Moshing

Moshing

Audience members moshing to American thrash metal band Toxic Holocaust
Origin	Late 1970s, Huntington Beach and Long Beach, California, United States

Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming)^[1] is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other. Taking place in an area called the mosh pit (or simply the pit), it is typically performed to aggressive styles of live music such as punk rock and heavy metal.

The dance style originated in the southern California hardcore punk scene, particularly Huntington Beach and Long Beach around 1978. Through the 1980s it spread to the hardcore scenes of Washington, D.C., Boston and New York where it developed local variants. In New York, the crossover between the city's hardcore scene and its metal scene led to moshing incorporating itself into metal beginning around 1985. In the 1990s, the success of grunge music led to moshing entering mainstream understanding and soon being incorporated into genres like electronic dance music and hip hop.

Due to its violence, moshing has been subject to controversy, with a number of concert venues banning the practice, and some musicians being arrested for encouraging it and concertgoers for participating.