Northern soul dancing is a dance style that emerged in Northern England and the English Midlands in the late 1960s from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music, especially from the mid-1960s, with a heavy beat and fast tempo (100 bpm and above) or American soul music from northern cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and others. It is associated with particular dance styles and fashions that grew out of the underground rhythm and soul scene of the late 1960s at venues such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. This scene and the associated dances and fashions quickly spread to other UK dancehalls and nightclubs like the Wigan Casino, Blackpool Mecca (the Highland Room), and Golden Torch (Stoke-on-Trent) .
Northern soul dancing is characterized by spins, kicks, and fancy footwork, often performed in a synchronized manner with a partner or a group of dancers. The dance style requires patience, practice, and heaps of concentration to master the effortless spins and elegant footwork seen at northern soul all-nighters across the country. To understand the dancing, one must understand the music. The northern soul scene blossomed in the 1970s when DJs would hunt down rare black American soul 45s and bring them back to play in venues across the north-west of England. The music, inspired heavily by the Motown sound, with fast tempos and a simple 4-4 beat, was a dancers dream.
