

In 2004 a documentary entitled Melbourne Shuffler began filming in Melbourne clubs, raves, festivals and outdoor events, before being released on DVD in 2005.
By 2005, the Melbourne Shuffle had helped to change the sound of hardstyle
Hardstyle
Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....

 and hard trance
Hard trance
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...

 music, with DJs and producers aiming at a constant 140-160bpm speed. By 2006, early hardstyle was largely replaced by nustyle
Hardstyle
Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....

 and epic trance -influenced hard trance music at popular shuffling clubs and raves. Nustyle and the newer form of hard trance
Hard trance
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...

 focused on swung euphoric orchestral-like trance melodies that would suddenly drop (such as by a house exciter) into a constant kick drum that was of preferable speed for shuffling to by the rockers.
In 2006 with the rising popularity of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, dancers internationally now contribute to the Shuffle online, posting their own variations and learning from others. The German band Scooter
Scooter (band)
Scooter are a German hard dance band founded in Hamburg, who have sold over 25 million records and earned over 80 gold and platinum awards. Scooter are considered the most successful single-record German act with 23 top ten hits. The band is currently composed of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J....

 featured the shuffle performed by veterans Missaghi "Pae" Peyman & Sarah Miatt in the video for the single J'adore Hardcore
J'adore Hardcore
"J'adore Hardcore" is a single by German hard dance group Scooter. It was released as the first single from their 2009 album Under the Radar Over the Top on 14 August 2009...

. As more people have practiced the dance, the dance itself has changed from the majority of hand movements over feet movements, to present day, where it is mostly based on keeping in time with bass beats.

Mid 2009–Present

In early to mid 2009 the infectious popularity of the Melbourne Shuffle on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 began to calm, but not die, bringing on a new age of shufflers. The dance began to revert back to what some people call "Oldschool". This reversion of shuffling consisted mostly of wide variations of the "T-Step" and minimal running man
The Running Man (dance)
The Running Man is a street and fad dance that originated in late 1986 early 1987 and was performed most notably by MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice during their live concert shows and music videos, but achieved renewed popularity in the 2000s. It is also used in some forms of the Melbourne Shuffle dance...

, and is accented by glides and spins. Although this may be referred to as "Oldschool" this new age of style is still very different from the way rockers in the '90s danced. Many of the new wave of rockers perform in cypher
Jamming (dance)
Jamming in dance culture is a kind of informal show-off during a social dance party. Dancers clear a circle and dancers or dance couples take turns showing their best tricks while the remaining dancers cheer the jammers on...

. Some of the older and more experienced shufflers refer to the younger people of this new wave as teeny boppers (or 'TB(s)' for short), arguing that battling is not what shuffling is truly about. TBs are also generally described as being young people that are not old enough to attend raves, so they dance at school, in a street or in a park instead. Whereas individuals who participate in those aspects of the dance argue that enough of the current Shuffle scene is influenced by Hip Hop (such as the arguably widespread inclusion of the 'Running Man') that these activities are justified.

On June 21, 2011, the American electro-hop duo LMFAO
LMFAO (group)
LMFAO is an American electro pop duo consisting of rappers, producers, dancers, and DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu . The group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Redfoo is SkyBlu's uncle. Redfoo is also the son of music mogul Berry Gordy, SkyBlu a grandson...

 released the album Sorry for Party Rocking. A single from that album, Party Rock Anthem
Party Rock Anthem
"Party Rock Anthem" is a song performed by American electro recording duo LMFAO , featuring English singer Lauren Bennett and GoonRock. It was released as the first single from their second album Sorry for Party Rocking in 2011. It interpolates lyrics from Rick Ross' song "Hustlin"...

 (#1 on the US charts), makes multiple references to "shuffling" (The phrase, "Every day I'm shufflin" is heard two times in the song). The music video spoofs the UK movie 28 Days Later
28 Days Later
28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...

, with the dance being performed by a large group of people "infected" by the beat.

Dancing

The origins of the name "Melbourne Shuffle" are unknown. The term was first brought to the public attention by Sonic Animation
Sonic Animation
Sonic Animation are an Australian dance/techno musical group. They came to popular attention in 1999 with the release of their track "Theophilus Thistler"...

's Rupert Keiller during a TV interview in Sydney. The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...

 referred to it as looking like "a cross between the chicken dance and a foot stomping robot" to the untrained eye, but locals simply called it "stomping".

Some dancers sprinkle talcum powder or apply liquid to the floor beneath their feet to help them glide
more easily, some including 360 degree spins or jumps into their moves. Others apply smooth plastic tape to the soles of their shoes.

Originally consisting of the "T-Step" combined with arm movements, during recent years the "Running Man" has also been adopted into many common styles, accentuating the new focus of keeping time with the beat. The "Running man" involves a stomp forward followed by a single or double hop backwards with the same foot, the other foot repeats the action leading to a running-on-the-spot motion. The "T-Step" is a fast sideways heel-toe motion on one foot twisting at the ankle. The dance is embellished by spins, arm pumps, slides, and kicks.

The Melbourne Shuffle has its own set of moves incorporated into the running man (along with the other actual styles of the shuffle, such as t-step, l-step and stomping). One variation of the running man attributed to the Melbourne Shuffle features the dancer performing the solo 1920s charleston dance in the form of the running man (largely made popular by Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and live keyboardist of the British rave act The Prodigy. He has produced solo work under the names Longman and Flightcrank. He was born in Barking but raised in Rayne near Braintree in Essex, and grew up as a...

 of The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

). Many people have claimed both the running man and the Melbourne Shuffle as being invented by them, however, both the dances evolved between people in rave clubs and raves, etc., in the form of a street dance
Street dance
Street dance, more formally known as vernacular dance, is an umbrella term used to describe dance styles that evolved outside of dance studios in any available open space such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and nightclubs, etc...

 (which is not uncommon amongst hip hop, rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...

 and other related dance music cultures).

Hardstyle
Hardstyle
Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre mixing influences from hardtechno, hard house, hard trance, hardcore and rave music. It is between 148 and 157 bpm in speed and is written in 4/4 time....

 is performed to music that features a fast 4/4 beat (also known as a 'four-on-the-floor' beat), and is normally accompanied by a heavy, booming (or hollow) bass. For this reason, many people in the US and Europe incorrectly refer to the "shuffle" as just "hardstyle". This is despite the term "hardstyle" being an umbrella term for many different rave dances globally, as well as a genre of electronic music. Hardstyle is a rave dance, while most other styles were typically performed in clubs and dance parties.

Media

The Melbourne Shuffle dance style has remained relatively underground since its birth in the late '80s and early '90s. The term "Melbourne Shuffle" was recorded in the media when Sonic Animation
Sonic Animation
Sonic Animation are an Australian dance/techno musical group. They came to popular attention in 1999 with the release of their track "Theophilus Thistler"...

's Rupert Keiller was interviewed by rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...

, an all night Australian music TV show. The interviewer asked Rupert what his unique style of dance was and the reply was "the Melbourne Shuffle". In December 2002 The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...

, an Australian newspaper, made mention of the term in a front page article, attempting to illustrate what the popular Melbourne Shuffle was for the first time to the mainstream public.

Malaysian students studying in Melbourne originally learned the Melbourne Shuffle at local clubs and parties. They then showed people how to do it when they returned home.

Shufflers have taken their art form and self-expressive dance style overseas and are a regular sight to be seen at rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...

 parties in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Malaysia and also Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, where shufflers can be seen shuffling on the beaches of Koh Phangan during the Full Moon Beach Party
Full Moon Party
The Full Moon Party is an all-night beach party that originated in Haad Rin on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand on the night before or after every full moon....

. The internet has also been a factor in spreading knowledge and interest in the shuffle.

A documentary on the topic entitled Melbourne Shuffler was in production during 2004–2005 and was released in late 2005 on DVD. Another huge contributor to the fame and popularity of the Melbourne Shuffle is YouTube. Every shuffler and shuffle crew found themselves able to support the Melbourne Shuffle and show off their own style and moves; these videos captured everyone's attention.

On 6 September 2008, Network 10 had started filming footage at the Hard Style Dance (HSD). Nightclub for an upcoming Documentary on the Melbourne Shuffle, although no other news has surfaced after the filming of the footage.

In November 2008, "So You Think You Can Shuffle", an Australian YouTube-based video voting competition website was launched, where Shufflers from around the country can showcase their dance skills, comment, and vote on other videos. Starting in 2009 "So You Think You Can Shuffle" also started hosting official shuffle meet-ups and competitions around Australia and Germany.

In December 2008, The Daily Mercury
The Daily Mercury
The Daily Mercury is the only daily newspaper serving the Mackay region in Queensland, Australia and is published Monday to Saturday. The newspaper is printed by Mackay Printing and Publishing, part of APN News & Media...

, a Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 publication, reported on a story about the Melbourne Shuffle's presence in Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....

. It cited the city's high YouTube exposure when compared to other major cities in Queensland. http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa109/mindwraith/ShuffleNewspaperarticlefinished.jpg

In 2009, MSO, a Melbourne-based company that produces robotics, rave clothing, music, and art began production on a documentary titled "GLOBAL SHUFFLE 1990:2010". Scheduled for release in 2011, the film contains rare footage from Melbourne's underground dance scene in the '90s and documents the invention and evolution of the Melbourne Shuffle. It will feature involvement from the likes of Dr3kar, Shifter Hardstyle Prodigy, Euphemism, Matthew Moyle, Television Unlimited and Global Village
Global Village
Global Village is an Australian television show broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster SBS. The program is hosted by Silvio Rivier, who also does many of the voice overs. In 2008 it combined with Thalassa, a French documentary series, to expand its coverage of coastal areas.Global Village...

.

The official music video for The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

 single "The Time" briefly features dancers (including apl.de.ap
Apl.de.ap
Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr. better known as apl.de.ap , is a Filipino-American rapper, record producer, and occasional drummer who is best known as a member of The Black Eyed Peas.-Early life:Pineda was born in Belfast...

 himself) in a night club performing the Melbourne Shuffle.

The Electro Hop group LMFAO
LMFAO (group)
LMFAO is an American electro pop duo consisting of rappers, producers, dancers, and DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu . The group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Redfoo is SkyBlu's uncle. Redfoo is also the son of music mogul Berry Gordy, SkyBlu a grandson...

 featured several electro house dancers performing the shuffle in their "Party Rock Anthem
Party Rock Anthem
"Party Rock Anthem" is a song performed by American electro recording duo LMFAO , featuring English singer Lauren Bennett and GoonRock. It was released as the first single from their second album Sorry for Party Rocking in 2011. It interpolates lyrics from Rick Ross' song "Hustlin"...

" music video. LMFAO also organized an online shuffle contest for their video, the winner appeared in their Party Rock Anthem video.

External links

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