The first time we heard the word ‘twerking’, we thought it had something to do with hand gestures that involved snapping. Sadly, it involved a different kind of gesture and a different kind of snapping. Twerking is really a dance, and here at Lipstiq, we used to call it ‘The Beyonce’. But if you’re still a little lost about what twerking is, here’s a simple, yet definitive guide to twerking, and what it means to the world of dance and fitness.
What is Twerking?
Twerking is actually a dance move that involves one to shake their hips and butt, in a bouncy up and down motion, which causes your bits to wobble and jiggle. In short, it’s quite sexually suggestive and you’ve probably seen it in a lot of hip hop music videos. The term was derived from the word “twerk”. The world “twerk” was coined by combining the world “to” and “work it”. Hence, “twerk it”.
Here are some visual examples to give you an idea of what twerking is
How it Started
Twerking was started by ‘The Twerk Team’ in 2005 by two African American girls from Atlanta, Georgia where they would post videos of themselves gyrating and shaking to a point that it was considered “artistic”.
Twerking was mainly associated with American hip hop culture, and you could say The Twerk Team really made it when they were mentioned in a song by Waka Flocka Flame called, Round of Applause, featuring the talented Drake.
You could also say that tweaking became mainstream after a video of Miley Cyrus twerking in a unicorn onesie was found on Youtube.
Many believe that hip hop producer/rapper, Diplo was responsible for making it a world wide trend. The music video of his song “Express Yourself” featured some very intense tweaking, which somehow became a worldwide Twitter and Instagram trend. The Express Yourself notion shot to fame after some controversy, when 23-year-old math teacher in Colorado was caught posting photos of herself twerking topless, among other things. (Source)
How to Twerk
Judging by the moves, it’s no denying just how much of a workout your things and butt will get from twerking. Although it does look visually intimidating, twerking looks like ‘the’ move you want to do as often as you can, just to get your thighs and butt shaking. If you want to start learning how to twerk, grab a pair of booty shorts, put on a pair of comfy heels and stand in front of a mirror, because it’s gonna get crazy up in here! (We highly recommend this doing in a private place)
