Where it came from

Waacking was born in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, on the disco floors of clubs that gave the city's gay community — particularly Black and Latino dancers — a place to be fully themselves at a time when the rest of the city wouldn't. The arms were the signature: fast, geometric, theatrical, hitting the music's accents and held with the posture of an old-Hollywood film still.

The name has a few origin stories. The version most teachers cite: it came from the sound — whack — of the arms snapping through space.

To dance waacking is to inherit that history. You are not just learning steps. You are learning a vocabulary that someone invented because they needed it.

What a waacking class looks like at GBC

We run waacking three times a week — Tuesday 18:00, Thursday 16:30, Saturday 16:30. All three classes follow the same basic shape, with different choreography.

Foundations (15 min). The arms first. Always the arms. Wrist rolls, frame work, posing. The hardest part of waacking for most newcomers isn't the speed — it's the stillness between the hits. You will spend a long time learning to land a pose and hold it without leaking energy.

Musicality (15 min). Disco and funk records, mostly from the original era. You'll be taught to hear the snare versus the hi-hat versus the vocal, and to choose which one you want to hit. Half the class is ear training.

Choreography (25 min). A short routine — usually 32 counts. You'll learn it, run it, then perform it in groups of three for the rest of the class. This is where the class culture lives. Everyone watches, everyone claps, no one critiques. The watching is part of the style.

Cyphers (5 min). Open floor. Music on. Anyone who wants to take a turn does. No pressure, but the seasoned students will encourage you in. By the third week, most newcomers take their first one.

Waacking is a dance about taking your space. The choreography is taught. The taking is the part you practice.

What to wear

Anything you can lift your arms in fully. Loose sleeves are traditional — they extend the line of the arm. Most members dance barefoot or in jazz sneakers. Avoid bracelets or rings until you know how fast your hands are moving (the mirrors will not forgive a snagged sleeve).

Why we teach it

Waacking is one of the most expressive dances in the Golden Belt Club catalogue. It rewards posture, rhythm and confidence — three things every member benefits from regardless of which classes they take. It also has the gentlest learning curve of our advanced dance offerings: the first pose lands clean inside ten minutes.

If you've been on the fence about trying a dance class, this is the one we'd put you in first.

500 ₺ trial. Tuesday 18:00 is the smallest of the three sessions — easiest room to start in.