Boogaloo is a freestyle, improvisational

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a culture, ...

movement of soulful steps and robotic movements which make up the foundations of

popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) 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 ...

dance and

turfing Turfing (or turf dancing) is a form of street dance that originated in Oakland, California, characterized by rhythmic movement combined with waving, floor moves, gliding, flexing and cortortioning. It was developed by youth from West Oakland an ...

; boogaloo can incorporate illusions, restriction of muscles, stops,

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

and/or wiggling. The style also incorporates foundational

techniques, which were initially referred to as "Posing Hard".Fuhrer, M. (2014) American Dance: The Complete Illustrated History. Voyaguer Press It is related to the later electric boogaloo dance.Guzman-Sanchez, T. (2012) "Oakland Funk Boogaloo to Popping". Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era.

Social dance

Chicago Record Hops

The Boogaloo was initially a social dance within the African American community in Chicago that had crossover appeal to white teenagers. Between 1965 and 1966, it was described as "a total new look compared to previous (social) dances...the entire body moved in a pulsating motion from side to side. The rhythmic impulse seemed to have centered in the upper torso, shoulders, and head".Pruter, R. ''Chicago Soul''. University of Illinois Press. 1992, p. 204 The boogaloo dance craze would inspire a number of soul dance records such as "Boo-Ga-Loo" by Robert "Tom" Tharpe and Jerry "Jerrio" Murray, as well as Fantastic Johnny-C's "Boogaloo Down Broadway". Tharpe got the idea of releasing "Boo-Ga-Loo" by seeing local African American teenagers dancing the Boogaloo at a local record hop hosted by the legendary Chicago Radio DJ Herb "Cool Gent" Kent. The Boogaloo dance step is also described as a "single-step combination made up of a smooth repetitive side-to-side movement, based on the soul music dance beat on a 4/4 time signature, it consists of lunging motion to the side on the downbeat, held for two counts..accented by a distinct arm swing where the hand is raised up to eye level...then combined with a distinctive backward head-nod to the beat...on the third musical beat, the body and head abruptly shift back and lunge in the opposite direction, before shifting once again on the fourth beat."

James Brown

In 1966, soul &

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

musician

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

released a boogaloo dance single, "James Brown's Boogaloo" and danced his interpretation of the boogaloo on

Where the Action Is ''Where the Action Is'' is a music-based television variety show that aired in the United States from 1965 to 1967. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of ''American Bandstand' ...

on national TV.

The Soul Dance Era (1960s)

The Italian (also known as the Ditalian)

In 1966, Larry Thompson, a local dancer in Oakland, California, put together a boogaloo style inspired by the Boogaloo social dance, James Brown, the Temptations, and Fred Astaire.Guzman-Sanchez, T. (2012) "1965 & Soul Boogaloo". Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era. Through these influences, Thompson would innovate a local boogaloo style and formed a dance group Pirate and the Easy Walkers, together with Cornell "Tony Rome" Reese, Wayne "Freddy Snow" Dillard and Levi Warner. Thompson would also be inspired by watching a dancer from '' The Hy-Lit Show'', a Black and Puerto Rican dancer named Harold (Harold Hazzard): "The move this guy did on the show was a Boogaloo style step with flailing arm moves that would cross the body then end in a freeze with the chest sticking out.Urban Artistry Preservatory Project (2019) Boogaloo Traditions ft. Boogaloo Dana: Boogalooin out of Oakland This was a good step because we could use it to go into the

Camel Walk The camel walk is a ragtime dance that was popular in the 1960s. James Brown often used this dance in his routine when he performed on stage. Origin The camel walk originated as a ragtime dance in the early 20th century. It was referred to as an " ...

and into the Skate." Through 1967 to 1968, soul dancers in Sobrante Park in Oakland, California, would challenge Pirate and the Easy Walkers through "face off's". The Easy Walkers were unique because they mixed different steps of social dances together in a uniform boogaloo style and would innovate challenge steps called the "Ditalian" where dancers would shuffle a combination of cha-cha steps, a stomp and end with a right hand to point and challenge another dancer. The Ditalian was created by Danny Boy Reese, who was the younger brother of Easy Walker's member Cornell Reese.

3-D - Dinosaur - Animation

In 1967, 1968, & 1969, a style known as 3-D, Dinosaurin' or Animating developed. Dancers such as Albert "Iron Man" Milton, Michael "The Mad" Enoch and Jerry "The Worm" Rentie as the group, One Plus One imitated

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

stop-motion DynoRama animation movies and incorporated these movements as slap-stick crowd entertainment. Iron Man particularly took influence from

20 Million Miles to Earth ''20 Million Miles to Earth'' (also known as ''The Beast from Space'') is a 1957 American horror science fiction monster film directed by Nathan Juran and starring William Hopper, Joan Taylor, and Frank Puglia. It was produced by Charles H. Schn ...

reenacting the dinosaur-like creature birthed in the movie and would dance to James Brown.Hill, B. & Boogaloo Conservatory TV (2014) Part 2 Interview with The Black Messengers: Chuck Powell, Kerney Mayers & Steve Harris A second generation in the 1970s innovated this style with less comical approach to animated movements and focused on intricate detailed dinosaur movement: this was complete with sudden, full stopping in motion techniques called "dime-stops", minute stop-motion affects and posing; dancers from the group, Soulful Movements - such as Ted Williams, Steve Williams & Tony Newsome were masters at this Boogaloo animated style.

The Robot

In 1964, a Boogaloo dancer named John Murphy imitated Robotic movements influenced by the robot in the 1954 sci-fi movie ''

Tobor the Great ''Tobor the Great'' (a.k.a. ''Tobor'') is a 1954 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Richard Goldstone, directed by Lee Sholem, and starring Charles Drake, Karin Booth, and Billy Chapin. The film wa ...

'', he would move from West Oakland to East Oakland and introduce The Robot in various school talent shows; he is credited with introducing Robot techniques to the Boogaloo community influencing and teaching popular dancers such as Derrick Lovings of Derrick & Company, Newberry, Boogaloo Dan, and the Robotroids. In 1972, John Murphy would help form the Boogaloo dance group The Black Messengers and develop robotic boogaloo.

Funk dance movement (1970s)

High School Mascots: Pantomiming in Character

Throughout every highschool in Oakland - Castlemont, McClymonds, Fremont - schools would host dance competitions to select their high school mascots. While in costume, every mascot was innovating in-character steps and developed "hitting" techniques to be noticed in large rallies. For example, Donald "Duck" Mathews was the Fremont High School's Tiger mascot, during half-time football shows, he would grab his tail, point and pose to taunt the opponents' mascot and innovated wiggling or worming movements with his chest. Mascots such competed in costume such as Fremont Tigers, Castlemont Knights, Oakland Technical Bulldogs.Arnold, E. (2020) "Oakland’s original boogaloos speak out, in hopes of reclaiming their culture" Oaklandside Competing high schools would have a dance off of Mascots during Basketball and Football games. Duck from Fremont High School is a notable mascot and boogaloo dancer who innovated worming, wiggling and posing while taunting school opponents in a Tiger uniform and character, Fremont High would be known to popularize the "Oakland Hit", allowing his head piece to shake during each hit that inspired similar vibrating Boogaloo hat effects. Other innovative dancers in this era are Gregory Holm from Castlemont High, Henry Fischer, Lil Willie, Larry Robertson and John Murphy at Fremont High, and Ronald Nerves at Oakland Technical High School.Stephens, L. (2015) OURTV series: Boogaloo Dance History in OaklandGuzman-Sanchez, T. (2012) "The Oakland Funk Boogaloo Generation". Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era.

Cartoon Influence & Beginnings of Posing

In 1967, Jerry Rentie while living in Oakland, would innovate soul boogaloo styles with new funk movements inspired by "mimicking toys, cartoons, movies...everywere we would cut a step (e.g. creating a step). "We took the Ditallion from soft and sliding to a step with a stomp, a bounce, a hop and a skip." Rentie would also innovate the concept of "the Freeze", he explains, "The Freeze was a part of a step where as in doing it you would stop and that pause was to lead into or accent the next movement. Lock It Down was how we called freezing so hard to the point that we would jiggle when we would freeze." The Freeze would be a predecessor to the "Popping" or "Hitting" techniques in the late 70s. Rentie referred to their new Boogaloo style as "Bug'n", Rentie recalls "when we were Bug'n we meant Boogaloo in the term of our dance style but it was clearly not the James Brown Boogaloo anymore."

Posing Hard & Hitting

In the early 1970s dancers from the Black Messengers group innovated a Boogaloo technique of "Posing Hard": they would end their boogaloo poses and dime-stops with a hard "hit" - to the point of vibrating their muscles; this technique would influence the modern day "popping" technique within the

Popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) 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 ...

dance form.Hill, B. & Boogaloo Conservatory TV (2014) Part 1 Interview with The Black Messengers: Chuck Powell, Kerney Mayers & Steve Harris Since Boogaloo dancers would dance to the changing sounds of funk, Posing Hard matched the rhythm and intensity of the beat with their body's vibrations, chanting "BAM!" or "BOOM!" with each pose.

Oakland Talent Shows & Group Routines

Through various U.S. Federal funding for community development, Oakland had several community development districts especially in East Oakland and West Oakland, these districts hosted talent shows where Boogaloo dancers would showcase routines alongside live bands and singers.Mar, Alan D. (2012) The Funk Behind Bay Area Street Dance. Department of Ethnic Studies. San Francisco State UniversityDavey, D. (2015) "Oakland’s Boogaloo Reunion BBQ : A History Lesson in West Coast Street Dance" Throughout the 1960 and 1970s, Oakland had numerous teenage funk bands that created the musical landscape for Boogaloo dancers with some Boogaloo groups having their own band to perform with; East Oakland often had three to four bands in every block.

Black Power Movement

Taking place throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

was the center of the Black Power Movement which involved the creation of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. Boogaloo dance groups such as the Black Resurgents performed for Black Panther community rallies and events. With the advent of the liberation spirit of

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and Black Power, Boogaloo group names such as The Black Messengers, The Black Resurgents, Black Mechanics, and Black Operators would signify Black pride and self-determination. In East Oakland, in order to outreach to militant youth, the Allen Temple Baptist Church created a partnership with the Black Panthers to host various social programs at the Temple church hall, the Black Panthers would host Oakland socials that featured Boogaloo dancers such as the Black Messengers.

The Temple (Oakland Community School)

Another central venue for local Boogaloo dancers was the Oakland Community School (OCS) or the "Temple", the Black Panthers had operated this school as part of their community "survival programs". As local Nation of Islam members hosted services on the weekends, this venue was known as "the Temple" and hosted numerous talent shows that featured groups such as the Black Messengers, funk bands and singers. As part of the Black Panthers' curriculum, the venue's principle was “We serve the people everyday. We serve the people, body and soul.” Directed by Ericka Huggins and Donna Howell, OCS provided youth with a culturally relevant education and challenged the public school system’s perceptions of what it meant to be Black and poor.

Notable Boogaloo dance groups

Boogaloo dance groups incorporated various formations with different styles, here is a working compiled list of active Boogaloo dance groups during the 1960s and 1970s.

1966 to 1969 era

* Pirate & the Easy Walkers * One Plus One * The Five Clowns

1970 to 1975 era

* Continental Five * Aces of Soul * Mystic Robots * The Black Messengers (Also known as "Mechanical Device") * Soulful Movements * The Black Resurgents * Exotic Movements * Electronical 4 * SS Enterprise * The Robotroids (Later "Granny & Robotroid Inc")

1976 to 1980s era

* Derrick & Company * Gentlemen of Production * The Black Mechanics

1976 to 1980s groups outside of Oakland (Boogaloo influenced from Oakland foundations)

Richmond

* Green Machine * Saturn 5 * Black Operators

San Francisco

* Granny & the Robotroids * Black Velvet * Live Inc

Sacramento

* Soul Sisters Incorporated * The Emergens * The Prime Ministers * Phase II * Disco Derby Dancers

Fresno

* Ace Tre Lockers * Electronic Boogaloo Lockers (Later Electric Boogaloos)

San Diego

* Scooby Brothers * Scott Brothers * Sunshine Lockers

Los Angeles

* Fantastic Four

Moves

Soul Boogaloo (Early Funk Boogaloo movements)

* The Italian aka. The Ditallion * The Harold (Later Swinging Arms) * Cha-cha-cha (3-step, 2-step) * Fancy Feet * The Swoop * Swinging / Throwin' the Arms * Wigglin' / Wormin' * Side to Side (Footwork) * Hops

Robot Boogaloo

* Breakdown / Break-up * Chinese Robot * Posin' * Hittin / BAM * The Slot * The Baby Doll

Animated Boogaloo

* Dynorama / Dinosaurin' * Vibratin / Tremblin * 3-D / Tickin * The Moonwalk * Puppet * Old Man / Old Man Rudy * The Medusa * The Stedford * The Million-Dollar Man * The Lean * Levitating * Backslide * Looney Cartoony

Posing

* Creepin * 3-D * The Bounce * Dime-stopping * Posing Hard * Falling Man * Broken Man * Stopping-in-the Air

Group Movement Techniques & Traditions

* Dominoes * Stepping * Canework

Music

Boogaloo relies on the swing and groove of live

records, and the Boogaloo dance era corresponds with pre-drum machine preference for live drums. Below are notable songs Boogaloo dancers dance to: * James Brown "Cold Sweat" Pt. 1 & 2 * James Brown “There Was a Time” * James Brown "Soul Power" * James Brown "Mind Power" * Average White Band "Pick up the Pieces" * Parliament & Funkadelic "Flashlight" * George Duke "Reach for It" * Cameo "Rigor Mortis" * Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds "Unfinished Business"

Impact

Connections to Strutting

In 1975, Oakland dancers Donald Jones of the Boogaloo group Robotroids performed at a talent show in San Francisco. Eventually the Robotroids would join Debrah "Granny" Johnson. Through the combination of robotic dance moves of Lorenzo "Tony" Johnson and Donald Jones' Boogaloo, they would refer to this style as Strutting in San Francisco. Strutting was done in a solo through swift arm angles (The Fillmore) and through group choreography. Boogaloo Dancers such as Benjamin James from Live, Inc. were also instrumental in the evolution of Boogaloo to Strutting.Guzman-Sanchez, T. (2012) "Oakland to San Francisco". Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era. Praeger.

Connections to Richmond Robot

Oakland Boogaloo groups as well as prominent San Francisco, San Jose dancers would compete in talent shows held in Richmond, California; this would be a cultural center for regional dance influences, by the late 1970s Richmond would be an epicenter of performers such as the Posing Puppets, Richmond Robots, Androids, Audionauts, Criminons, Lady Mechanical Robots and Green Machine. Groups from Richmond would refer to their style as Richmond Robottin.

Connection to Turfing

The 60s and 70s Boogaloo generations have similar storytelling, animated movements and share the same neighborhoods and families with today's Turf dancers who practice a street style

Turfing Turfing (or turf dancing) is a form of street dance that originated in Oakland, California, characterized by rhythmic movement combined with waving, floor moves, gliding, flexing and cortortioning. It was developed by youth from West Oakland an ...

. Turf dancers cite inspiration from the previous generations of Boogaloo; they come from a long lineage of dancers in the Bay Area, specifically from Oakland, California.

Impact on Popping

would be eventually adapted from earlier Boogaloo movements to influence dancers in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in the late 1970s by way of California high-school gatherings of track & meet events called the West Coast Relays. Often, the best boogaloo dancers in Oakland would be chosen as high school mascots: all of the surrounding high school mascots would compete against other with a live school band during the half-time show.

Original Boogaloo Reunion BBQ

An annual event held in Oakland honors contributions of the Boogaloo generation and hosts an intergenerational event for dancers in the Popping and Hiphop community to meet the original Boogaloo generation. Many Bay Area styles represented through Boogaloo, Robot, and Strutting are also showcased through different dancers at this event.

Media exposure

Television * 1976: "Soul Is" & "The Jay Payton Show" - The Boogaloo group - The Black Resurgents were frequent dancers on a local syndicated dance Oakland show, displaying solo and group routines. *Granny & the Robotroids were one of the first Boogaloo groups to be seen on national TV performing on Chuck Barris' ''

Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

'' in 1976. * 1977 & 1978: The Black Messengers, as Mechanical Device, performed on the ''Gong Show'' and displayed their style of "Posing Hard" the group choreography also includes of "Domino" steps, creeping, canework, and the famous M&M routine choreographed by Chuck Powell. Kerney Mayers also displays a signature solo with vibrating and trembling techniques. The Black Messengers were declared ''Gong Show'' winners on both occasions. * 1991: MC Hammer, a popular rapper from Oakland who grew up watching the Boogaloo group the Black Resurgents, includes Boogaloo choreography and fashion in his music video "This is The Way We Roll". The music video also features a Boogaloo dancer "Frosty".

Notable boogaloo dancers

1966 to 1969 era

* Albert Milton aka "Iron Man" * Jerry Rentie "The Worm" * Michael Enoch "The Mad" * Larry Thompson "Pirate" * Cornell "Tony Rome" Reese, * Wayne "Freddy Snow" Dillard * Levi Warner * Danny Boy Reese * Donald Mathews "Duck" * Patricia Scott * Red (Patricia Scott's brother) * Henry Fischer * Gregory Holm

1970 to 1975 era

* Steve Williams * Ted Williams * Kerney Mayers * Chuck Powell * John Murphy * Jorey "Monk" Walker * Michael Carter * Randy Pennington * William Bilal "Boogaloo Bill" * Noah Johnson * Gaston Ducote * Ricky Gantt * Lil Ricky * Ronald Nerves * Paul Reid * Amelia * Tony Newsome * Kenny Chambers * Derrick Lovings * Anthony Hamilton * Darryl Hamilton "Hamo" * Newberry * Rosie * Will Randolph III * Vic Randolph * Larry Robertson * Ted Wincher * Ben James

1976 to 1980s era

* Dan Hodges "Boogaloo Dan" * Andrew "PopDog" Paris * Ben James * Dan "Boo the Bot" Martin * Boogaloo Vic * Boogaloo Dana * Pierre Hudson * Chris James * Darrin Hodges "Dubb" * Reo Robot * Dennis "Mechanical Man" Newsome * Walter "Sundance" FreemanSuhalia "The Oakland Boogaloo & Walter "Sundance" Freeman. Salimpour School

References

External links

The Oakland Boogaloo Conservatory

A little dance history: Popping, Boogaloo, Robot, Strutting, Fillmore, Etc.

KQED Feature: SF & Oakland Hiphop Histories Come Alive in this Dance Demo
{{Dance Popping (dance) Syllabus-free dance Social dance Folk dance

African-American Diaspora The African-American diaspora refers to communities of people outside of the United States who are descended from people of African descent who were enslaved in the United States or its preceding European colonies along the east coast of Nort ...

African-American dance African-American cultural history Performance art Oakland, California