How To Do The Hustle (Like A Pro)

Now you can learn the Hustle and impress your friends at the next happy hour! Learn from the Master of the Hustle – Dirque du Soleil. If there were a black belt in doing the hustle, Dirque would have several. Learn from the Master – the King of Dirque! He’s a big bright shining star!

“Ahh, the hustle. Many memories, friends. After my hippy parents left me to join a French circus I taught the hustle up and down
Reseda Boulevard in the Valley to a population yearning to boogie. The hustle is making a big comeback what with all this retro
50s and 70s stuff going on and what not.”

“And believe me, you have got to have a slim waist to wear those sansa-belt disco slacks. I call them my “Action Slacks.” Look for them this fall in fine stores everywhere.”

Dirque du Soleil’s Personal Instructions for Doing the Hustle!

1. Get some groovy hustle music – not too fast, not too slow (yet). Suggested: Van   McCoy, The Hustle 1975.
 2. Listen to the music and learn to feel the beat.
 3. Hustle music is in 3/4 time. That means there will be three beats per measure.
 4. Find the beat in the song an learn to count the beats.
 5. The count for hustle is “And-1, 2, 3. And-1, 2, 3.”
 6. Please note that the “And” and “1” are part of the same beat –that means you will be taking 2 steps for the first beat.
 7. Now practice stepping to the beat. Turn the music off and just count aloud to yourself.
 8. Start with your left foot on the “And.”  Step every time you say a syllable so that would be four times per measure.
 9. Start the steps to the dance now. Do this in time to counting. Practice this for 15-30 minutes until you get it down.
10. Turn on the music. Do the steps to the music.
11. You have to practice the hustle before you can do the hustle! Do this for at least two songs.
12. Once you got it going on, keep the steps but turn so you’re moving clockwise with each step.
13. Once you get good at this, start throwing in other moves but make sure they are not dorky!
14. Hustle is a very forgiving rhythm, and as long as you keep the basic rhythm as outlined above.
15.  You can throw in moves from swing, salsa, merengue, west-coast swing, and cha-cha with relative ease.