Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a ''pop'' or a ''hit''. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with various movements and poses.

''Popping'' is also used as an umbrella term to refer to a group of closely related illusionary dance styles and techniques that are often integrated with popping to create a more varied performance, such as the robot, waving and tutting. However, it is distinct from breaking and locking, with which popping is often confused. A popping dancer is commonly referred to as a ''popper''.

As one of the earliest funk and street dance style, popping is closely related to hip hop dancing. It is often performed in battles, where 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, creating new styles such as liquid and digits.

Terminology

As stated earlier, ''popping'' has become an umbrella term for a group of closely related styles and techniques that have often been combined or danced together with popping, some of which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts. However, the use of popping as an umbrella term has been criticized on the grounds that its many related styles must be clearly separated so that those who specialize in more specific styles aren't classified as poppers (ex: a waver, a tutter, a strober).

It is often assumed that popping is a style of breakdance. This is due in large part to the movies ''Breakin''' and ''Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo''. In these movies all styles of dance represented, (breaking and the funk styles: popping, locking, and electric boogaloo) were put under the "breakdance" label causing a naming confusion. This caused the media to associate funk styles with hip hop music and assume that popping and electric boogaloo were the same as breaking. The difference between the two is that breaking originated in the Bronx, New York and is danced on the floor while popping and boogaloo came out of Fresno, CA and are danced standing up.

Characteristics

Popping is centered around the technique of ''popping'' (or ''hitting''), which means to quickly contract and relax muscles to create a jerking effect (a ''pop'' or ''hit'') in the body. Popping can be concentrated to specific body parts creating variants such as arm pops, leg pops, chest pops and neck pops. They also can vary in explosiveness. Stronger pops normally involve popping both the lower and upper body simultaneously.

Normally pops, or ''hits'', are performed at regular intervals (the intervals can also be irregular if the dancer wants to avoid "the old one two", which refers to popping to the same beat continuously without any variation) intervals timed to the beat of the music, causing the dance to appear very rhythmic in nature. A common technique of transitioning between poses is the ''dime stop'', heavily utilized in robot dancing, which basically means to end a movement with an abrupt halt (thus "stopping on a dime"), after which a pop normally occurs.

Poses in popping make heavy use of angles, mime style movements and facial expressions. The lower body has many ways to move around from basic walking and stepping to the more complex and gravity defying styles of floating and electric boogaloo. Movements and techniques used in popping are generally focused on sharp contrasts, being either robotic and rigid or very loose and flowing.

As opposed to breaking and its floor-oriented moves, popping is almost always performed standing up, except in rare cases when the dancer goes down on the knees or even lies down for a short while to perform a special move.

Music

Having its roots in the late 1970s funk music era, popping is commonly danced to funk and disco. During the 1980s, many poppers also utilized “electro”, “industrial dance” and other “new wave” styles to choreograph their popping routines. Popular artists utilized by poppers included Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Twighlight 22, Egyptian Lover, and World Class Wrecking Crew. More mainstream Rap was also employed by poppers during the 1980s, including Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Whodini, and Run DMC. Today, it is also common to see popping danced to more current music genres such as modern hip hop music (often abstract/instrumental hip hop) and various forms of electronic dance music.

Songs that are generally favored have a straight and steady beat at around 90-120 beats per minute, a 4/4 time signature and a strong emphasis on the back beat, normally by a snare drum or a drum machine. The pops performed by the popper normally occur on every beat or on the distinct back beats. The popper can also choose to follow the music more freely such as by timing the pops to the rhythm of a melody or other rhythmic elements.

Related styles and techniques

There are a number of dance styles and techniques that are commonly mixed with popping to enhance the dancer's performance and create a more varied show, many of which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts. They can be seen as separate styles related to popping or as a part of popping when using it as an umbrella term.

; Animation : A style and a technique where you imitate film characters being animated by stop motion. The technique consists of moving rigidly and jerky by tensing muscles and using techniques similar to strobing and the robot to make it appear as if the dancer has been animated frame by frame. This style was heavily inspired by the dynamation films created by Ray Harryhausen, such as ''The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958). : ''Video example'' (YouTube)

; Animatronics : A style that imitates animatronic robots. Related to the ''robot'' style, but adds a ''hit'' or ''bounce'' at the end of each movement. : ''Video example'' (YouTube)

; Boogaloo : ''Boogaloo'' or ''boog style'' is a loose and fluid dance style trying to give the impression of a body lacking bones, partly inspired by animated movies and cartoons. It utilizes circular rolls of various body parts, such as the hips, knees and head, as well as isolation and sectioning, like separating the rib cage from the hip. It also makes heavy use of angles and various steps and transitions to get from one spot to the next. It was developed in 1975 by Boogaloo Sam. In the original boogaloo you do not pop, but combined with popping it becomes the ''electric boogaloo'', the signature style of The Electric Boogaloos (the dance crew).

; Bopping : A style of popping in which the chest is isolated by being pushed out and brought back while flexing the chest muscles. As this movement is performed to the beat the popper can incorporate different moves in between the chest bop. When practiced the chest bop can be done at a double-time interval adding a unique effect to the move.

; Cobra : Similar to the boogaloo, except you roll your chest like a snake.

; Crazy legs : A leg-oriented style focusing on fast moving legs, knee rolls and twisting feet. Developed in 1980-81 by Popin' Pete, originally inspired by the fast and agitated style of breaking by the famous b-boy Crazy Legs from Rock Steady Crew.

; Dime stopping : A technique of moving at a steady pace and then abruptly coming to a halt, as if attempting to stop on a dime. This is often combined with a pop at the beginning and/or end of the movement.

; Fast forward : The concept of moving faster than normal, like being part of a video being played in fast forward.

; Flexing : In flexing the dancer uses flexible arm stretches which usually include the temporary dislocation of the shoulder. Movements are also added to make the stretches look more exaggerated. This style of movement is also commonly known as "Bone-breaking".

; Floating, gliding and sliding : A set of footwork-oriented techniques that attempt to create the illusion that the dancer's body is floating smoothly across the floor, or that the legs are walking while the dancer travels in unexpected directions. Encompasses moves such as the backslide, which was made famous by Michael Jackson who called it the moonwalk. :

; Fresno : A move, which defines all that is essential in Popping (also used in electric boogaloo). The Fresno can be performed in various different ways as only the following requirements exist. In a fresno, the dancer moves side-to-side doing a hit on each turn with the leg and arm of the side the dancer has moved to.

; Liquid dancing : An illusionary dance style that focuses on flowing and continuous liquid-like motions, with concentration on the fingers, hands and arms. It is stylistically connected to – and often mixed with – waving. Liquid dancing is common in rave culture, and some dancers consider it a complete style of its own.

; Miming : Performing techniques of traditional miming to the beat of a song. Most commonly practiced are various movements with the hands as if one could hold onto air and pull their body in any possibly direction. Miming can also be used to allow a popper to tell a story through his or her dance. This style is often used in battles to show the opponent how they can defeat them.

; Old Man : Inspired by watching an old man who had one of his leg deformed and had walking difficulty, Boogaloo Sam saw inspiration and developed this move.

; Puppet : A style imitating a puppet or marionette tied to strings. Normally performed alone or with a partner acting as the puppet master pulling the strings.

; Robot/botting : A style imitating a robot or mannequin.

; Scarecrow : A style imitating the scarecrow character of ''The Wizard of Oz''. Claimed to be pioneered by Boogaloo Sam in 1977. Focuses on out-stretched arms and rigid poses contrasted with loose hands and legs.

; Slow motion : Moving very slowly with exaggerated movements to make it appear as if the dancer is viewed in slow motion.

; Strobing : A style of popping that gives the impression that the dancer is moving within a strobe light. To produce this effect, a dancer will take any ordinary movement (such as waving hello to someone) in conjunction with quick, short stop-and-go movements to make a strobing motion. Mastering strobing requires perfect timing and distance between each movement.

; Struttin : Struttin is a dance style originating out of the City of San Francisco, CA in the 1970s.

; Ticking : A way of popping where the dancer pops at smaller intervals, generally twice as fast as normal.

; Toyman : Based on action figures such as G.I. Joe and Major Matt Mason, developed by an old member of the Electric Boogaloos called Toyman Skeet. Goes between straight arms and right angles to simulate limited joint movement.

; Tutting/King Tut : Inspired by the art of Ancient Egypt (the name derived from the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun), tutting exploits the body's ability to create geometric positions (such as boxes) and movements, predominantly with the use of right angles. It generally focuses on the arms and hands, and includes sub-styles such as finger tutting. : ''Modern tutting example'' (YouTube)

; Twist o flex : Moving only one body part at a time, which gives the impression that the body is twisting.

; Vibrating : Tensing muscles very hard, causing them to shake or flutter.

; Walk-out : A move commonly used to change positions.

; Waving : Waving is composed of a series of fluid movements that give the appearance that a wave is traveling through the dancer's body. It is often mixed with liquid dancing.

Notable poppers

Salah Benlemqawanssa Mark "King Tut" Benson Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente

Phillip "Pacman" Chbeeb

Bruno "Poppin Taco" Falcon

Robert Muraine

Kaito "Kite" Masai Suga Pop Nam "Poppin'" Hyun Joon Delphine "Dey Dey" Nguyen Steven "Skeeter Rabbit" Nichols "Boogaloo" Sam Solomon (Creator of boogaloo style) Timothy "Popin' Pete" Solomon (Little brother of Boogaloo Sam)

See also

Locking (dance)

Hip Hop dance

Turfing

International competitions

References and notes

Category:Popping (dance) Category:Funk dance Category:Syllabus-free dance Category:Hip hop dance Category:Street dance

cs:Popping da:Popping de:Popping es:Popping fr:Popping it:Popping nl:Popping ja:ポップ (ダンス) no:Popping pl:Popping pt:Popping ru:Поппинг sv:Popping vi:Popping zh:機械舞

Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	The Basics
background	group_or_band
origin	Melbourne, Australia
genre	Rock
years active	2002 – (present)
label	Independent, Albert Records
associated acts	Gotye, Down Hills Home, Dog With Wheels, Blood Red Bird
website	The Basics Official Website
current members	Wally De BackerTim HeathKris Schroeder
past members	Michael Hubbard
notable instruments	Lead guitar, drums, bass guitar. }}

The Basics ( ) are a three-piece band from Melbourne, Australia, formed by Wally De Backer and Kris Schroeder in 2002. Their style has been described as anything from 'indie-pop' to 'rock'n'roll' to 'pop-rock', though their records show them span a wide range of genres including reggae, ska, country, and electro-pop. They are "recognised as one of Australia's hardest-working bands".

With close to 1000 shows in their nine-year career, their live performances are well-known for their sense of humour and energy.

Formation

The Basics were formed after Kris met Wally at a party in Melbourne. The event was to see off the young aspiring producer, who was about to depart for Los Angeles, and together with a number of musician friends, the two jammed on some blues-rock standards. Later that night, they bonded over a mutual love of The Beatles, 70s & 80s cartoon theme songs and old Sierra adventure games.

Initially they played around Melbourne as an acoustic guitar/drums combo, starting at The Opposition in Frankston and the House of Fools in Footscray, where in late 2002 they met and later invited Michael Hubbard to join them on electric guitar. Though lacking any real experience with the instrument, Kris willingly purchased his first bass guitar and the trio was born. During this time the group start performing songs with more complicated three-part harmony.

During late 2002 and early 2003 The Basics recorded and released an album called ''Get Back'' through MGM Distribution. They began what was to become regular tours of the East and West coasts of Australia.

2004-2005: Current lineup

Tim Heath joined the group in June 2004, after Michael decided to pursue his solo career, which has included being one half of Down Hills Home. Tim was reportedly the only person to reply to an advertisement in Melbourne's Beat Magazine looking for a new guitarist. Tim apparently answered the advertisement - which said the applicant "must have a love of 50s and 60s rock'n'roll" - thinking that he would be meeting "a couple of old guys to play with on the weekends over some beers". They soon recorded ''For Girls Like You''.

The Basics in 2005 continued to tour and play small festivals, and after releasing ''For Girls Like You'' through MGM Distribution they departed for a national tour of Australia, which lasted for two months and took them to every Australian state and territory. Stuart Padbury, a young Melbourne sound engineer, joined them on much of this tour. On returning, the band began demoing songs for a new album.

2006-2009: Touring and soundtracks

In 2006, The Basics began recording what is to become known as ''Stand Out/Fit In''. This took several months and was not completed until the end of the year, despite intentions to have it released in June. Instead, they held a successful 'album preview' where each of the tracks was demonstrated in 'rough form' accompanied by a music video for each (produced by Melbourne photographic artist James Bryans). The band also talked about the origins of the songs. This event brought a lot of attention to the band for the idea's originality. They pre-released a radio single 'Just Hold On' from the album. The band were invited to play the hugely popular Homebake Festival in Sydney, where they received a great response ("one of the highlights" wrote ''The Daily Telegraph'').

In 2007, the band departed on a tri-state residency which saw them play Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane every week for the month of April - a bold move which brought further attention to the band for its original idea. Riding on the wave of this tour, Schroeder, De Backer and Heath departed on their first overseas tour which saw them performing 26 shows around Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom. They also toured twice more up the East Coast, one of which was with popular Japanese band The Bawdies. Their song 'Rattle My Chain' was used in a series of commercials for Volvo Australia. The song 'Hey There!' featured in the British film ''The Bank Job'' - starring Jason Statham - and was used as the backing for a February 2007 short film directed by Tim Longhurst called The Rip. Their song 'Better' was featured in a surfing documentary about the invention of the shortboard in 1967.

In 2008, the band appeared on Australia's Channel 9 for Australia Day celebrations, performing two of their songs - 'Just Hold On' and 'Hey There!' - to an estimated audience of 2 million. Securing an Australian Government grant, they embarked on a two-month tour of Australia, specifically targeting "culturally underprivileged groups" in rural and regional schoolchildren and Indigenous communities. The programme had them holding masterclasses and performing alongside Indigenous groups in the remote Northern Territory and Queensland. Their initiative also had them raising money for the charity Lifeline, their contribution to which was recognised with a plaque at the end of the tour. Season two of ''Californication'' starring David Duchovny featured their cover of the classic 'Have Love, Will Travel', most famously covered by 'The Sonics'.

In 2009, The Basics for the first time enjoyed the support of Australian radio network Triple J, which had reportedly snubbed the band's previous material. The singles 'With This Ship' and 'Like A Brother' were added to the station's playlist, and momentum carried The Basics overseas for a second tour of the United Kingdom and Norway, and also a series of shows in Dublin, Ireland. They were joined by the longtime front-of-house engineer Stuart Padbury who had been mixing them since 2005. The band was often seen in the Grafton Street Mall in Dublin busking to promote their concerts there. Their second show in Oslo, Norway saw the band perform with Hot Tub, one of the members of the Norwegian boy band "Boyzvoice", in his first performance for several years. Season Eight of ''Scrubs'' featured the song 'Lookin' Over My Shoulder'.

Despite all this promise, the band's album ''Keep Your Friends Close'' - produced and part-recorded by Peter Cobbin at London's Abbey Road Studios - though enjoying many favourable reviews, failed to impress Richard Kingsmill, music director of Triple J. This effectively ended the band's apparent upward spiral and the resulting album launch tour was reportedly "trying".

2010: Hiatus and live album

In 2010, following the band's fourth stint at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the recording of a yet-unreleased live album, an indefinite hiatus was announced on the band's websites. This was in part due to the impending release of a new album produced by Wally for his Gotye project, and also to reported tensions within the band following the previous year's disappointments.

However, this hiatus was soon broken with a two-month residency at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, which saw an apparent return to form. The band's EP "Wait For You" enjoys airplay on Triple J. The Basics also played a one-off show at Sydney's Oxford Art Factory.

On 20 August 2010, The Basics released their fourth LP , available free online and exclusively from *[www.FreeBasicsAlbum.com]. The band had reportedly moved to expand their listenership through this free giveaway, though 300 "Deluxe" CD/Vinyl versions have been printed. was recorded at the Northcote Social Club on 6 February, "in front of a live studio audience", and like the previous record was mixed by Peter Cobbin at Abbey Road Studios. Technically a self-titled album, the phonetics spell out the accurate pronunciation of the band’s name. Kris Schroeder: "For years we’ve worked at bringing our live energy into the studio and thus far it’s been a bit hit-and-miss. Our trick this time was to pull a switcheroo and bring the studio to us instead; the result is the best and closest to us we’ve sounded yet."

Melbourne thespian and Dog With Wheels bassist David Bramble - friends with Heath from university days - has occasionally joined the band on tour, playing keys, often while sporting a large moustache. Other guests have included Jake Mason (saxophone), also of Cookin' on 3 Burners and The Bamboos, Gideon Brazil (saxophone, flute), Simon Imrei (guitar and vocals) and Monty MacKenzie (saxophone).

Covers have often made an appearance from various sources: to date, some of the bands covered have been Cream, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, New Kids on the Block, Richard Berry, Sonny Curtis and The Crickets, JJ Cale, Harry Nilsson, Bill Scott, Ryan Adams and The Coasters (via The Beatles for their cover of Three Cool Cats).

Members

Kris Schroeder: Bass, Vocals

Wally De Backer: Drums, Vocals

Tim Heath: Guitar, Vocals

Discography

Albums

Get Back (15 January 2004)

Stand Out/Fit In (5 May 2007)

Keep Your Friends Close (25 September 2009)

(20 August 2010)

EP

For Girls Like You (11 July 2005)

Lookin' Over My Shoulder (10 February 2007)

Like A Brother (5 June 2009)

Wait For You (21 May 2010)

Singles

Call It Rhythm & Blues (20 August 2004)

Just Hold On

With This Ship (22 February 2009)

Upcoming projects

The band are taking a two year hiatus, set to return to the stage together in early 2012. Wally De Backer will be launching a new album under his Gotye act in August 2011, Tim Heath will be touring and recording with Blood Red Bird, and Kris Schroeder is currently recording a solo album.

References

External links

Official Website

Myspace Website

Category:Victoria (Australia) musical groups