Pop dance is a style of dancing that is characterized by fluid angulations of the torso and limbs and can be performed to a variety of music genres. It’s often danced to funk and disco music. The most notable pioneers of popping are Boogaloo Sam and his brother Timothy Solomon (aka “Poppin’ Pete”). Both were members of the Electric Boogaloos. Popping is a very rhythmic dance and when done correctly can look like a time lapsed spasm or stop motion convulsion that highlights intricate movements in the smallest muscles. Contemporary popping encompasses a wide variety of styles, movements and steps such as boogaloo, animation, ticking, strutting, robot dancing and strobing to name a few.
The popularity of pop dance grew as hip-hop and R&B gained popularity in the early 2000s, making it a staple of mainstream pop music. Artists such as Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and Ace of Base all achieved chart success with dance-oriented songs.
During this era, pop music started to incorporate elements from other genres of dance such as house, trance and techno with R&B, funk and new jack swing. This gave birth to a subgenre known as dance-pop. This category of music is uptempo, combines club rhythms with traditional pop song structures and tends to be more producer-driven than free-form dance.
In the 2010s and 2020s, a revival of pop dance was seen as artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber began to embrace this genre and incorporate it into their musical repertoires. The popularity of pop dance is continuing to rise as many younger generations are embracing the art form and the culture.
