Updated on: 04/07/2022

Popping dance is a style of dance that started in the late 1960’s and 70’s. This dance style is characterized by sudden tensing and releasing of the muscles ("hitting") to the rhythm of beats in music.

History of Popping Dance

Origins of dance styles can get tricky, because OG’s have different accounts and interpretations of that story according to their regions and circles of influence.

While there are several moving parts of Popping's history that sometimes conflict or overlap, one clear part of the dance style's origin is that it started among groups of teenage friends in deindustrializing parts of the city.

The dancers would come up with moves, practice them, then show them off at clubs or in dance battles.

In addition to being a hobby, Popping dance gave dancersan escape, an identity, and a family.

Over time, the word “Popping” (which is also often referred to as “hitting,”) started being used to describe the collection of moves and techniques invented by the OG Poppers.

Key moves in Popping Dance

ANIMATION

Animation was inspired by the Dynamation films by Ray Harryhausen. It is meant to simulate an animated character moving frame-by-frame. The technique involves abrupt tensing of the muscles to create a stop-motion illusion.

THE BOOGALOO

The Boogaloo, invented by Boogaloo Sam, is a loose, fluid motion that gives the impression of the body having no bones. It incorporates isolated circular rolls of body parts.

THE ROBOT / BOTTING

When you imitate a robot or mannequin using several different Popping dance techniques.

DIME STOP

Moving at a steady pace, then coming to a clean halt without any shaking or reverb. The effect comes from being able stop suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, or "stopping on a dime".

GLIDING / FLOATING / SLIDING

Footwork techniques that create the illusion that your feet are moving smoothly across the floor. The backslide (which people commonly confuse as the Moonwalk), is a move that incorporates this technique.

HITTING / POPPING

Flexing your muscle groups suddenly. You can hit continuously to a steady rhythm, combined with different poses and pathways.

ISOLATION

When you keep the rest of your body still while you separate and move a part of it.

MIMING

Inspired by classic mimes, miming is when you utilize isolations to create pictures and illusions of an object or scenery that isn't actually there.

SCARECROW

Moving and hitting with pictures that imitate a puppet or scarecrow with strings attached to your joints.

SNAKING

Fluid rolls of the chest and body. It's a style that involves full body waves as if you're slithering around with your body like a snake.

STROBING

Moving and stopping your body quickly in steady increments using dime stops to make it look like you’re moving within a strobe light.

Poppers common use pedestrian movements (such as walking) with strobing.

STRUTTING

Struttin' is a dance style that originated from San Francisco. It involves hitting angles with your limbs as you hit.

TICKING

Ticking is a series of hits. You break up your pathway of movement into small increments and hit/pop at each one.

WAVING

Fluidly move your body or parts of your body to imitate literal waves in the ocean.

TUTTING

Tutting or ‘King Tut’ is when the you create angular shapes and pictures with your body parts, usually your arms or hands. Its name and moves were inspired by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Source: https://www.steezy.co/posts/what-is-popping-dance