Chopper's Dance Studio

The History Of Funkstyle Popping

Posted on 04. Dec, 2007 by chopper in home

Whats crackin people,

As you can tell I love dancing. Any style of dance and yes even ballet. Bet you didn’t know that I took ballet too. But my favorite dance style is Funk Style hip hop dance. I don’t know there’s just something about it that makes me get goose bumps when I see funk style dancers “get off”. Before I moved to LA from Flint Mi, I thought I had been doing Funk Style/Poppin dance. Even worse I was calling it by the wrong name,”Poplocking”(It’s either poppin or locking never both). It wasn’t until I moved to LA that I found that I was doing it all wrong. I discovered that its called Funk Style and in funk style there are many different techniques. I found out that Popping Taco was the man who taught Michael Jackson everything he knows. At first I didn’t believe it. After doing major research I found it to be true Popping Taco was the man behind the infamous MJ. I had to find out more about Poppin Taco and that’s when my whole world changed. I discovered the “Electric Boogaloos”-the originators of this Style of dance. From there I went into training. I found out that Taco was teaching at local dance studio at the time and I knew I had to go take it. So I did and it was amazing! I learned so much from just that one class. From there I went on to take other classes from teachers like Suga pop and poppin Pete just to name a few(members of the Electric Boogaloos). So I thought that I would give you a little History lesson on poppin so that you won’t be like me lost in the dark and calling it “poplocking”. Rule number one-It’s not called “poplocking” its called poppin. Locking is a total separate style of funk dance. I will teach you about Locking in my next post.

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In the late 1970s, a popping group called Electric Boogaloos from California greatly contributed to the spread of popping, partly because of their appearance on the television program Soul Train.

The Electric Boogaloos themselves state that around the years 1975-1976 their founder Sam Solomon (a.k.a. Boogaloo Sam) created a set of movements that evolved into the styles known today as popping and boogaloo after being inspired by one of the pioneer locking groups known as The Lockers as well as a fad dance popular in the 1960s known as the jerk. While dancing, Sam would say the word “pop” every time he flexed his muscles, eventually leading to the dance being called popping. Many confirm the Electric Boogaloos’ story that Boogaloo Sam came up with the basics of popping.

Other closely related styles, such as the robot, are known to have existed prior to popping, and some state that even popping itself existed in some forms in the late 1960s in Oakland, California before the Electric Boogaloos was formed, and that the style cannot be traced to a specific person or group. This is less controversial regarding various related styles, which the Electric Boogaloos themselves acknowledge: “While Sam was creating popping and boogaloo, others were creating and practicing unique styles of their own. Back in the day many different areas in the west coast were known for their own distinct styles, each with their own rich history behind them. Some of these areas included Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco.”

The mainstream media contributed to the spread of popping and its related styles through movies such as Breakin’ , but also introduced a naming confusion by putting them all under the label breakdance, conflicting with the distinct floor-oriented dance by the same name (at that time known as breaking). Michael Jackson also helped popularize popping related styles such as the robot and moves such as the moonwalk, but introduced a new naming confusion as the moonwalk was already known by a different name in popping contexts (the backslide, see floating) before Jackson made the move famous.

Terminology

Popping is the name given to a specific style of street dance. The name was coined by Boogaloo Sam, the founder of the pioneer popping group the Electric Boogaloos, when he used the word “pop” every time he flexed his muscles to perform the characteristic popping technique.

Through the years, popping has also become a popular umbrella term for a group of closely related styles and techniques that have often been combined or danced together with popping, some of which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts. However, the use of popping as an umbrella term has been criticized, on the grounds that its many related styles must be clearly separated as those who specialize in more specific styles mustn’t be classified as poppers.

Another term, pop-locking, gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s in some circles around Los Angeles as a general slang term for popping and its integrated styles. The term is controversial because some believe it generates connotative confusion by incorporating the word “locking”, which also is the name of another distinct style of street dance that is generally kept separate from popping compared to its more integrated styles. Funk styles is another umbrella term, encouraged by the Electric Boogaloos, for both popping, locking and related dance styles that were created on the West Coast of the United States during the funk era.

Characteristics

Popping is centered around the technique of popping (or hitting), which means to quickly contract and relax muscles to create a jerking effect (a pop or hit) in the popper’s body. Popping can be concentrated to specific body parts, creating variants such as arm pops, leg pops, chest pops and neck pops, and can vary in explosiveness. Stronger pops normally involve popping both the lower and upper body simultaneously.

Normally, pops are performed at regular intervals timed to the beat of the music, causing the dance to appear very rhythmic in nature, and are often combined with stopping and holding a pose right before the pop. A common technique of transitioning between poses is the so called dime stop, heavily utilized in robot dancing as well, which basically means to end a movement with an abrupt halt (thus “stopping on a dime”), after which a pop normally occurs.

Poses in popping make heavy use of angles, mime style movements and facial expressions, and the lower body has many ways to move around, from basic walking and stepping to the more complex and gravity defying styles of floating and electric boogaloo. Movements and techniques used in popping are generally focused on sharp contrasts, being either robotic and rigid or very loose and flowing.

As opposed to b boying and its floor-oriented moves, popping is almost always performed standing up, except in rare cases when the dancer goes down on the knees or even lie down for a short while to a perform a special move.

Music

Having its root in the late 1970s dance club scene, popping is commonly danced to dance and pop music of that time, such as funk, disco and electro. Today, it’s also common to see popping danced to more current music genres such as modern hip hop music (often instrumental hip hop) and various forms of electronic.

Songs are generally favored that has a straight and steady beat at around 90-120 beats per minute, a 4/4 time signature and a strong emphasis on the back beat, normally by a snare drum or a drum machine. The pops performed by the popper normally occur 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 the rhythm of a melody or other rhythmic elements.

There are a number of techniques and styles that are commonly integrated with popping to enhance the dancer’s performance and create a more varied show, many which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts. When using popping as an umbrella term, these can be considered a part of popping.

Animation
A style and a technique that attempt to imitate film characters being animated by stop motion. The technique consists of moving rigidly and jerky by tensing muscles and using techniques similar to strobing and the robot to make it appear as if the dancer has been animated frame by frame. This style was heavily inspired by the films created by Ray Harryhausen.The The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

Boogaloo/Electric boogaloo
is a loose and fluid style trying to give the impression of a body lacking bones, partly inspired by animated movies and cartoons. It utilizes circular rolls of various body parts, such as the hips, knees and head, as well as isolation and sectioning, like separating the rib cage from the hip. It was developed in 1976 by Boogaloo Sam. Combined with popping it becomes the electric boogaloo, which is the signature style of the Electric Boogaloos.

Crazy legs
A leg-oriented style focusing on fast moving legs, knee rolls and twisting feet. Developed in 1980-81 by Popin’ Pete, originally inspired by the fast and agitated style of breakin by the famous b-boy Crazy Legs from Rock Steady Crew

Dime stopping

A technique of moving at a steady pace and then abruptly coming to a halt, as if attempting to stop on a dime. This is often combined with a pop at the beginning and/or end of the movement.

Fast forward

The concept of moving faster than normal, like being part of a video being played in fast forward.

Floating, gliding and sliding

A set of footwork-oriented techniques that attempt to create the illusion that the dancer’s body is floating smoothly across the floor, or that the legs are walking while the dancer travels in unexpected directions. Encompasses moves such as the moonwalk/backslide.

Liquid dancing
An illusionary dance style that focuses on flowing and continuous liquid-like motions, with concentration on the fingers, hands and arms. It is stylistically connected to – and often mixed with – waving. Liquid dancing is common in rave culture, and some dancers consider it a complete style of its own.

Puppet
A style imitating a puppet or marionette tied to strings. Normally performed alone or with a partner acting as the puppet master pulling the strings.

Robot/botting

The robot is a style imitating a dancing robot or mannequin.

Scarecrow

A style imitating the scarecrow character of The Wizard of Oz . Created by Boogaloo Sam in 1977. Focuses on out-stretched arms and rigid poses contrasted with loose hands and legs.

Slow motion

Moving very slowly with exaggerated movements to make it appear as if the dancer is viewed in slow motion.

Strobing

Using the same principle as dime stopping, but movements between halts should be shorter, and as quick and regular as possible to give the impression that the dancer is moving within a strobe light.

Ticking
A way of popping where the dancer pops at smaller intervals, generally twice as fast as normal.

Toyman

Based on action figures such as G.I. Joe and Major Matt Mason, developed by an old member of the Electric Boogaloos called Toyman Skeet. Goes between straight arms and right angles to simulate limited joint movement.

Tutting/King Tut

Inspired by the art of Ancient Egypt, tutting exploits the body’s ability to create geometric positions and movements. predominately use of right Angles

Video example (YouTube)

Vibrating

Tensing muscles very hard, causing them to shake or vibrate.

Waving

Waving is composed of a series of fluid movements that give the appearance that a wave is travelling through the dancer’s body. It is often mixed with liquid dancing.

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