The '90s Comeback

Now, that we're in the second decade of the twenty-first century, is there a '90s comeback in the works? It seems that a brand-new fondness for the 1990s new jack swing movement is brewing in the Los Angeles scene. For young twenty-somethings who were just born in the early '90s, this revival means rediscovering the music, the dance steps, and the style of their childhood. So what does this mean for hip hop dance in this new decade?

We've seen this go in cycles. In the 1990s, there was a fascination with the disco era of the '70s. In the early 2000s, there was a throwback to the 1980s. Perhaps the reappearance of bboyin', poppin', and lockin' in mainstream media culture can be attributed to that phenomenon. It seems that every decade has a revival twenty years later. Time-wise that makes sense since children of that decade will be in their college years. That's a time when young people are establishing their own identities and expressing themselves creatively on their own. It's the epicenter of youth culture.

When you think about the '90s, new jack swing comes to mind. Teddy Riley, Guy, Boyz II Men, Kid and Play, and the whole new jack swing movement are highlights of that decade. We're starting to see street dancers embrace new jack swing even in contests and battles. That's not surprising since there are so many more people training in bboyin', poppin', lockin', and waackin'. You need something in your arsenal that other people don't have. New jack is funky. It uses your whole body. It has big movements and you can travel across the dance floor with it.

And there are dancers who can mentor a young generation in this style. Dancers who were teens or in their twenties during the 1990s are now in their thirties and forties. They're the mentors of today's young generation. These mentors are teaching classes, overseeing dance crews, and choreographing major pieces. There's going to be a trickle-down effect. New jack and the '90s style aren't going to go away anytime soon. And why should it? The music is funky. It's soulful. And young dancers are always looking for something different, even if it means reinterpreting what's been done in the past.

That's where we might see some interesting things develop for today's generation. Young bboys, poppers, lockers, and waackers in Los Angeles have been training in their styles for a good number of years. Their disciplined mentalities could possibly broaden the foundation and feel of new jack swing since it will be approached as a "style." Unlike in the 1990s when the foundation was being developed real-time, we're looking back twenty years and trying to "learn" this style. When you approach a dance in that way, there's an organization to your learning process. It's a little more academic. With that in mind, it becomes easier for a new student to connect the dots between moves, textures, and history. It also makes the style more accessible through teaching, thereby opening up the possibility that it could spread like wildfire.

The next few years are going to be an interesting experiment for Los Angeles dancers with respect to new jack swing. Will there be a full-blown revival of new jack in the competitive dance scene? Let's hope that it opens up a new chapter in the LA dance scene as our youngest generation takes it on.