Jacking

Jacking, or Jackin', is a dance technique and music form that first became popular in the late 1980s as one of the myriad music forms which arose from the last days of disco. Though there continues to be some dispute as to a single absolute stylistic origin, "jacking" music and dance most likely came from the multicultural roots in the early underground Chicago house.

Originally jacking's two most prominent divergent forms, the Chicago jacking scene is linked to other styles of Chicago house music like acid house and deep house, while the European jacking form trended slightly towards a tribal "hard house" underground, punk, and house scenes. The dancing and music forms of jacking itself were sexually charged in its earliest forms, with couples (often two men or two women) grinding their pelvises together. Jackin's style merged with many dance styles popular during the early American acid house scene and UK House scenes.

When referring to house dancing this word has taken on a slightly more specific and somewhat less sexual meaning. Jacking is a dance technique that comes from moving the torso forward and backward in a rippling motion, as if a wave were passing through it. When this movement is repeated and sped up to match the beat of a song it is called jacking, or "the jack." This technique is arguably the most important movement in house dance because it is the foundation that initiates more complex movements and footwork. Jacking has also permeated many other divergent forms of house and freestyle broken beat music and dance. Just as house music itself grew from the disco tradition, so too, did jacking's dance develop from the self-expressive styling of disco dancing. Unlike partner ballroom type dance forms such as the waltz and foxtrot, Jacking is considered a freestyle dance.