First created by the slaves of Brazil's colonial era. The mixture of African rhythms with indigenous and European steps resulted in a variety of vital, raw and sexy styles like the Samba. Afro-Brazilian dances are characterised by the rapid marking of the rhythm by the feet, and the free movements of arms, chest, head and hips. Spontaneity and raw freedom of movement characterize this style, reflecting the Brazil's social culture.

Ballet's origins date back to the 16th century Renaissance courts of France, where it entertained the nobility and was accompanied by the classical and orchestral music of the time. Characterized by its grace and tranquility, Ballet is one of the most technical of the genres. You'll remember it from films like Center Stage and Mao's Last Dancer but it's not a genre we perform on SYTYCD.

A collection of dance styles that evolved in the ballrooms of Europe and South America. Ballroom includes the Foxtrot, Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Rumba, Samba, Jive, Paso Doble and Cha Cha. Our choreographer Jason Gilkison was Australian champion in Latin American Ballroom from 1981 until he retired from competition in 1997. 

Inspired by the colourful song-and-dance routines that characterise the Hindi cinema of India. It blends classical Indian dance and Western dance styles such as Jazz and Hip Hop. Bollywood routines often depict a romance between the dancers in high melodrama. Did you stick around for the credits after “Slumdog Millionaire”? The scene in the railway station? That’s pure Bollywood.

Both a music and dance genre, Boogaloo fuses Cuban, Puerto Rican and African-American influences, Boogaloo came out of the US in the late 60s. It’s a fluid, loose, highly interpretative style that includes body rolls, worming, puppet, leg rolls, twist-o-flex, neck-o-flex, old man, romeo twist, and the walk-out. Similar to Locking, Robot and Popping.

Evolved among African-American and Puerto Rican kids in the Bronx in the early 70s. Danced to hip-hop, pop or funk, Breakdancing is unstructured and highly improvisational. Look for Toprock, Downrock, Freezes and Powermoves. Heard the term b-boy or b-girl? That’s someone who practises Breakdancing. It’s what Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were doing on the catwalk in “Zoolander”. Expect to see it done a little better on SYTYCD...

Burlesque began as a theatrical form of comedy that originated in Italy in the 16th Century before evolving into the sexy, saucy and tongue-in-cheek style we know today.  Featuring lavish costumes and bawdy humour, it’s been making a comeback through the rise of Burlesque icons like Dita Von Teese. It often features strip-tease – except when it’s on a wholesome family show like SYTYCD.

Originating in Angola, Capoeira became huge in the streets of Brazil. It’s a blend of dance and martial arts in which performers form a circle and take turns 'sparring' with feints, kicks and slaps. Fans see it as fluid, acrobatic, athletic, dramatic and poetic. But last year our judges seemed to still need some convincing.

When dancers at Havana’s Silver Star Club were improvising to a new sound, their shoes went “Cha-Cha-Cha” on the dance floor – and a new dance was born. Part of the Latin Ballroom repertoire, the Cha Cha is like the Rumba but quicker. It involves two slow steps followed by three quick steps – Two-three-cha-cha-cha. It’s recognisable by its extravagant hip movement – produced by the accentuated straightening of the weight-bearing leg. Very sexy.

A predecessor to Krumping that was invented in 1992 by Tommy the Clown (aka Thomas Johnson), clowning was first performed to entertain at functions and kids parties. luckily it grew strongly from there! It’s less aggressive than Krumping but shares many movement patterns with it. Keep your eyes peeled for the shuffle, the V, the stepback, and the heeltoe.

A group of dance forms developed mainly in the first half of the 20th century. Look for contraction, release, fall and recovery, suspension, balance and off-balance, tension and relaxation, opposition and emotion. Unlike classical ballet, Contemporary Dance often features groundwork and dancers generally perform in bare feet. Our resident genius Kelley Abbey consistently produces magical, haunting choreography in the contemporary space.

Originally Jazz Dance had a strong tap dancing element but on Broadway – through Bob Fosse shows like “Cabaret” and “Chicago” –Contemporary Jazz evolved into a smooth distinctive style in its own right. With their Ballet roots, Contemporary Jazz movements are strong, sharp and demand strong technique. Remember the adorable Kate in Season 1? This is her favourite dance style.

Say “Disco” and everyone thinks John Travolta in that iconic pose from “Saturday Night Fever”. But Disco’s origins were in funk and soul among African-Americans, gays and Hispanics in NYC in the early 70s. Disco music is characterised by a strong bass line, computerised percussion and often features orchestrated string and horn sections. Disco dance has strong modern jazz influences, and its direct modern descendant is House.

A ballroom dance that premiered in 1914. The story goes that vaudeville actor Harry Fox couldn't find partners who could pull off the more difficult two-step, so he added a couple of little stagger steps – and the basic Foxtrot rhythm of slow-slow-quick-quick was born! The Quickstep is – as the name implies – a faster variation of the Foxtrot.

A range of dances that grew up on the streets of NYC and California in the 70s. The first Hip Hop was Breakdancing but that evolved into Popping, Locking, Clowning and Krumping. Originally it involved a lot of down-and-dirty ground work but modern devotees use intricate footwork and acrobatic jumps. The Hip Hop Hall of Fame includes Rihanna, Scribe, Chris Brown and Rock Steady Crew.

House has its roots in Disco and features the same “four-on-the-floor” beat. There are 3 main movements: Jacking, Footwork, and Lofting. Jacking is the quick wave-like back-and-forth motion of the upper body. Footwork involves a complex form of tap dancing. And Lofting is the acrobatic element. House looks like Breaking but the floor work is smoother and you dance through the beat rather than on the beat.

Its diverse roots include tap, ballet, jazz music, and African-American song and dance. With its strong, sharp movements, it helps if you’ve got strong ballet technique. But while ballet emphasises the up-beat of the music, Jazz Dance emphasises the down-beat. Keep an eye out for these trademark moves: the Jeté, Leaps, Pirouette, Toe Rise, Step-Tuck Chassé and Jazz Runs. For the untrained contestant, Jazz would be a massive challenge to pull out of the hat.

A fusion of Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop. If you head along to a typical dance school, you're most likely to see JFH classes on the menu. Think you’d like to be a contestant on SYTYCD? Then we recommend you enrol in a LOT of classes.

A lively uninhibited ballroom dance style that originated in the US among African-Americans in the early 1940s. Danced in 4/4 time, the basic step is a six-beat pattern: Counts 1 & 2 - Left foot step back, right foot replace. Counts 3 & 4 - Chasse to the left. Counts 5 & 6 - Chasse to the right. Of course, when a Jive maestro like Jason Gilkison does the choreography, things get a whole lot more interesting.

KRUMP stands for Kingdom of Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise – which probably doesn’t help you a whole lot. It’s a style of street dancing that originated in South Central LA – and its aggressive movements are an expression of social frustration and anger. Look for these common Krumping elements: Sync Moves, Power Moves, Taunts, Puzzles, Chest Pops, Bangs, Stomps, and Arm Swings.

A sensual Brazilian dance that provocatively involves the dancers’ stomachs touching. Frowned upon at private school formals. It sprang from the 2-beat Carimbo, but under Caribbean influences it emerged as the 4-beat Lambada with the dancers moving in sexy wave-like motions. In 1988 in Porto Seguro a visiting French entrepreneur Olivier Lamotte d'Incamps saw the Lambada, went “Ou-la-la”, and the rest is history.

Locking or Campbellocking is a west coast funk dance style invented by Don Campbell in the 60s. It’s characterised by its swift arm and hand movements punctuated by sudden momentary freezes. Look out for Uncle Sam Points, Wrist Rolls or Twirls and Leo Walks that combine high knee lifts and hip movements. Lockers used to have a look - bright tops, white gloves, big hats, bow ties, and knee length pants over striped socks – but now it’s pretty much come as you are.

A modern fusion of ballet and jazz. It invites dancers to use their bodies to interpret the music and express powerful emotions. While it’s mainly performed to music with lyrics, more generally “lyrical” refers to the poetic, expressive, highly emotional quality of the dance. A defining quality is continuity of movement - with the dancer flowing seamlessly from one move to the next. If this continuity is lacking, you can be sure the dancers will be hearing from Judge Jason.

A version of jazz dance that emerged through Broadway musicals like “Oklahoma!”, “West Side Story” and “A Chorus Line”. Musical Theatre tends to be upbeat and entertaining, with the dancers adopting clearly defined characters. If you don’t have a smile on your face while you’re watching, it’s probably not working. In Season 1, Rhys’s big personality and flamboyant style was a natural for Musical Theatre.

One of the Latin Ballroom dance styles. It’s shaped around the drama of the bullfight with the man as matador and the woman as the cape or bull. It was made famous when danced by Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice in Baz Luhrmann's hit film “Strictly Ballroom”. Literally in Spanish it means "two step". In Season 1, Rhys and Jemma’s Paso Doble was a highlight. Who in Season 2 will better them?

A style of Hip Hop that emerged in California in the 70s. It refers to the quick contracting and relaxing of muscles to cause a jerk known as a pop or a hit. It’s critical that the pop happens on the beat – so expect dancers to be marked down if it doesn’t. Watch out for: Popping – a jerk of the upper body; Hitting – a jerk of the upper and lower body; Banging – a more intense hit; Dimestopping – stopping without creating a jerk; and Airposing - bouncing or sinking into the beat of the music. Our choreographer Nacho Pop can pop with the best of them.

An international ballroom dance style. While it started as a faster version of the Foxtrot, Quickstep now has its own specific techniques. Modern Quickstep uses advanced patterns including hops and runs with lots of speed and rotation. The secret to the quickstep is lightness – the dancers have to appear to float across the floor. Much harder than it looks.

A Latin Ballroom dance. We could say that it’s of African-Cuban origin. We could say that it’s the second slowest of the Latin dances – after the Bolero. Or we could just say that, with its sensual slow rhythm and accentuated hip movements, the Rumba is the most erotic of all the Latin dances. Ay-karumba!

A flirtatious fusion of Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dances. Salsa was huge in the States in the 70s and is enjoying a modern resurgence. It generally uses three steps for each measure - either quick-quick-slow, or quick-quick-quick with a tap or flourish on the vacant beat. The Salsa is like the Mambo but its movements are more often side-to-side rather than forward and back. Henry and Gemma did a memorable Salsa in Season 1.

Hailing from the steamy streets of Brazil, the lively Samba is danced in 2/4 time with three steps to every bar. The dance utilises fast motion, swirling twists, and outstretched arms for emotion. Folk sambas were danced navel-to-navel and Ballroom Samba retains its sexy origins. Who could forget Henry and Vanessa’s African Samba – choreographed by Jason Gilkison – in Season 1?

A group of energetic dances that developed with the rise of jazz music in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Examples of Swing include the Charleston, Shag and Balboa. But the best known is the Lindy Hop, which originated in Harlem.

Argentina’s most famous dance export. Elegant and sexy, the Tango was originally danced solo by a woman – but not surprisingly men soon joined in. It’s recognisable by the rapid head turns of the dancers as they change direction. The Tango is still considered immoral by some – which possibly explains its enduring popularity. We should point out that “Last Tango in Paris” is not primarily a film about dancing.

The name comes from the sound made when the metal plates on the dancer's shoes touch the dance floor. This makes the “Hoofer” a dancer AND a musician. Some of its most famous exponents include Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Savion Glover was the tap dancing god who animated the penguins in the hit film, “Happy Feet” – with the help of SYTYCD’s very own Kelley Abbey, Matt Lee and Jason Coleman.

That’s the boring dance that old people do, right? Believe it not, the Waltz was considered shocking when it first appeared on the ballrooms of Vienna in the 18th Century. Naturally that just increased its appeal and it was soon being danced all around the world. Its closed position - as in the dancers keep hold of each other - became the basis for many other Ballroom dances.