Pop dance is a style of dance that uses the sudden tensing and releasing (“hitting”) of muscles to mimic beats in music. While OG popping dancers have different accounts and interpretations of the origin of the style, it can be traced back to working class youth of color in deindustrializing neighborhoods who created their own styles to show off in dance battles and cyphers. It is closely related to hip hop dancing and street/funk dance styles like waacking and locking, but has its own unique techniques, such as fluid motions incorporating circular rolls of the hips, knees, and head, that are often used to create pictures or illusions in a show.
The tempo of pop music is upbeat and fast making it very easy to dance to. It is also very catchy with simple lyrics that are easy to remember and sing along to. Pop dancers are very popular and you will see them at almost all social gatherings. They can even be seen in dance clubs and other entertainment venues.
The addition of best pop dance recording at the Grammys is a huge win for pop-centric electronic dance music and the artists that make it. The move allows the genre to have its own award category distinct from the two that the record industry already has in place for the more experimental dance/electronic sounds like house, EDM and IDM. This gives the Grammys a clear way to honor these artists and their work without compromising its mission to recognize and reward the diversity of the broad genre of dance music.
