Longboard Dancing is the most creative and expressive form of Longboarding substituting aggressive speed, slides and jumps, for visually impressive steps, torso, arm and whole-body movements while cruising and carving, a creative fusion of Dancing and Longboarding.
Once novice Longboarders have mastered carving and cruising techniques, they often want to progress onto a more challenging discipline such as freestyle, freeride or downhill, which are all great but aren’t for everyone.
Longboard Dancing is the perfect progression for those who want to progress their skills but don’t want to perform slides, jumps, technical tricks, or ride at speed.
Or those who enjoy Longboarding, dancing or other performing arts and want to combine them all. Or riders who want to make their carving and cruising more involved and challenging.
For the more adventurous, Longboard Dancing can be combined with freestyle. But, again, there are no hard and fast rules.
It’s entirely up to you.
Once the Longboard is rolling, the dancer generally steps up and down the board using techniques such as the cross-step, reverse cross step, 180 step, 180 switch, Peter Pan and chop the wood.
Balancing is vital arms are used to aid in balance and add to the visual impressiveness of the dancing routine. Watch a skilled Longboard Dancer. The steps and moves flow and appear effortless.
Dancing Longboard Characteristics
Longboard Dancing requires a generous surface with enough room to step up and down the Deck. The Deck’s are between 44 “-48” long with varying widths of 9.5 “-12.” The decks are flat.
Some have a slight concave, and some rocker which aids carving while stepping. There are kicktails at each end for turns, lifting the board and ‘noseriding’, which is often part of a Longboard dancers routine.
The Decks have a soft to medium flex. However, stiffer decks are available for heavier riders or those who want to incorporate freestyle tricks into their routines. Dancing Longboard trucks are wide, generally, 180mm providing much needed extra stability.
In addition, the trucks are flush-mounted, providing good clearance between the wheels and Deck, combined with ‘cut-outs on the underside of the Deck to eliminate ‘wheel bite’.
The wheels are large and soft. They accelerate slower than smaller wheels but have a higher top-end speed. Most important of all, they absorb shock and rollover humps and bumps smoothly.
Dancing Longboards have grip where they need it the most. On the tails and edges, the centres are grip-free to allow friction-free, unhindered stepping.
Six Of The Best Dancing Longboards
Here are six Longboards that will serve you well for dancing and, with enough practice, will take you from a novice to an advanced level.
Whome Dancing Longboard
The smallest Dancing Longboard in the selection with a medium to stiff flex is a good choice for those who want a shorter deck or want to include freestyle with their dancing.
The Whome Dancing Longboard is excellent for carving and also cruising a good all-rounder. The Whome deck measures 42″ x 9″ is constructed from 8-ply maple and includes 7-inch trucks, ABEC9 bearings and 70×51 mm 80A PU wheels.
Moonshine Hoedown
The Hoedown from Moonshine is one of the Lightest Dancing longboards on the UK market, featuring a double-ply vertical laminate core with fibreglass stringers providing a medium flex.
The Deck is 48″ x 9.5″ and includes 32″ or 33″ wheelbase options. Fitted with 180mm trucks, 70mm urethane wheels, ABEC7 bearings and urethane rails.
Two Bare Feet Noserider
The Noserider is the longest Dancing Longboard out of our selection, measuring a whopping 60″ and 15″ wide. A ‘surf skate’ style Longboard is perfect for larger dancers or those who want lots of space to practice and perform.
The Deck is constructed from triple-layered bamboo, includes a clear grip and kicktail. The Deck’s fitted with 7in Aluminium Raw UB Reverse Kingpin trucks, 83mm (78A) Sessions series super high rebound hollow core wheels, and TBF Pro Series 7 Chrome bearings.
Loaded Tarab
The Tarab from Loaded is a pure dancing deck built to a high quality for the dedicated dancers and freestylers.
The decks are constructed from bamboo and are available in two flexes for lighter or heavier riders or those who specifically want more or less flex for their unique dancing style.
Unlike conventional grip tape, the decks are covered with cork very grippy with low vibration. The Deck has kicktails and is symmetrical with a rocker profile, and includes UHMWPE rails to protect the Deck when undertaking freestyle dancing moves.
The Deck measures 47″ x 9″ with two wheelbase options of 31.25 “-32.25”. The Tarab is a deck only.
Fit your trucks and wheels. For example, 180mm and 50° reverse-kingpin trucks with 70mm wheels are a good combination with the Tarab for Longboard dancing.
Loaded Bhangra
The Bhangra, also by Loaded, features a longer deck of 48.5″ x 9.5″ lots of room for dancing moves yet still nimble enough for freestyle, carving and cruising.
The Deck’s constructed from layers of bamboo and fabric for an ultra-light yet responsive Deck, which is available in two flexes for lighter or heavier riders or those who want less or greater flex to suit their preferred style.
The Deck has a mild concave for precise edge control, a rockered profile and a large nose and tail. The grit tape is mixed to provide different levels of grip depending on where your feet are.
For example, the nose and tail have grippy 50 grit tape, while the edges and wheel mount area has milder 80 grit tape. The centre is kept clear of grip. Again the Bhangra is sold as Deck only. So fit your preferred wheels and trucks.
Landyachtz Stratus 46
The Straus 46″ is considered by many to be the perfect length dancing board measuring in at 45.5″ x 9.25″. The decks are specifically designed for dancing and freestyle, with ample room for footwork and moves.
The Stratus is constructed from 100% 8-ply Canadian maple with carefully placed grip tape, only where needed.
The Deck is symmetrical with a mellow concave has a medium flex that returns a good amount of energy with an adjustable 27.5 “-29.5” wheelbase and CNC wheel wells to reduce wheel bite. The Stratus is fitted with Grizzly Gen 6 180mm trucks and 63mm Fatty Hawgs.