Figure Out How YOU Want to Dance: Make Your Perfect Dancer

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!

Hey guys, I’m Otis Funkmeyer, the professor of popping! I write an article about popping here at WCP every Sunday. I have lots of lessons, articles, DVDs, downloads, and music at my website www.funkmeyers.com!

And think about it. Most of the dancers you love, when it comes down to it, are super dope at one thing, maybe two. Maybe you like Madd Chadd’s robot or Acki’s boogaloo or Salah’s isolations. Even the best dancers usually excel at only one thing.

As someone who has gone down the dead end path of trying to master every single style, let me give you the advice that Boppin Andre gave me–perfect something and then move on. Don’t learn waving and tutting and gliding all at the same time. Start somewhere, learn that, and THEN try something new.

This may not sound as exciting, but it’s a surefire way to build skills quickly. The only question is, how are you gonna decide what to learn?

What Dancers Do You LOVE

The best way to answer this question is to first let your mind wander. I’m talking close your eyes, start a warm bubble bath, hop in, put on some light jazz, and let yourself relax and go far away. NOW! WHO COMES UP? WHICH DANCERS JUST FLOAT TO THE TOP? WHO DO YOU WANT TO DANCE LIKE? WHO ARE YOUR IDOLS?

When I first did this exercise, I would say things like this. Well, Poppin’ Pete’s hard pops, Sally Sly’s isolations, J Smooth’s footwork and animation, PopnTod’s waves, Tetris’ tuts, Dementia’s ground moves, Walid’s groove, Skeeter Rabbit’s toyman. On and on like that. The problem with this is that by picking so many people and so many things, I might as well not have picked anything at all.

So now, I say this. Walid and Jazzy J. These are the two dancers that I just LOVE. I just can’t get enough of their dancing. To me, they are just the funkiest dancers I’ve ever seen. I would be SO HAPPY to have someone compare me to them. It would make my day. Even if my tuts sucked and my waves were sloppy, if I could funk and boogaloo like Walid and Jazzy J, I would be a happy happy man!

How Do You Dance Like Your Favorites?

All right. So now you’ve figured it out. Let’s say that you’re like me and you wanna dance like Jazzy J. What’s next? Well, you’ve gotta figure out how Jazzy J dances. Here is how *I* would categorize Jazzy J. Great dimestop. Lots of head movements. Very dynamic. Incredible foundation. Strong feet and legs. Quick. Lots of twistoflexing.

So that’s what you’d practice. Just those things. Just do your absolute best to copy those things. It’s perfectly OK to copy at first. It’s just a phase. Once you have it down, you will develop your own unique style. But having someone to look up to helps you get where you’re trying to go.

Wrap-up

In order to get anywhere, you’ve got to know where you’re trying to go! By figuring out which dancers really make you go crazy–the ones whose clips you just watch over and over and over–and focusing on dancing like your idols, you’re sure to get where you’re trying to go! On the other hand, if you just try to dance like everyone else, it’s a surefire way to fail! So get out there and start copying!

Peace out and KEEP IT POPPIN!
Otis Funkmeyer, Ph.D. of Popping