Boogaloo is a freestyle, improvisational street dance movement of soulful steps and robotic movements which make up the foundations of popping dance and turfing; boogaloo can incorporate illusions, restriction of muscles, stops, robot and/or wiggling.[1] The style also incorporates foundational popping techniques, which were initially referred to as "Posing Hard".[2][3] It is related to the later electric boogaloo dance.[4]
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”[5] 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”[6] 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.[5][7]
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 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.”[8]
James Brown
In 1966, soul & funk musician James Brown released a boogaloo dance single, "James Brown's Boogaloo" and danced his interpretation of the boogaloo on Where the Action Is on national TV.[9]
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.[9] 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.[9] Thompson would also be inspired by watching a dancer from The Hy-Lit Show, a Black and Puerto Rican dancer named Harold (Harold Hazzard):[10] "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.[11] This was a good step because we could use it to go into the Camel Walk and into the Skate."[12][9]
From 1967 to 1968, soul dancers in Sobrante Park in Oakland, California, would challenge Pirate and the Easy Walkers through "face off's".[9] The Easy Walkers were unique because they mixed different steps of social dances 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.[9]
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 stop-motion DynoRama animation movies and incorporated these movements as slap-stick crowd entertainment.[11][13] Iron Man particularly took influence from 20 Million Miles to Earth reenacting the dinosaur-like creature birthed in the movie and would dance to James Brown.[14] A second generation in the 1970s innovated this style with a less comical approach to animated movements and focused on intricately detailed dinosaur movement: this was complete with sudden, full stopping-in-motion techniques called "dime-stops", minute stop-motion effects and posing; dancers from the group, Soulful Movements - such as Ted Williams, Steve Williams & Tony Newsome were masters at this Boogaloo animated style.[11][14]
In 1964, a Boogaloo dancer named John Murphy imitated Robotic movements influenced by the robot in the 1954 sci-fi movie Tobor the Great, 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.[15] In 1972, John Murphy helped form the Boogaloo dance group The Black Messengers and develop a robotic boogaloo.[16]
Funk dance movement (1970s)
High School Mascots: Pantomiming in Character
Throughout every high school in Oakland - Castlemont, McClymonds, Fremont - schools would host dance competitions to select their high school mascots. While in costume, every mascot innovated 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.[11] Mascots competed in costumes, such as Fremont Tigers, Castlemont Knights, and Oakland Technical Bulldogs.[17] 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 headpiece to shake during each hit that inspired similar vibrating Boogaloo hat effects.[17] 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.[18][19][13][20]
Cartoon Influence & Beginnings of Posing
In 1967, while living in Oakland, Jerry Rentie would innovate soul boogaloo styles with new funk movements inspired by "mimicking toys, cartoons, movies... everywhere 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."[13] Rentie would also innovate the concept of "the Freeze", he explains, "The Freeze was a part of a step whereas 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."[13] 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 not the James Brown Boogaloo anymore".[13]
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 dance form.[21][14] 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.[21]
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.[22][23] 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 band to perform with; East Oakland often had three to four bands in every block.[23]
Black Power Movement
Taking place throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Oakland was the center of the Black Power Movement, which involved the creation of the Black Panther Party. Boogaloo dance groups such as the Black Resurgents performed for Black Panther community rallies and events.[22][24] With the advent of the liberation spirit of funk music 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.[22]
In East Oakland, 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.[25]
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 every day. We serve the people, body and soul.” Directed by Ericka Huggins and Donna Howell, OCS provided youth with culturally relevant education and challenged the public school system’s perceptions of what it meant to be Black and poor.[26]
Notable Boogaloo dance groups
Boogaloo dance groups incorporated various formations with different styles; here is a compiled list of active Boogaloo dance groups during the 1960s and 1970s.[27][14]
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)
Boogaloo relies on the swing and groove of live funk 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"
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 group choreography. Boogaloo Dancers such as Benjamin James from Live, Inc. were also instrumental in the evolution of Boogaloo to Strutting.[28][29]
Connections to Richmond Robot
Oakland Boogaloo groups as well as prominent San Francisco, and 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.[30][22] Groups from Richmond would refer to their style as Richmond Robottin.
Connection to Turfing
The 60s and 70s Boogaloo generations have similar storytelling and animated movements and share the same neighborhoods and families with today's Turf dancers who practice a street style Turfing.[18] 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.[31][32][33]
Impact on Popping
Popping would be eventually adapted from earlier Boogaloo movements to influence dancers in Fresno, California, in the late 1970s by way of California high-school gatherings of track & meet events called the West Coast Relays.[4][34] Often, the best boogaloo dancers in Oakland would be chosen as high school mascots: all of the surrounding high school mascots would compete against each other with a live school band during the half-time show.[35]
Original Boogaloo Reunion BBQ
An annual event held in Oakland honors the contributions of the Boogaloo generation and hosts an intergenerational event for dancers in the Popping and Hip hop 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.[23]
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.[36]
Granny & the Robotroids were one of the first Boogaloo groups on national TV performing on Chuck Barris' Gong Show in 1976.[28]
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 "Domino" steps, creeping, cane work, 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.[2]
1991: MC Hammer, a popular rapper from Oakland who grew up watching the Boogaloo group the Black Resurgents,[37] includes Boogaloo choreography and fashion in his music video "This is The Way We Roll". The music video also features a Boogaloo dancer "Frosty".[38]
^ abHill, B. & Boogaloo Conservatory TV (2014) Part 1 Interview with The Black Messengers: Chuck Powell, Kerney Mayers & Steve Harris.
^ abcdMar, Alan D. (2012) The Funk Behind Bay Area Street Dance. Department of Ethnic Studies. San Francisco State University.
^ abcDavey, D. (2015) "Oakland’s Boogaloo Reunion BBQ : A History Lesson in West Coast Street Dance".
^Vincent, R. (2013) Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers' Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music. Chicago Review Press.
^Smith, J Alfred (2004) On the Jericho road: a memoir of racial justice, social action, and prophetic ministry. Reverend J. Alfred Smith Sr. with Harry Louis Williams. InterVarsity Press.
^Easley, Shani. (2016) "Black Panthers’ Oakland Community School: A Model for Liberation" Written for the Black Organizing Project.
^Bragin, N. (2015) "Popping and Other Dis/Appearing Acts" Black Power of Hiphop Dance: On Kinesthetic Politics. UC Berkeley.
^Phaneuf, W. (2013 Aug 21) "Turfing Grows Up." Eastbay Express.
^Bragin, N. (2015) Black Power of Hiphop Dance: On Kinesthetic Politics. UC Berkeley.
^KQED Arts “How Turf Dancing became synonymous with Oakland.” If Cities Could Dance Series. 2019. [1]
^Higa, B. & Wiggins, C. (1996) "Electric Kingdom" The history of popping and locking, from the people who made it happen. Rap Pages. Sep. 1996: 52-67. Print.
^Payton, J. "Soul Is". The Jay Payton Show. KEMO TV (1976). Digitized by California Audiovisual Preservation Project. The Jay Payton Video Collection. Donated to the African American and Library of Oakland. Retrieved online via https://archive.org/details/caolaam_000083
^Wheeler, D. "Out the Trunk: The Bay" Hiphop Evolution. Netflix Series. Aired on 19 October 2018.
^Burrel, Louis (1991) "This is the way we roll". Bust It Records. Published by Capitol Records, Inc.
^Suhalia "The Oakland Boogaloo & Walter "Sundance" Freeman. Salimpour School.
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