SaifulFUNK Present Hard Dance Community Blog

Melbourne Shuffle

Melbourne Shuffle footwork is based in Celtic dance, in particular Irish Dance [1]. There has been a large Celtic population in Melbourne since the gold rush era, mostly from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iberia/Spain and Gaul/France.

The traditional jig (gigue) and reel music to Celtic dance are essentially melody loops. The melody spread over 4,8,16 bars would usually be repeated or looped 4 times, then there would be a change of tunes going through the same loop process. Often getting faster with each repeat.

This suited the new digital loop structure of electronic dance music of the time, acid, techno, psytrance, perfectly.

Most girls in Melbourne attended recreational dance classes from when they were 6 years old. It was as common as kids playing sports in Melbourne.

Celtic dance is the basis for tap dance and was introduced into New York by Irish immigrants in the 1800's. Tap is part of the standard repertoire of dance classes, especially Shirley Temple styled tap for younger dancers.

Classical ballet is the other main dance stream in dance classes. Melbourne has all the major dance universities and colleges of Australia, the Australian Ballet was founded in and is still based Melbourne. So dancers from around the country moved to Melbourne for dance studies. They also loved dance parties, as you would expect.

Timeline

Late 1980s to early 1990s
The Melbourne shuffle begins to emerge as a distinct dance, incorporating more hand movement than previous styles. Early footage of the style exists from a night on the 31st of August 1991 at the Sarah Sands Hotel in Melbourne. Techno music was gradually replaced with trance music and house music[citation needed].

Mid to late 1990s
A number of videos documenting the style during this era exist as the style increased in popularity[3]. There are many variations of this dance but the main heel to toe movement remained the key motion giving it the term "the Melbourne shuffle".

2000 - Present
In 2006 with the emergence of YouTube, dancers internationally now contribute to the Shuffle online, posting their own versions and learning from others.

Dancing

Today known as "shuffling" to the Melbourne locals, the name "Melbourne shuffle" has been derived from overseas DJs, party goers, visitors and the media trying to describe this phenomenon. The Age referred to it as looking like "a cross between the chicken dance and a foot stomping robot" to the untrained eye, but locals have simply called it the "shuffle" since 1992.

Some dancers sprinkle talcum powder on the floor beneath their feet to help them glide more easily, some including 360 degree spins or jumps into their moves.

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's Rupert Keiller was interviewed by rage, 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 of 2002 The Age, 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.

The shuffle has spread to Malaysia and in Brunei and there have been "Shuffle Competitions" and "Shuffle Meet ups" held in Malaysia and Brunei.

Shufflers have taken their art form and self-expressive dance style overseas and are a regular sight to be seen at rave parties in the UK, Germany, Malaysia and also Thailand, where shufflers can be seen shuffling on the beaches of Koh P hang Ngan during the Full Moon Beach Party. 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 recently 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 themseslves able to support the Melbourne Shuffle and show off their own style and moves, these videos captured everyone's attention.