Popping

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, and "Pop-Locking" of Los Angeles which were popular through the mid-1960s to the late 1970s.

Popping would be eventually adapted from earlier boogaloo (freestyle dance) movements from Oakland, California to Fresno, California, in the late 1970s by way of California high school gatherings at the West Coast Relays track meets. The dance is rooted in 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.

The dance was first televised and popularized by Boogaloo groups Granny & the Robotroids and the Black Messengers performing on national TV in 1976 (Robotroids), 1977 and 1978 (Black Messengers as Mechanical Device). Later, a dance group called the Electric Boogaloos, which mixed popping techniques with boogaloo foundation from the San Francisco Bay Area. Closely related 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".

Popping developed before hip hop and helped influence the tradition of styles of hip hop dancing. It is often performed in battles, 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 the electronica dance scene to some extent, influencing new styles such as liquid and digits and turfing.