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 A choreographed popping performance | |
| Genre | Street dance |
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| Year | Late 1970s |
| Part of the series on |
| Popping |
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| Related styles |
| See also |
Popping is astreet dance adapted out of the earlierboogaloo cultural movement inOakland, California. As boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as "robottin'" inRichmond, California; strutting movements inSan Francisco andSan Jose; and the Strikin' dances of theOak Park community inSacramento, which were popular through the mid-1960s to the 1970s.[1][2]
Popping would be eventually adapted from earlier boogaloo (freestyle dance) movements inFresno, California, in the late 1970s by way of California high school gatherings at theWest Coast Relays track meets.[2][3] The dance is rooted in the rhythms of livefunk 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".[4][5][6] This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song, in combination with various movements and poses.[7]
The dance was popularized by a Fresno and Long Beach-based dance group called theElectric Boogaloos, which mixed popping techniques with boogaloo.[2] Closely related dance styles and techniques are often integrated into popping to create a more varied performance. These dance styles include therobot, waving and tutting. However, popping is distinct frombreaking andlocking, with which it is often confused. A popping dancer is commonly referred to as a "popper".
Popping developed beforehip hop and helped influence the tradition of styles ofhip hop dancing.[8][9] It is often performed inbattles, in which participants try to outperform each other in front of a crowd, giving room for improvisation and freestyle moves that are seldom seen in shows and performances, such as interaction with other dancers and spectators. Popping, and related styles such as waving and tutting, have also been incorporated into theelectronica dance scene to some extent, influencing new styles such asliquid and digits andturfing.
As stated earlier,popping has become the latest umbrella term for a group of closely related styles and techniques rooted in the boogaloo tradition that have often been combined, evolved or danced together with popping, some of which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts.[10]
Popping is centered around the technique of "popping", which means to quickly contract and relax muscles to create a jerking effect (a "pop" or "hit") in the body. It is also known as posing hard from the boogaloo tradition; this technique was innovated by theOakland-based boogaloo group the Black Messengers.[11][5] Popping can be concentrated to specific body parts, creating variants such as arm pops, leg pops, chest pops and neck pops.[12]
With its roots in the late 1970s funk era, popping is commonly danced tofunk anddisco music. Popular artists includeZapp,Dayton,Dazz Band andCameo. During the 1980s, many poppers also utilizedelectro music, with artists such asKraftwerk,Yellow Magic Orchestra,Egyptian Lover andWorld Class Wrecking Crew. More mainstreamhip hop music was also employed by poppers during the 1980s, includingAfrika Bambaataa,Kurtis Blow,Whodini andRun-DMC. Today, it is common to see popping danced to more current music genres, such as modern hip hop (oftenabstract/instrumental hip hop) and various forms ofelectronic dance music, such asdubstep.
Poppers generally favor music with a straight and steadybeat of 90–120beats per minute, a 4/4time signature, and a strong emphasis on theback beat, normally by asnare drum or adrum machine. The pops are generally performed on every beat or on the distinct back beats. The popper can also choose to follow the music more freely, such as by timing the pops to therhythm of amelody or other rhythmic elements.
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