What is hustle?
Hustle is the partner dance of the disco era: fast spins, smooth traveling patterns and a "&-1-2-3" count that fits four-on-the-floor music. New York Hustle (three-count) is the most common form today, with a strong competitive scene in the US.
History
Hustle appeared in Latino and Black clubs in New York in the early 1970s, influenced by swing and mambo. Van McCoy's 1975 hit The Hustle and the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever took it nationwide.
Basic technique
- Basic — &-1-2-3 with a back rock on &
- Right turn, left turn and the throw-out
- Continuous spins for the follower
Music & tempo
Disco, nu-disco and dance-pop around 110–125 BPM.
Songs for hustle
| Song | Artist | BPM | Key | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myenemy | Parcels | 110 | D minor | 2016 |
| Lie to Me | Steve Aoki feat. Ina Wroldsen | 110 | D# minor | 2018 |
| Shadow Play | ATTLAS feat. Lune | 110 | G# minor | 2016 |
| I Can’t Quit Your Love | Four Tops | 110 | F minor | 1986 |
| Woman Likes to Hear That | Wilson Pickett | 110 | C major | 1970 |
| Eleanor Rigby | Four Tops | 110 | E minor | 1969 |
| Letter Full of Tears | Gladys Knight & the Pips | 110 | E major | 1995 |
| I Wish You Were Here | Billy Eckstine | 110 | D# minor | 1966 |
| Let It Be Me | James Brown & Lyn Collins | 110 | G major | 2010 |
| Starving for Your Love | Four Tops | 110 | E minor | 2005 |
BPM as measured by audio analysis; some tracks read at half or double the danced tempo.
What to wear
Smooth-soled shoes that spin.
How to get started
Hustle is taught at many ballroom studios and in NYC dance clubs.
We list 3 studios that teach hustle, or browse all dance studios by state.
Key partner-dance terms
Movies featuring hustle
- Roseland (1977)
Recent research
- The Effectiveness of Dance Interventions on Psychological and Cognitive Health Outcomes Compared with Other Forms of Physical Activity: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. — Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2024
- Human interpretable grammar encodes multicellular systems biology models to democratize virtual cell laboratories. — Cell, 2025
- B7-H3 and Prostate Cancer: New Therapeutic Dance Partners. — European urology, 2023
- Effect of Ballroom Dancing on the Physical, Psychological, and Mental Well-Being of Oncological Patients: A Pilot Study. — International journal of environmental research and public health, 2025
- The cognitive neuroscience and neurocognitive rehabilitation of dance. — BMC neuroscience, 2024
Books about hustle
- Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran (1978)
- Burn baby burn by Meg Medina (2016)
- Tribal rites by David Diebold (1987)
- Disco by Lani Van Ryzin (1979)
- The art of disco dancing by Dennis J. Fallon (1980)
- The complete guide to disco dancing by Karen Lustgarten (1978)
Encyclopedia summary
The Hustle is a catch-all name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. In the late 1970s, Bump, Hustle, Watergate and Spank were popular. It mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in nightclubs to disco music. Hustle has steps in common with Mambo and Salsa and basic steps are somewhat similar to Euro dance style Discofox, which emerged at about the same time and is more familiar in various European countries. Modern partner hustle is sometimes referred to as New York hustle, however, its original name is the Latin hustle.
A source for research on the origins of the Hustle is a book written by Willie Estrada, one of the original pioneers of the Latin Hustle, The Dancing Gangsters of the South Bronx (Rise of the Latin Hustle).
Frequently asked questions
What music do you dance hustle to?
Disco and any four-on-the-floor dance music from about 110 to 125 BPM.
What BPM is Hustle?
Hustle is usually danced to music between 110 and 125 beats per minute. Browse 513 songs that fit on our Hustle music page.
How many calories does hustle burn?
About 404 calories per hour for a 155-lb (70 kg) person, based on a MET value of 5.5 from the Compendium of Physical Activities. See calories burned hustle for every body weight.
Related styles
West Coast Swing
California
Latin Social DanceSalsa
New York City — Cuban son and mambo, Puerto Rican musicians
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceEast Coast Swing
United States (simplified from Lindy Hop by dance studios)
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceLindy Hop
Harlem, New York — the Savoy Ballroom
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceCharleston
African American communities of the South; named after Charleston, South Carolina
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceBalboa
Southern California (Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach)
Swing & Vintage Jazz DanceCarolina Shag
Myrtle Beach and the Carolina coast
Last reviewed October 2026 · Editorial policy