Alegria
Twerk

New Orleans, 1990s

TWERK

New Orleans' thunderous quake

Twerk (or more precisely Bounce) was born in the Black neighborhoods of New Orleans in the early 1990s, around the Bounce rap scene (DJ Jubilee, Big Freedia, Katey Red). It is a club and block-party dance, in which women (and men) vibrate their glutes at a staggering speed over high-energy beats.

Twerk has deep African roots: the Ivorian Mapouka, the Ghanaian Kpanlogo and the Malian Njarka have practiced rapid pelvic isolations for generations. Its return to the global spotlight through Miley Cyrus in 2013 obscured those roots and crystallized a debate on cultural appropriation. Today, the Twerk scene is internationally structured, with battles, classes and figures such as Big Freedia (New Orleans) or Lexy Panterra.

How it's danced

Technique & figures

Twerk is danced to Bounce or Trap beats at 130-140 BPM. The technique relies on rapid pelvic isolations, with bent knees, the torso tilted forward, and the hands placed on the floor, on the thighs or in balance.

Styles and fundamentals

Three axes: speed (the frequency of micro-movements of the pelvis), control (total dissociation of the upper body), and endurance (holding several minutes without breaking the rhythm). The modern vocabulary borrows from Bounce, Mapouka and Dancehall.

Main figures

  • 01

    Basic twerk

    Bent knees, parallel feet, isolation of the pelvis back and forth or in a circle. The foundation of the vocabulary.

  • 02

    Booty pop

    A sudden contraction of the glutes upward, like a "pop" that travels through the pelvis.

  • 03

    Hand stand twerk

    Twerking while balanced on the hands, legs in the air along a wall. A figure of extreme virtuosity.

  • 04

    Split twerk

    Twerk in a full split, body close to the floor. Requires flexibility and control.

  • 05

    Wobble

    A continuous, rapid vibration of the glutes, with no pause between beats.

Reading the music

New Orleans Bounce (Big Freedia, DJ Jubilee), modern Trap, "ass-shaking" tracks specifically produced for the dance. Heavy bass structures every movement.

Did you know?

Big Freedia

N° 01

Big Freedia, a queer artist from New Orleans, is the most legitimate voice of Bounce and the true "Queen of Twerk" of the original scene.

African roots

N° 02

The Mapouka in Côte d'Ivoire, practiced since the 1980s, is considered by many researchers to be the direct ancestor of modern Twerk.

Explore the rhythms

Same family

Underground Cultures

Cross connections

Styles from other families that share a common language with Twerk.