Mark's Website: Dance

Poppin

Introduction

Poppin (also written popping) is basically a dance of illusions. Although poppin is considered a single dance, it consists of multiple dances (also called styles). Some common poppin styles include: waving, hitting, strobing, ticking, cobra, boogaloo, animation, floating, robot, puppet, & dime stopping.

Poppin has been described by some as the most difficult dance to learn because of its isolation movements. The robot, puppet, & some of the heal-to-toe actions of the floats were taken from mime. Illusionary moves that some poppers do, such as the imaginary rope or the wall, are also derived from mime. Poppers are basically dancing magicians performing illusions. Some of the more gifted ones are amazing to watch.

Despite being merged into the hip hop culture, poppin is in fact a funk style of dance that was developed for funk music. There are different opinions as to exactly where & when this dance emerged. Some say that it was developed by Boogaloo Sam in the late 1970s in Fresno California. It is generally agreed that it started after locking & before breakdancing (breakin), which first appeared in the Bronx, New York. Unlike breakers, poppers remain on their feet most of the time.

I began studying poppin either in 2000 or 2002 (I forget exactly when) using instructional videos. Later, I attended classes by performers in the Boston area such as Eric Cruz & others. I took a few private lessons from a talented popper named Megatron, also in the Boston area. There was one workshop in Cambridge that I attended which was conducted by another gifted performer known as Poppin Taco, who appeared in the hit movie Breakin (1984).

Most of my lessons, however, have been through instructional videos. Most notably, the instructional films of Mr. Wiggles of the Electric Boogaloos. I combined my poppin workouts with mime exercises illustrated by the famous mime Tony Montanaro in his video workshop. I have only sporadically studied this dance since 2000, with sometimes up to a year passing between my practice sessions. In April of 2011 I began studying again.

Styles

These are some of the styles that I study:

Animation-- A style based on the stop-motion movements of the animated creatures in films such as the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), & Clash of the Titans (1981).
Boogaloo-- A fluid style that uses circular movements of the knees, hips, & head, as well as isolation movements such as separating the rib cage from the hip.
Cobra-- Cobra is a type of waving. With this style, the the chest is rolled like a snake. It is often done with floating.
Dime Stopping-- This involves moving at a regular pace, then suddenly stopping, as if on a dime.
Floating-- This type of heal-to-toe action, which also includes slides & glides, results in the illusion that the dancer is floating.
Puppet-- This is a loose, soft style that portrays the dancer as a puppet. This style was taken from mime.
Robot-- This is another mime-based style where the dancer imitates a robot. There are various types of robots.
Strobing-- Using a series of quick dime stops, the dancer creates the illusion of being in a room with a strobe light. This is often done with movements that people regularly do in night clubs, such as walking, taking off your coat or hat, looking at your watch, stretching, pulling up a chair, etc.
Waving-- This fluid style gives the appearance of a wave traveling through a person's body.
Hitting-- Also called poppin. This involves rapid muscle contractions/releases done to the beat of the music which give the illusion that the dancer is being shocked.

These dances can be done by themselves or combined. Two or more styles can be fused to form sort of a different style. An example of this might be an animated wave. Another would be floating while strobing. They can also be combined in a successive manner, where one style flows into the next. For instance, a single puppet move can be done, followed by a couple moves from the robot, then a strobe, etc.

At first, learning to transition in this manner requires more mental effort than physical until it becomes unconscious. Because each style has its own underlying qualities, this switching of styles is actually a switching of mind. For instance, some qualities associated with the puppet style include: softness, lightness, no will, surprise. Robot qualities would be: rigid, mechanical, emotionless, inflexibility. I've noticed that the most talented dancers are able to quickly & frequently transition between styles.

Once the qualities of a style are understood, you can make up your own moves. A famous mime named Tony Montanaro focused on developing these qualities using certain exercises, that have been outlined in his book, Mime Spoken Here: The Performer's Portable Workshop, as well as his video workshop. In his book he refers to a quality as a premise, which he describes as "the invisible 'cause' governing the visible 'effects.'"

If I am able to obtain a video recorder I'll post videos of myself demonstrating some of these dances, so you may want to check back here frequently. Below are some YouTube links showing performances by Megatron, Mr. Wiggles, & Poppin Taco.

YouTube Videos

Megatron, Exhibition at SuperDopeFunkDanceExplosion
Megatron Showcase
Mr. Wiggles in France
Mr. Wiggles in Japan
Popin Taco Video 1
Popin Taco Video 2

Some Performer Resources

References

Popping, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popping
Hip Hop, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_dance
Funk Styles, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_styles
Electric Boogaloos, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Boogaloos
Breakdancing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-boying
Street Dances, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_dance
Misconceptions, http://www.mrwiggles.biz/misconseptions.htm
Hip Hop Dance, http://www.mrwiggles.biz/hip_hop_dance.htm
Hip Hop Timeline, http://www.mrwiggles.biz/hip_hop_timeline.htm

The Personal Website of Mark M. Rich