Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin' in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San Jose, and the Strikin' dances of the Oak Park community in Sacramento, which were popular through the mid-1960s to the 1970s. Popping would be eventually adapted from earlier Boogaloo movements in Fresno, California, in the late 1970s by way of California high school gatherings of track & meet events - the West Coast Relays. The dance is rooted through the rhythms of live funk music, and is based on the technique of Boogaloo's posing approach, quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk or can be a sudden stop in the dancer's body, referred to as a pose, pop or a hit. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with various movements and poses. It was popularized by a Fresno & Long Beach-based dance group called the Electric Boogaloos that mixed popping techniques to boogaloo. Closely related illusory dance styles and techniques are often integrated into popping to create a more varied performance. These dance styles include the robot, waving and tutting. However, popping is distinct from breaking and locking, with which it is often confused. A popping dancer is commonly referred to as a popper.
Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking, voguing etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a culture, a moment in time, a way of life, influenced by natural social interaction. A street dance is a vernacular dance in an urban context. Vernacular dances are often improvisational and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with spectators and other dancers. These dances are a part of the vernacular culture of the geographical area that they come from.
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and stateside Puerto Ricans. The style was a fusion of popular African American rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music with mambo and son montuno, with songs in both English and Spanish. The American Bandstand television program introduced the dance and the music to the mainstream American audience. Pete Rodríguez's "I Like It like That" was a famous boogaloo song.
Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop dance mainstream exposure.
Breakin' is a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film directed by Joel Silberg and written by Charles Parker and Allen DeBevoise based on a story by Parker, DeBevoise and Gerald Scaife.
Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers is an American dancer and actor, known for his role as "Turbo" in the 1984 film Breakin' and its sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, in which he is credited as "Boogaloo Shrimp". Chambers rose to fame during the Hollywood phase of popping, boogaloo and robot dancing, as well as the freestyle art of b-boying. Chambers, along with his Breakin' series co-star Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quiñones and other dancers from the films, were prominently featured in the music videos for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" (1983) and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" (1984).
Adolfo Gutierrez Quiñones or Adolfo Gordon Quiñones(sources differ), known professionally as Shabba Doo, was an American actor, break dancer, and choreographer of African American and Puerto Rican descent.
Electric boogaloo is a dance style closely related to the earlier Boogaloo street dance performed in Oakland and popping; it combines modern popping techniques and earlier boogaloo forms. It became the signature style of the mid-1970s dance group, the Electric Boogaloos and also performed by the bush. Along with electric boogaloo, they also popularized popping and many of its related styles.
Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente is a street dancer, noted for his popping skills. He is a member of the Rock Steady Crew, The Electric Boogaloos, Tribal Click, Zulu Nation, and TC5, also known as The Cool Five or The Crazy Five. Wiggles has been active as a dancer, actor, choreographer, dance instructor, music producer and graffiti artist.
Locking is a style of funk dance, which is today also associated with hip hop. The name is based on the concept of locking movements, which means freezing from a fast movement and "locking" in a certain position, holding that position for a short while and then continuing at the same speed as before. It relies on fast and distinct arm and hand movements combined with more relaxed hips and legs. The movements are generally large and exaggerated, and often very rhythmic and tightly synced with the music. Locking is performance oriented, often interacting with the audience by smiling or giving them a high five, and some moves are quite comical.
The Lockers was a dance group formed by Toni Basil and Don "Campbellock" Campbell in 1971. Active throughout the 1970s, they were pioneers of street dance. Don Campbell is the founder of the locking dance style, and originally, Locking was called The Campbellock—a style that was based on the dance and song that Don Campbell created. Toni Basil met Campbell at a club in 1971 and together they formed The Lockers as a dance group. Toni Basil, who became Campbell's girlfriend, also served as The Lockers' manager, and was responsible for staging the act. All the dancers contributed steps and choreography with their unique and individual styles. By 1975 they were "Dancing their way to stardom" on their own. Individual members' contributions to the dance style and group image coupled with their unique presentation in staging and concept broke down many barriers. It has been said on the reality dance competition So You Think You Can Dance that "The Lockers' emergence on the dance scene changed the face of dance not only for street dancers but for dance in general and has made street dance a true American art form."
Jeffrey Glen Daniel is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer, most notable for being a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a judge on the first three seasons of Nigerian Idol.
Steve da Silva', better known as Suga Pop, is an American "street dance" practitioner and choreographer based in the United States. He is known for his work in "popping" and "locking", styles of dance collectively grouped under the umbrella term "funk styles". These styles are associated with the U.S. West Coast, particularly California. He has been affiliated with the performance groups Electric Boogaloos and Rock Steady Crew.
Dave Scott is an American hip-hop dance teacher, choreographer, and talent developer. He gained widespread success from his choreography in movies, primarily the 2004 dance film You Got Served and the 2008 dance film Step Up 2: The Streets. He is a resident choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and The PULSE on Tour dance convention.
Antonia Christina Basilotta, better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries.
The history of hip-hop dances encompasses the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of early hip-hop dance styles, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. African Americans created uprock and breaking in New York City. African Americans in California created locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping—collectively referred to as the funk styles. All of these dance styles are different stylistically. They share common ground in their street origins and in their improvisational nature of hip hop.
The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball show is the longest running dance show in Southern California, United States, and a popular monthly showcase of the top/elite choreographers in the world. The show is run in Hollywood, with satellite choreographer's balls in Chicago, New York, Sydney, London, and Tokyo.
Timothy Earl Solomon, known as Popin' Pete, is an American dancer and choreographer who popularized the "popping" dance style and member of the Electric Boogaloos. Pete’s career has spanned over forty years since the emergence of popping dance.
Yuta Nakatsuka is a Japanese Dancer and actor, He is one of the performers of the Japanese all-male dance and music group Generations from Exile Tribe.
Boogaloo is a freestyle, improvisational street dance movement of soulful steps and robotic movements which make up the foundations of popping dance and turfing; boogaloo can incorporate illusions, restriction of muscles, stops, robot and/or wiggling. The style also incorporates foundational popping techniques, which were initially referred to as "Posing Hard". It is related to the later electric boogaloo dance.
