Basic Disco Dance Steps

Disco dancing became largely popular in the mid-to-late 1970s. Disco dancing came in many different styles and was known for being highly choreographed. It focused on a combination of line dancing, couples dancing and freestyle solo moves to extended tracks and hypnotic DJ driven beats. There are several basic signature disco dance steps that will have dancers both young and old feeling nostalgic.

Shadow Step

The shadow step involves the male dancer standing behind his female dance partner holding onto both of her hands with her arms slightly outstretched. The shadow step technique involves a series of back and forth shuffle step sequences with both partners twirling after the fifth or sixth sequence. Even though this is a basic choreographed step, the dance leaves room for some improvisation.

Two Step

The two-step disco dance move is a partner dance move. The male and female dancers face each other, and are hand-to-hand with arms outstretched. The dance partners take two steps forward and two steps back from each other simultaneously. To add some flair, partners can rotate in a circle while dancing, or kick up a leg in between steps.

Hustle

The hustle is a solo disco dance step that involves shifting your weight on one leg while crossing the other leg in front of it. While crossing one leg in front of the other, the arm on the same side of the body is supposed to cross over the body in a downswing motion. The dance step is repeated in repletion to the sound of the beat.

The Point

The infamous one-finger point disco move was popularized by John Travolta in the disco movie "Saturday Night Fever." The hand is outstretched in the air with the index finger pointing to the ceiling, while the hips move in the opposite direction, then pointing the hand down toward the floor across the body while rotating hips alternately in the other direction.