Party Till You Drop

 Hardcore dancing is a very genuine practice and is taken quite seriously at most shows, both local and otherwise. If you plan on getting into Hardcore dancing you should learn to also take it seriously, or at least pretend as though you do. This will help make you seem more "hXc", and less like an amateur. Once you've got that concept set, then you're ready to start throwin' down.

Steps

1. Wait for the pit to break open. If you want to help open the crowd up then find some people around you who are into dancing and tell them you want to hardcore dance. Everyone should gather in a group and when the music starts begin pushing people out of the way but walking backwards with your arms extended. This is the more polite way to do it, and there are many other ways such as running as fast as you can at the people around you and jumping toward them. If you knock someone over, be sure to help them up before you get to skramz yo.
2. Listen to the music and go with the flow. Someone around you is going to know what they are doing, so just watch and see what everyone else is doing. Don't try to rip off peoples moves though, as this could get you tackled for being a rook. Just try to make sure you're not doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
3. Two-step during fast paced breakdowns. This move is performed by taking your right leg and swinging it in front of your left, and then respectively pulling your left leg out from behind your right and throwing it in front(2 steps vary from city to city). If you're doing it right (and many beginners don't), you will have a running in place like effect going for you. You should try to move your arms to the beat as well, maybe by grabbing the air near your feet or making a gangsta limp hand. Many different people do many different things.
4. Throw down when the music gets heavier and starts to sound very brutal. Swing your arms around with a closed fist back and forth in front of your body, perhaps balancing yourself on one foot and switching now and then or planting your feet and bending your knees. It helps add to the effect if you appear as though you have no absolutely no concern for the well-being or safety of anyone around you. This is usually refer ed to as "the windmill".
5. Throw in some spin kicks if there's room, or maybe try something that's unique. As long as it goes with the flow of the music and is particularly violent in nature, it may be accepted in the circle. You can also try some other trademark moves like "pickin' up the change", which is performed by quickly thrusting your hands in an alternating fashion toward the ground and scuttling back and forth with your knees bent as if you were trying to pull weeds out of the ground, or pick a bunch of little pieces of paper on the ground. You can also do the same thing except grab at the sky.
6. If the song seems to stop abruptly but the band still looks ready to go, then you're in for a breakdown any second. Put your fist up in the air and start walking across the circle, and throw it down just as the music starts again, then proceed with step 4.
7. If someone falls down, you immediately help them up. This is the unwritten protocol of all mosh pitters. If you keep going and someone is down, you risk seriously hurting or even killing them (and if that doesn't happen, some large mammal of a man is going to hurt you for not following this protocol).

Tips

• Be careful what you do, because throwdown pits and dance circles are usually filled with some pretty bamf's.
• If you happen to hit somebody, its only common courtesy to shake their hand later if you get the chance.
• Don't be afraid. Even though you might get hurt its better to just get in there and do it if that's what you want to do. You're trying to be hardcore, remember, not a wimp.
• Don't be embarrassed either, its a very common thing at hardcore shows. People will gather around and admire and watch you if you know what you're doing so just put your soul into it and go nuts.

Warnings

• If you are absolutely clueless, don't try it. You're likely to get hit or worse yet, tackled. Many hardcore kids think that shows are a popularity contest, or a ritual to attract mates, and take it very very seriously.
• It's not unlikely that you'll come out of the pit with a broken nose or a bloody lip.
• Some shows might be filled with people who prefer push-moshing over hardcore dancing, and they will break into the pit and try to tear it up. They're usually alot bigger, but just pretend like you don't notice them and "accidentally" kick or punch them, and this will generally subside. (In some cases the hardcore dancers will come to a consensus that these people need a beatdown)