Learn how to dance hip hop? A popular dance move, the Harlem Shake, is a good place to start. Once you’ve mastered this move, you can add some basic pops, locks and breaks into your dance routine. You’ll look like you belong out there on the dance floor, even if you’re new to the scene.

The Harlem Shake is a hip hop move that's tougher than it looks. You’ll need to get your body loose and warm before you try it, so stretch a little. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, rock back and forth to the beat of the music. Once you feel limber and loose, you're ready to learn how to dance hip hop. Start moving your opposing shoulder and hip in opposite directions. This means you’ll be popping the left shoulder up while the right shoulder goes down and the right hip moves out. On the next beat, reverse the move, popping the right shoulder up, the left shoulder down and the left hip out. You can practice this movement to the beat of the music until you feel you have the general move down. 

Moving the feet and legs is important when you learn how to dance hip hop. Stop all the upper body movement while you practice the lower body work. You’ll want to practice moving across the dance floor while rotating your feet at the ankle, turning them in and out as you dance. Sometimes you’ll pick up your feet and place them down again before rotating at the ankle, sometimes you’ll just scoot across the floor. Turn both feet in towards one another, then both out apart from each other. When you get used to this motion, try crossing one leg behind the other as you slide around the floor. 

Now combine the upper body moves with the lower body moves and you have officially learned how to dance hip hop. Make sure you have some good music to dance to and a hardwood floor on which to dance so you slide appropriately. Add a shimmy to your upper body from time to time, and swing your arms around as you get used to the combined movements. Practice with other people who know how to dance hip hop well so you can pick up tips.