Poppinpalooza

July 26, 2008 10:51 AM

Japanese-style popping is dope - check out u-min and dancers on the Polysics I My Me Mine. The girl, Strong Machine 2, was only 11 years old at filming. And let's not forget the classic display of popping in Late at Night. But beyond these dancers who've achieved some commercial prominence, check out a few fun and stylized Japanese popping clips from lesser known but great dancers.

Of course, here in the US, we're none too shabby when it comes to poppers - David Elsewhere, Mr Fantastic aka Robert Muraine, and Houston's Phillip Chbeeb aka Pacman. And in Europe, dancers like France's incredible Saleh have been representing.

For all your popping needs, from upcoming events and videos to forums and tutorials, you can't do better than West Coast Poppin, a really fun site if you enjoy or want to learn more about popping & locking dance styles. And tho I usually would eschew a link to wikipedia, it does offer a good historical overview of popping.

If you liked this post, you may also like:
Parallels
Harder, better, stronger, faster

posted by madamjujujive (29 comments total)

UNCANNY HILL
posted by Anderson_Localized at 11:05 AM on July 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you liked this post,

I did.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:20 AM on July 26, 2008

Out. Standing. F. P. P.
posted by three blind mice at 11:41 AM on July 26, 2008

That girl is also featured, with less popping, in this video which has made my morning.

Nice stuff.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:50 AM on July 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

I want to see it on ice skates.
posted by nax at 12:45 PM on July 26, 2008

I just have to say that I love Uniqlo's ad campaigns - that clock screensaver they did a while back is just genius.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 1:08 PM on July 26, 2008

When you say popping and dope in the same sentence I don't think dancing. I think drugs.
posted by nyxxxx at 1:09 PM on July 26, 2008

Another thing that really stands out about these clips (or rather, these performances) is that they represent what may be one of the first truly global art forms. Think of how many cultures and backgrounds and traditions from all over the world (and the centuries) have influenced the dancers in this clip, from the original post. Without our modern version of globalization, and the technologies of transport and communications that it requires, could any culture have come up with an art like this independently? My guess would be no, but I could be wrong. Now, of course intersections between cultures have always important and have been a factor in art (and everything else) for most of human history, but I do think it's happening now on an entirely different order of magnitude.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 1:26 PM on July 26, 2008

somehow we can blame Michael Jackson for this, I just know it...
posted by HuronBob at 1:40 PM on July 26, 2008

The "Bilbao effect", in re OverlappingElvis' comment, is being discussed here on the Green.
posted by mdonley at 2:51 PM on July 26, 2008

They're blurring the lines between humans and robots on both ends. Will they meet in the middle?
posted by deCadmus at 3:19 PM on July 26, 2008

Here's one.
posted by ZaneJ. at 3:42 PM on July 26, 2008

somehow we can blame Michael Jackson for this, I just know it...

It was the Electric Boogaloos who invented popping in the '70s. Pop N Taco (Bruno Falcon) was part of the group at one time, and he choreographed for Jackson, and was his teacher for 2 decades.
posted by zarah at 3:55 PM on July 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

Ok, let me correct myself (because my parents just ripped on me for this, lol): The Electric Boogaloo didn't invent it, obviously it was born on the streets & probably in several places at the same time, I should say that they brought it to a wider audience, moreso than anyone else at the time.

my parents are cooler than me *sob*
posted by zarah at 4:05 PM on July 26, 2008

Don't forget Mr. Wiggles.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:15 PM on July 26, 2008

Acting like robots is awesome!
posted by Senator at 4:31 PM on July 26, 2008

Holy crapamatic! Inspired by the baton-twirling bit in the second link, I searched "baton twirling." The top find is insane.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:47 PM on July 26, 2008

Word, I never heard of the Bugaloos and recoiled in protest when you mentioned it zarah. And it's an American style of dancing. If it was adopted and broadened or localized somehow you could brand it respectively, but since it's the exact same style borne of the Bronx in the 70's, it remains tru blu as Apple Pie, homie.
posted by Student of Man at 7:28 AM on July 27, 2008

What's really awesome and interesting about these videos is that they seem to be heavily inspired by the 80's dancers-against-white video output of former Locker (though, of course, all she really ever did was spin around a lot) Toni Basil.

Most of her own videos (which she directed and choreographed) fit that formula, as did the two videos she did for Talking Heads.

She also did those (in)famous Gap ads.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:21 PM on July 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

That second Talking Heads video, I should point out, features the Electric Boogaloos.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:35 PM on July 27, 2008

five fresh fish, i'll second that crapamatic...as will all 12 people in the original audience
posted by NGnerd at 7:07 PM on July 27, 2008

Yah, the crowd turnout was disappointing to say the least... but completely reasonable, IMHO. I mean, who'd even think to go attend a baton-twirling championship? Not me, fersure.

And only out of complete ignorance of the skill involved.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:38 PM on July 27, 2008

(my hope is that Stacy went on to become a very successful busker. That's freakin' weird-ass talent, that is!)
posted by five fresh fish at 7:44 PM on July 27, 2008

I never heard of the Bugaloos and recoiled in protest when you mentioned it zarah. And it's an American style of dancing.

Well that's weird, if you're a big fan of popping, locking, and any other street dance. Most serious fans know who those guys are. Read madamjujujive's wikipedia link, and this history of popping & you'll see that it's widely accepted that the style was pioneered by Boogaloo Sam, founder of the Electric Boogaloos.

I don't recall anyone saying it wasn't an American form of dance.

(my hope is that Stacy went on to become a very successful busker. That's freakin' weird-ass talent, that is!)

She went on to earn a Ph.D. in plant molecular genetics & works for the USDA researching RNA silencing. She kinda freaks me out, lol. Here's a pic of her now, and a long ass article about her life: The Twirling Botanist
posted by zarah at 11:01 PM on July 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

That baton twirler was absolutely mad. That's just not human. I want to live in whatever galaxy has people that can do this.
posted by twirlypen at 11:35 PM on July 27, 2008

Twirlypen: Yes!
posted by krilli at 6:36 AM on July 28, 2008

Huh. I guess I'm the only one that thinks this was a waste of my time.
posted by tadellin at 9:19 AM on July 28, 2008

Mao-chan is awesome.
posted by whiskeyspider at 8:08 PM on July 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

One more: this one shows her trademark facial expressions. Too awesome.
posted by whiskeyspider at 8:49 PM on July 28, 2008 [1 favorite]