Hakken (sometimes also hakkûh) is a dance style that originated in the Dutch hardcore and gabber scene. The name is derived from the Dutch verb hakken, which means to chop or hack, or refers to the heels of the feet.

In Australia, the dance is mainly referred to as gabber (noun) or gabbering (verb), named after the gabber subgenre of hardcore that it is danced to. Although it is called gabber, most ravers in Australia dance it to music from the rawstyle and Frenchcore genres. As you are supposed to keep up with the beat of the song, the dance is usually done quite fast as the BPM of this style of music can easily reach 190 BPM.

Wondering how to dance to gabber or hardstyle? In our beginner "hakken" workshop with Nathalie Tepper, you can finally learn the first steps yourself. Nathalie has been dancing since she was 6 years old. Her passion for hardcore and hakken came in 2015 and she has been part of the Gabbernauken crew since 2020. Together they shoot hakke content for Instagram and have also gained stage experience (e.g. Inurfase/Tormentum).