History of popping

Origins of popping

The Electric Boogaloos

In the 1970s, funk music was especially big in Black communities across California, and dancers pulled inspiration from robot dance, mime, cartoon-like animation, and the charismatic styles seen on Soul Train. Boogaloo Sam developed the original boogaloo style, known for fluid movement like body rolls and waves. Combined with the sharp muscle contractions that created “pops,” this became the foundation of popping as we know it. Boogaloo Sam, Skeeter Rabbit, Popin’ Pete, and others formed the The Electric Boogaloos. In 1979, The Electric Boogaloos performed on Soul Train, a popular American TV music and dance show.

The moves of Michael Jackson

After appearing on Soul Train, the dance style popping started gaining wider recognition beyond California. Popping quickly grew in popularity, and dancers everywhere wanted to learn it. Around the same time, pioneers like Pop N Taco and Boogaloo Shrimp also helped push popping forward, inspiring dancers everywhere to copy and develop the movement.

The Electric Boogaloos also worked with Michael Jackson, and his impact on popping is hard to overstate. He brought popping-inspired hits, waves, and isolation-based illusions into some of the biggest performances and music videos in the world. For many people, his dancing became their first introduction to the feel and look of popping, and it helped turn a street style into something global.

In the video below, members of The Electric Boogaloos share how they were hired to teach Michael Jackson, and what it was like working with him on his dance style.

In the video below, you’ll see a side-by-side comparison of Boogaloo Shrimp’s moves and Michael Jackson’s, showing how Jackson used popping and drew clear inspiration from the style.

At the heart of popping are controlled muscle contractions, often called hits. Combined with smooth transitions and precise control, these elements can create a mechanical, unreal effect, like an illusion. As the style spread, dancers developed and named different techniques and substyles within popping, such as animation and robot, gliding, tutting, and waving.

Street culture and party scene connections

In street culture, house parties, and clubs, dancing has always been a key part of the social scene. With funk music’s heavy basslines, sharp drum hits, and steady grooves, it was only natural for people to let loose. At these gatherings, dancers learned by sharing. They traded steps, ideas, and style in cyphers, circles where dancers take turns in the middle.

Beyond cyphers, poppers also challenged each other in dance battles. These exchanges pushed dancers to level up, try new concepts, and sharpen their control. Because of that constant back and forth, the style evolved quickly and the overall level in the scene rose fast. If you’re into other pillars of street dance too, check out our history of breaking. 

Spread of popping across the United States

In the 1980s, popping exploded in the media. With The Electric Boogaloos appearing on Soul Train and Michael Jackson using popping-inspired hits and illusions in his performances, the style was everywhere.

As interest grew, poppers traveled, trained, and exchanged ideas with other local scenes and dance schools. Dancers began blending their own regional flavors with the original California foundations. That’s how cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles developed their own touch, and popping became a true national movement.

Popping in mainstream media

With the growth of popping, it started showing up in music videos and in films like Breakin’ (1984) and Beat Street (1984) and people across the U.S. started copying what they saw.

In the video below from the movie Breakin', you can spot clear popping sequences in the battle scenes.

After popping took off across America, it quickly spread internationally. The style showed up in concerts, music videos, films, and commercials, and its sharp hits, clean lines, and illusion-based movement made it feel modern and futuristic. Because of that, popping became a go-to choice for high-energy performances and visually striking choreography.

As more people discovered the style, dancers around the world started training, teaching, and building local scenes. Communities formed through classes, jams, and battles, each adding their own flavor while keeping the foundation intact. Today, popping is one of the most recognizable and iconic street dance styles worldwide.

Below is a video of Buffalo Gals by Malcolm McLaren (1982), widely considered the first major-artist music video with unmistakable popping.

Evolution of technique and movement concepts

Popping includes many substyles beyond the classic “pop and hit” foundation or the Electric Boogaloo approach. Over the years, gliding, waving, tutting, and robotics became more technical and detailed, with new variations and cleaner execution. Many dancers gravitated toward the substyles they loved most and became specialists, while still keeping popping’s core control and groove.

At the same time, poppers drew inspiration from martial arts, contemporary movement, and especially cartoons. That’s why the animation style grew so much during this period. Animation blends cartoon influence with mime-like technique, creating unreal, illusion-based movement. Within it you’ll often see tools like strobing, ticking, slow motion, and stop-and-go dynamics. Early on, popping was mainly judged on musicality and body control. Later, storytelling and character became just as important.

Popping today

The popping battle scene is still one of the fastest-growing parts of the culture. In recent years, platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have made the style easier to discover, so new dancers get exposed to popping much faster than before. Online, there are more ways to learn too, through short clips and breakdowns on social media, and through structured platforms like MyGrooveGuide.

Popping stays versatile because it has expanded into so many techniques and substyles. You’ll see poppers in music videos across genres, commercials, concerts, films, and more. And the influence goes beyond popping itself: hip hop dancers and other styles often use hits, waves, tutting, and animation concepts in choreography and battles. Popping keeps evolving, while still staying grounded in its roots and foundations.

Cultural impact and legacy

Popping has had a major impact on the wider world of urban and hip hop dance. Many styles now borrow from its toolkit, like hits, waves, and animation concepts, and you can see these ideas show up in choreography, battles, and music videos everywhere. That creativity helped shape the “future” look of hip hop culture on stage and on screen, and it grew out of Black communities in California who built strong identity and artistry through dance.

Artistically, popping is also one of the most demanding styles to train. It requires groove, extreme body control, clean timing, and believable illusions, all while staying musical and expressive. Poppers have always protected the foundations, but they keep pushing the style forward. That balance, honoring tradition while innovating, is a big reason popping has stayed relevant for more than 50 years.

Conclusion

What began as a creative movement in Black communities in California during the rise of funk music quickly grew into a recognized dance style within street and urban dance culture, showing up in battles and mainstream media alike. Today, popping keeps evolving as dancers sharpen technique, expand the vocabulary, and still protect the foundations that make the style what it is. Want to learn it yourself? You can learn popping with MyGrooveGuide. Check out our overview of classes.