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Articles & Community News

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Introducing the Gangsta Bop!!!

1 CommentsMonday, August 23rd, 2010

Do you ever feel like popping is starting to get a little soft? Like all the crazy dimestops and wave combos and speed control and hip-hop-new-style-turfing influence is beginning to get away from the core of popping: that hardcore gangsta shit. Well, I do. And thanks to BopNTod and Icon SixtyFour, a conceptual framework heretofore known as the gangsta bop is beginning to develop. Let’s explore.
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Otis Funkmeyer Gets Interviewed and Gets Deep

3 CommentsMonday, May 17th, 2010

So I got interviewed by my man Liquid Metal. You should for sure read his article here. What I’m gonna do for you is give you the raw, uncut, unedited version that I gave him. Read this to get my philosophy on this dance and a much deeper sense of what it’s all about.
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You Know You Want To: The Arm Wave

4 CommentsSunday, April 18th, 2010

So the first thing that you need to know about the arm wave is that it’s easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master.
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The 5 Basics of Tutting

4 CommentsSunday, April 11th, 2010

Tutting is a style that is based totally on geometry and patterns and angles, mosty with your arms. It is a great style for feeling like you are building puzzles or boxes and there are an infinite number of patterns you can create. Once you learn the basics. The basics of tutting mostly involve learning the basic angles and how you can move between them. And then a LOT of drilling. You need to know that when you lift your arms, they are in the position you think they’re in. Once you have that down, you can start freestyling your tuts and go for days.

So let’s cover 5 tips for basic tutting mastery.
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Let’s Get This Party Started: The Basics of Isolation

3 CommentsSunday, April 4th, 2010

Along with the groove and the actual pop, isolation is the most important technique of this dance called popping. The ability to isolate everything from your fingers to your toes, from your neck to your hips, is what separates a beginner from a master.

Almost all dance styles, from ballet to bellydancing, use isolation extensively. But the way we isolate in popping is one of the things that most sets the dance apart. So let’s take a look at what isolation is, how you do it, why it’s important, and how to incorporate it into your dance!

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Dude, Where’s Your Technique?

6 CommentsMonday, March 22nd, 2010

In order to express the music in a way that other people can understand, you need a strong technical foundation. In order to move in a way that is pleasant to others, you need technique. Without technique, even the most creative expressive dancer just looks like an embarrassing mess. Harsh but true. It takes technique to bring your vision, your unique talent, into form. And what really means it that it takes work! And time! Get ready for the journey of your lifetime, young Jedi!

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OMG! WE’RE GONNA LEARN THE MOONWALK!

3 CommentsMonday, March 8th, 2010

It’s the first move everyone wants to learn, and it’s usually the first thing people will ask you if you can do. It’s…. the MOONWALK.

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The Hidden Realms of the Boogaloo

4 CommentsMonday, March 1st, 2010

Ahhh…. That sweet sweet boogaloo. It’s like the epitome of funk. When I see boogaloo done to classic funk music, it makes me think that the music was made just so that people could dance like that. The rolls, the groove, the attitude, that’s what boogaloo is. But let’s dive in a little deeper.
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Figure Out How YOU Want to Dance: Make Your Perfect Dancer

4 CommentsMonday, February 22nd, 2010

These days, there are so many styles of popping it’s almost bewildering. Back in the days, it was simple. Popping, waving, tutting, gliding, robot. That’s pretty much it. Now, you’ve got not only tutting but finger tutting, not only waving but snaking, cobra, liquid, and digits, and not only popping but strutting, banging, and boogalooing. It’s overwhelming!

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5 Steps to a Better Robot Through Isolation

8 CommentsMonday, February 15th, 2010

When I started dancing, I didn’t understand the importance of isolation. I saw waving and boogaloo and liquid and thought that the point was too be loose and floppy and look like water. What I discovered over time is that in order to look like water, you actually have to have a lot of CONTROL over your body. You have to be able to ISOLATE different parts really well.
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Attack the Beat, Ride the Beat, Freak the Beat, Love the Beat

0 CommentsMonday, February 8th, 2010

The beat made popping. It’s that simple. Without the beat, there’s no pop. Without the bass, there’s no boogaloo. And without the keys, there’s no wave. The reason the whole dance exists is because of the beat.

And your job as a dancer is to fall in love with the beat, let her tell you what she wants you to do to her, and then do it. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Ways a Dimestop Makes You Dope

5 CommentsMonday, February 1st, 2010

The dimestop is like the crazy insider popper knowledge. Once you know what a dimestop is, what a good one looks like, and how to do one, you’re pretty much halfway there to being an insider. To being one of the real poppers.

Cuz before you know what a dimestop is, you’re just a raver, or a hip-hop dancer, or an amateur. The dimestop is what separates the men from the boys kiddos. It’s what makes somebody go HOT DAMN that boy is NIIIICE.

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Scramblelock – New Website Release

1 CommentsTuesday, December 8th, 2009

Scramblelock of Montreal, Canada has just launched a brand new website. It features his latest video project entitled “Love City” and gives a glimpse into his life and the funk that surrounds it! The website also features a biography section, photos and video interviews with lockers from 3 different Canadian cities: Baby L (Toronto), Treklock (Montreal) and Sun (Vancouver). Be sure to check the links section for other locking sources as well as a variety of popular funk music sites. Read the rest of this entry »
How tha West Was Won Review

4 CommentsWednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Freestyle Sessions twelve in conjunction with How Tha West Was Won took place this August 22nd and 23rd in Hollywood at Club Circus. Over two thousand Bboys, Poppers, and Lockers came to compete for over $25,000 in cash and prizes. How The West is Won is run by Hugo aka Mr. Smooth, marking this the sixth year of the event. As usual the funkstylers had their own room for cyphers and battles. Read the rest of this entry »
The Music is the Key to the Dance

12 CommentsTuesday, September 1st, 2009

Yo! Otis Funkmeyer comin atcha again with another certified banger.

So let’s get it started. When you’re popping, the most important thing to be focused on is the music. The music will tell you how to dance if you let it. All of the styles of popping that we now love–boogaloo, waving, tutting, animation, robot–they were all created because of a song that made someone move in a certain way. No one had ever moved in that way before because no music had ever been created to inspire that movement.

If you allow the music to sink deep inside of you, it will show you how to dance. Movements will literally just come out of you. When you add your technique and foundational movements to the music, you create magic!

Someone who did just that is probably the reason you wanted to start popping in the first place.
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