Jumpstyle is an EDM dance style popular in Northwestern Europe, the United Kingdom, as well as certain parts of the United States. The word originates from a movement of progressive house music followers, and especially those devoted to its post-2007 European "hard" subgenres (as opposed to the 2009-10 American revival of "mild" progressive, which has nothing to do with jumpstyle).

Jumpstyling is often referred to as "Jumpen": a combination of the English word 'Jump' and the Dutch & German suffix '-en' (meaning "to jump" or "jumping") .^[1]

It originated in 1997 in Belgium^[2] but gathered bigger popularity in their neighboring country Holland in the 2000s.

History [edit]

Jumpstyle, originally known simply as jump, was created in Belgium and started April 27, 1996. It was a short-lived small genre that didn't gain popularity in its original form. However, it came back to the public during the turn of the century and fandom began increasing throughout Europe after undergoing significant changes in Germany in early 2003.

Popularity [edit]

After acquiring its current name, jumpstyle was reintroduced to many electronic dance clubs in Europe and in 2005 saw artists and groups producing and releasing its music.

The first key stage of its popularity came between 2007 and 2008 due to the success of music videos such as Scooter's 'The Question Is What Is The Question' and 'Jumping all over the World' which led to their 13th studio album reaching #1 in the UK charts.

In addition, Patrick Jumpen's 'The Secret' and 'The Holiday' peaked the top 20 in Dutch singles.

A few other artist who gained popularity during its peak are DJ Coone, Sheffield Jumpers, DJ Porny and Jeckyll & Hyde.

Despite the lack of American audience, Los Angeles band Captain Ahab attempted to bring the music to United States.

Because of its hype around the time, it suffers image-problems especially in the Netherlands. Thus, the euphoric/melodic jump-like sound made between 2006 and 2008 is no being released.

However, there are still some radio stations left, broadcasting Jump in its traditional form. The oldest Jump radio was founded in 2005 and still exists today under the name of JumpStation.FM.^[3]

Performance/Dance [edit]

The modern dance associated with Jump, has evolved from skiën (lit. "skiing"). Performance by more than one person is the most popular. The legs are the most important part of the body in jumpstyle. It is performed by a series of forward and backward swings of the legs on the rhythm of the music.

Styles [edit]

Jumpstyle has various styles, but while all of these styles vary quite a bit, they still fall under the category of jumpstyle. In the descriptions below, suggestions to how the styles are performed will be made. However, the styles are not necessarily limited to these suggestions.

 the shuffle jump

This is the simplest form of jump that almost all jumpers will learn when starting out. It is something anyone can pick up, which is what makes jumpstyle so accessible to the masses. It is made from 5 basics steps.

Hardjump The Hardjump is a more complicated 6 step basics and is a little harder to master. However this is the most important and most used part of jumpstyle. While you can do the same moves in old skool jump and hardjump, typically more advanced moves are coupled with hardjump. It is also performed with more power as you are stamping the ground rather than kicking the air.

Sidejump Sidejump is essentially hardjump with a different set of moves. Most of which will have you facing the side while your jump. While it incorporates the same basic 6 steps of the hardjump, more advanced dancers tend not to use these steps at all and rely entirely on tricks and turns.

Freestyle (now most commonly known as ownstyle in some parts of the world) Freestyle is generally doing whatever you want, therefore any moves and any basics can be used. Previously this was posted as Hardjump and Old Skool jump, and then a new name was given to styles that included sidejump. The reason for this new name was that sidejump had not been invented when the article was written. So the new name "Ownstyle" was invented to show all three styles. However as will all dances, freestyle does mean "all moves" and "unrehearsed". So Freestyle and Ownstyle are the same thing. This also tends to be the most popular style amongst more advanced jumpers, as it has no restrictions, but for this same reason is less popular in tournaments.

Tournaments/Leagues [edit]

There are various jumpstyle leagues across the world; mostly in the form of online video submissions and internet competitions. However, in Belgium there have been staged tournaments such as the European Jump Masters.

The UK was the first to officially establish online leagues to an international level with the FIJL (First International Jumpstyle League) but unfortunately support was lacking and many competitors pulled out leaving much confusion.

On the upside this sparked several International Leagues in countries such as Australia, Russia, Germany and Spain.^[4]

Some of the most popular ones in recent years are Russian and Polish-based.

Notable Producers and Dancers [edit]

• Patrick Jumpen
• Scooter
• DJ Coone
• Jekyll & Hyde
• Sheffield Jumpers
• 2Fast2Jump
• The Big Jumpaz
• Russian Jumpstyle Team
• Jumpforce UK (founded by Renegade)
• JumpTek Global (founded by Twist)
• International Jump Army (founded by Danny Hall & Xundiloco)
• World Stylerz
• Hard Dance Generation

Similar Dance Styles [edit]

The are numerous dance styles connected or partnered with jumpstyle; whether because of its similarities in origin (underground dances that gain notoriety online) or due to its community within the rave and hard dance scene. An example of these are Melbourne Shuffle, Tecktonik, Freestep, Drum & Bass Step, Dubstep dance and Tekstyle.

Music [edit]

Jumpstyle music is an offspring of jump-up, hardstyle, happy hardcore and gabber. Its tempo is usually between 140 and 150 BPM. However, it cannot be seen as merely a slowed down version of gabber. It is characterized by a 909 kick drum used in a four on the floor beat. It also has influences from Hard House.^[5]

References [edit]