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.