Skanking is the canonical Ska dance. Being canonical doesn't make it the only or One True Ska dance; it is, however, the standard dance these days. Skanking involves angular pumping of legs and arms, with knees and elbows bent. Mike Fragrassi (I think) described this a rhythmic "herking and jerking."
The original official Ska dance was called ``The Ska.'' This dance originated in Jamaica and was the dance one did at Ska shows. It is not as punk-influenced as contemporary skanking. Jeremy D. Mushlin, described it as:
Not like jamming your elbow to your opposite knee back and forth, but sort of like the milk-the-cow, do the monkey sort of thing ...
Guido van Breda has turned up a great series of still shots of Ronnie Nasralla and Jannette Phillips - the couple who taught New York the Ska, who visited the 1964 World's Fair in New York with Jamaican musicians Byron Lee and The Dragonaires, Jimmy Cliff and Prince Buster. Watch them dance in the animated GIF, or check out the stills at www.dataweb.nl/~vanbreda/pictparade.html The Ska Pig has annotated the stills of Ronnie and Jannette, at www.gil.com.au/~skapig/DanceSka.html, so visit this site and learn how to do the Ska.
Controversy now rages over the propriety of slamming, moshing, body passing and stage diving at Ska concerts. These dances, while wildly popular with some, are reviled by most more traditional types.
