There are many different styles or "moves", in hardcore dancing.

The most popular, arguably, is the "two-step", which involves thrusting your arm opposite to the leg you are moving forward. There are many variations of the two-step which can be seen throughout different scenes and cities.

Also popular is the "windmill", a more dangerous move often frowned upon at many "old-school" and "posi" shows. It is basically as it is described, creating a windmill effect by throwing your fists around. It can be performed by swinging the fists in a forward motion, reverse, and can also be accompanied by double stomping back and forth across the pit or in place.

The "axehandle" is also a common variation, which involves swinging both arms in and out as if you were wildly swinging a large axe.

Among many of the moves most commonly seen is the "floorpunch", which, as the name implies, is a basic move in which the dancer punches at the floor. It is usually accompanied with stomping across the pit or stomping in place, and can include fists thrown back in a deliberate attempt to strike anyone behind you.

"Picking up pennies" is similar to the floorpunch, but rather than throwing hard shots at the floor, you instead use open hands and reach around to your backside as if to give the illusion of grabbing pennies off the floor and stuffing them into your pockets.

"Crowd-killing" is popular among many "tough guys". It can be as simple as running back and forth and slamming into people on the outskirts of the pit, or as elaborate as one dancer picking another up by the waist and walking him around the pit as he bicycle kicks non-dancers in the head.

"Windmill kicks" are a common occurrence and can also be used as a crowd killing technique when done along the edge of the pit. It is your basic every day spinning karate kick, usually done several times in a row or during a sequence of different moves. Grabbing or punching at the air is a common move usually among the metalcore crowd. It can also be performed as a karate chop while almost "crab-walking" across the pit.

One of the newest moves to pop up, and also one of the most ridiculed, is the "bucking wheelbarrow" or the "wild lawnmower", in which one dancer gets down on all fours and another dancer grabs his legs at the knee or thigh. The dancer on the ground then pushes himself up and swings his fists while the other pulls him up.

The "Head Walking" is a different kind of stage diving where whoever is doing it instead of throwing itself to be carried by the crowd, they will literally walk over people's heads stepping wildly as they go.

Most of these different dance moves are not meant to injure anyone, but performed incorrectly or in a deliberate attempt to harm someone, they can be very dangerous and violent.