The Melbourne Shuffle Phenomenon

The Melbourne shuffle is one of several dances that emerged during the 'acid house' or 'rave' era around 1990. Although the precise origin of the style is unknown, it does bear a resemblance to earlier jazz dance styles as well as having some hip hop elements.

A rave (or rave party) is defined as a dance party (often all-night events) where DJs and other performers play electronic dance music, sometimes referred to as "rave music", with the accompaniment of laser light shows, projected images, and artificial fog. Rave parties are often, not always, associated with the use of "club drugs" such as ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamines and, more recently, ketamine and 2C-B. In the late 1980s, the word "rave" was adopted to describe the subculture that grew out of the acid house movement.

Raves went on to flourish in Australia and were generally called dance parties. In Melbourne, the underground dance style called the "Melbourne Shuffle" originated at these parties.

The Melbourne raves tended to have a greater amount of artwork, video art, decor and performance as the underground arts community of Melbourne seemed to be involved in producing the parties. Fashion was also a very important component, as many party goers were in the fashion industry and they designed and made their own 'party' clothes and accessories. The parties became a fashion show for the designers and created strong retail sales for their works. Candy ravers usually dress up in wild clothes consisting of bright colours, fluffy leg warmers for the girls and ‘phat’ (excessively flared) pants for the guys.

How does the Melbourne shuffle work?


The Melbourne shuffle dance style has remained relatively underground since its birth in the late 80s and early 90s. However, there is a Melbourne shuffle phenomenon going on now. You will be hard pressed to find a teen now that hasn't at least heard of the dance.

Today known as "shuffling" to the Melbourne locals, the name "Melbourne shuffle" has been derived from overseas DJs, party goers, visitors and the media trying to describe this phenomenon. The Age referred to it as looking like "a cross between the chicken dance and a foot stomping robot" to the untrained eye, but locals have simply called it the "shuffle" since 1992.


Some dancers sprinkle talcum powder on the floor beneath their feet to help them glide more easily, some including 360 degree spins or jumps into their moves.

There are a lot of people using the "Phat Pants" for the Melbourne shuffle as it hides the actual movement of the feet, making the dance appear smoother, as if the dancer is actually floating above the ground.

Learn how to do it:

Instructional videos for the Melbourne shuffle can be found here.

It's Like this...According To Me...

The people that do the Melbourne shuffle well, are really pretty amazing to watch. It leaves you wondering.... how in the heck do they do this movement? As well, with this generation being dubbed as 'lazy'...it makes one ponder..... as to do the Melbourne shuffle....one obviously can't be lazy. Some say the energy comes from the drugs that are sometimes taken at the raves. However, if you watch the video below, you will see that to move this way takes lots of practice.

Watch this video...you won't believe your eyes.

Get all your dance clothes here!