Hardstyle!

History

Hardstyle originated from Hard Trance, Gabber and rave music with influences from Hard House and jumpstyle. The place of origin is believed to be the Netherlands[citation needed], where the first hardstyle events started near the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000. One person accredited in the development of the style is Dana van Dreven.[citation needed]
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Hardstyle dancing (Melbourne Shuffling and Hardstyling)

Hardstyle is now commonly found all over the world but one of the hotspots is Melbourne in Australia where a unique group of dj's mix a hard edged blend of hardstyle.
This scene was the birthplace of the dance: "The Melbourne Shuffle" (also known as the "Hard Shuffle"), all outlined in the Melbourne shuffler documentary. The Melbourne shuffle has spread to hardstyle scenes accross Australia including Sydney and Brisbane.
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The Present

Hardstyle is mainly produced in the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, but more and more producers from other countries have also discovered this sound. In 2002 the style started becoming popular in several countries in the world, including: Belgium, Poland, Estonia, Denmark, Australia, South Africa and United Kingdom. However, in the Netherlands, United States, Spain and Germany trance is more popular. Hardstyle started out as Hardhouse (fast hardhouse from United Kingdom) and was mixed with Oldstyle as a combination. This went on to create the sound we hear today. Examples are builder- hardbeatmarket.
The English sound was very popular in the Netherlands for a short time, but it soon appeared that the Dutch public preferred a harder bassline. Artists like Dana, Pavo & The Prophet combined the English sound with new productions. This sound also gained some popularity in Germany, where it was picked up by German label Tracid Traxxx (who defined their own sound more like a combination of trance and acid), and later also Blutonium Records and Resident E Recordings.
Afterwards, hardstyle-productions briefly came to Italy, which also started the German alternative sounds. After this, the new hardstyle went directly at the Dutch public. Q-Dance organised a monthly event in the Hemkade (nowadays known as the North Sea Venue) under the name Qlubtempo, an event which could be called the melting pot of the Hardstyle. Nowadays hardstyle events are very common in Dutch clubs. Artists who had never performed in the Netherlands were flown over to bring the new sound to the people. Artists such as Technoboy, Super Marco May and Gary D acquired a large reputation in the Netherlands this way.