‘I get my kicks out on the floor’: Where did northern soul dancing come from?
Few things in life are truly impossible, but attempting to listen to northern soul without moving your feet to that beating rhythm is certainly an exception. Since the early days of the movement back in the 1970s, the infectious sounds of northern soul have been commanding dancefloors across the nation, and a distinctive style of dance soon arose from the scene. A strange mix of styles, indebted to everybody from Jackie Wilson to Bruce Lee, the northern soul dance style can seem otherworldly to those outside the scene, but where exactly did those captivating moves come from?
Before we delve headfirst into the history and development of northern soul dancing, it should be noted early doors that there is no de facto way to dance to northern soul music. Go to any decent soul night, and a multitude of the best dancers you have ever seen will tell you that northern soul dancing is deeply personal, and you must move in whatever way the groove guides you to develop your own unique dancing style. Nevertheless, there certainly is a distinctive style of dancing that typifies the northern soul scene.
Now, with new generations becoming exposed to the timeless sounds of northern soul through new clubs, DJs, and events, along with the rise of northern soul social media influencers, there is no shortage of people looking to master the northern soul style of dance.
If you attend one of the various soul dance classes advertised on social media, you will likely be taught to master the basic step of northern soul shuffling. This typically consists of sliding one foot behind the other, while simultaneously pointing your other foot to the side (which is a lot easier than it sounds when written down). The northern soul shuffle is most likely derived from the popular dances of the 1960s, particularly those which found favour with the mod subculture, given that mods were among the first to adopt soul music in the UK.
Despite what some people will tell you, though, the shuffle is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to northern soul dance. The more agile and skilful your abilities become, the more moves fill your repertoire. High kicks, dolphin dives, spins, backdrops all have their place within the landscape of northern soul dancing, and they all look ridiculously impressive when pulled off on the floor.
Still, that acrobatic style of dancing was largely unheard of in England during the early 1970s. Youth clubs were dominated by dull, slow shuffles or trendy novelty dances; nobody was jumping four feet in the air and landing on their knees to the soundtrack of the latest Cliff Richard song. No, that energetic and captivating style of movement was largely influenced by the American soul artists whose music inspired the entire scene.
Look at old performances by the likes of Jackie Wilson, James Brown, or Sam and Dave, and you will see a few definite similarities between their dancing and that of northern soul. These artists would move in ways that artists had never done before, spurred on by the infectious rhythm of soul music and, in many cases, a fair few amphetamines. Perhaps more importantly, these artists typically danced on their own, rendering the partner-based dances that prevailed in youth clubs superfluous.
The performance style of these pioneering artists was first adopted by mods back in the 1960s. Nightclubs like The Flamingo in Soho became particularly noted for their otherworldly dances, and it was from there that northern soul dancing began to develop.
By the time the 1970s rolled around and the northern soul scene began to reach its peak in popularity, the early dance moves seen at places like The Flamingo had been sped up and developed tenfold. Owing both to the increasing popularity of drugs like speed, and of kung-fu movies, northern soulers became much quicker and more acrobatic in their dancing, paving the way for the dance moves that still captivate audiences to this very day.
