About Jackbook

What this is

Jackbook is a living dictionary and video archive for house dance — a place to look up moves, learn their names, trace their roots, and watch them done right.

House dance was born in the clubs of Chicago and New York in the late 1970s and 80s. The moves that define it were created by real people in real rooms, passed down through cyphers, classes, and late nights on the floor. A lot of that knowledge lives in people, not on the internet. Jackbook exists to help change that — carefully, and on the community's terms.

What we're trying to do

Name things correctly. The same move might be called something different in New York than in Chicago than in London. We document those regional differences rather than flatten them. Where origins are known, we note them. Where they're disputed or unclear, we say so honestly.

Keep the archive open. Every submitted video is accepted into the archive. What gets featured on a move's main page is a separate question — that's handled by trusted community curators, not algorithms.

Make sure originators aren't left behind. Not everyone who created the vocabulary of house dance is active online. We're building pathways for verified community members to contribute on behalf of elders and originators who might not submit themselves. If that's you, reach out.

What we're not

We're not a social media platform. There are no follower counts, no likes, no engagement scores on move pages. Contributors are credited the way liner notes credit musicians — present, acknowledged, not ranked.

We're not a place for anyone to claim ownership of a move. The moves belong to the community. Full stop.

Who maintains this

Jackbook is an independent project. It runs on minimal infrastructure and a strong commitment to keeping the core dictionary permanently free. We're funded by optional community support, not advertising.