Is jump rope dance a thing?

There are many styles of jump rope, from traditional competition freestyle to the minimalist boxer style. In recent years, thanks in part to the explosion in jump rope’s popularity on TikTok and Instagram due to the global pandemic, a jump rope style has emerged called Dance Rope. Like the boxer style, dance rope prioritises footwork, with more complex movement patterns and lots more arm work.

Dance Rope utilises a lot of compound footwork skills, such as the famous Running Man shuffle. The Running Man is a combination of alternating High Knees and Forward Straddles which give the illusion the jumper is running on the spot in a ‘moon-walking’ style. Running Man can also be performed in reverse, which parallels the comparison. 

Dance Rope is commonly performed in time to music with a 4/4 time signature, accenting the strong beats of the songs. Advanced forms of double bouncing which resembles ‘cutting shapes’ in shuffling are sometimes also seen.

Advanced footwork regularly follows repeated sequences of ABAB and ABCB similar to the rhyming scheme in poetry. These are the underlying patterns which lead to many famous footwork combos being so eye-catching.

Dance Rope sometimes uses a lot of complex arm work such as Swing Crosses, EBs, Arms Wraps, Mic Releases and more. All these skills share a common ground in that they’re very Side Swing orientated, which helps the rope move around the jumper as they complete the complex footwork skills. However, at other times, jumpers will perform their entire routines with their hands in a pocket position (known simply as “Open”) so they can focus on the footwork. 

Famous jumpers who are known for performing dance rope include The Jump Rope Sisters, two national champion ex-competitors and Jimmy Reynolds a jump rope enthusiast who is known for popularising the style in the early days of TikTok.