The History of Popping

Where Popping Came From

Popping is a street dance style rooted in a specific physical technique. The dancer quickly contracts and relaxes their muscles to create a sharp jolt or "pop" in the body. This effect often hits in time with the beat of the music, giving the movement a mechanical, almost electric quality.

You will have seen popping in music videos, at street dance competitions, and in performances across the UK and beyond. It has become one of the most recognisable forms of street dance. Its roots sit in 1970s California, though the style developed through the contributions of multiple dancers and crews over time.

Boogaloo Sam and The Electric Boogaloos

The story of popping often begins with Sam Solomon, a dancer from Fresno, California, who went by the name Boogaloo Sam. In 1976, he formed a dance crew initially called The Electric Boogaloo Lockers. As popping became more distinct from locking, they shortened the name to The Electric Boogaloos.

Sam drew on several influences. He watched The Lockers, another West Coast dance group who had made a name for themselves with locking, a related but distinct style. He also took cues from the sharp gestures and raw energy of performers like James Brown. Cartoons played a part too, inspiring exaggerated, almost surreal body movements.

From these sources, Sam built a style made up of two main elements. The first was boogaloo, which blends sharp angles with smoother, rolling motions and body isolations. The second was popping itself, that distinctive technique where rapid muscle contractions and relaxations create a snapping effect throughout the body.

The Electric Boogaloos performed and competed, and their style caught on. As the crew gained recognition, the techniques they used spread through the dance community.

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How Popping Spread

Through the late 1970s and into the 1980s, popping moved beyond Fresno. It became part of the wider breakdancing and street dance scene growing in American cities, deeply intertwined with the emerging hip-hop culture that connected dance, music, graffiti, and DJing. Television helped bring it to wider audiences. Dance crews appeared on talent shows and variety programmes, and films like Breakin' introduced the style to mainstream viewers.

Music videos in the 1980s and 1990s featured popping regularly. Artists and choreographers used the technique to add visual punch to performances. Michael Jackson incorporated robotic movements into his dancing, though his approach drew heavily from mime traditions, including the work of Marcel Marceau, alongside street dance influences.

In the UK, popping arrived as part of the broader street dance wave. British dancers learned from videos, from visiting American crews, and later from workshops and competitions. Over time, UK dancers developed their own interpretations, blending popping with local dance sensibilities and the sounds coming out of British club culture.

Popping Today

Popping remains a living style that continues to develop. Dancers add their own variations and combine popping with other techniques. You may hear terms like tutting, waving, and strobing used alongside popping. These are related moves that often appear in the same performances, though each has its own characteristics.

Tutting involves angular arm and hand positions, often creating geometric shapes. Waving sends a fluid motion through the body, usually along the arms. Strobing uses quick stops to mimic a strobe light effect. Dancers mix these freely, and in practice, performers often layer multiple techniques within a single routine, creating hybrid styles that push the boundaries of each form.

Competitions and battles remain central to the scene. Events take place in cities across the UK, giving dancers a chance to test their skills against others. Some dancers specialise in popping, while others use it as part of a broader repertoire.

For anyone interested in learning, classes are available at many dance schools and community centres. Online tutorials can offer a starting point, though nothing replaces learning from an experienced teacher who can correct technique in person.

Popping has travelled far from its California origins. What grew from the experiments of dancers like Boogaloo Sam has become a global style, shaped by countless performers and still evolving in studios and street corners from London to Los Angeles.