Popping developed within California’s 1970s funk scenes, notably in Fresno around Sam “Boogaloo Sam” Solomon. With the Electric Boogaloos, he helped bring the dance beyond the West Coast. Its history also involves exchanges between several Californian scenes, rather than a single move or group.

Musical listening, control and illusion: the body makes sound visible.

What to look for

• Pops: quick muscle contractions and releases timed to the music.
• Contrasts between sharp accents, continuous motion and stillness.
• Boogaloo, waving and illusion techniques contribute neighbouring vocabularies with histories of their own.

Locking emerged in Los Angeles with Don “Campbellock” Campbell around the turn of the 1970s. His unexpected stops became a dance language: the Campbellock. Soul Train gave him wide exposure. In 1973, Toni Basil brought dancers together around Campbell for a Roberta Flack television special; the group later took the name The Lockers. Their individual personalities and stage presence helped carry the dance internationally.

A generous dance with its own roots in West Coast funk culture.

What to look for

• Locks: decisive stops within the groove.
• Points and wrist rolls: pointing gestures and wrist rotations.
• Playfulness, humour and conversation with the audience, driven by funk.

Hip-hop culture took shape in 1970s New York through African American and Latino communities. Upright hip-hop dance grew through parties, clubs and social dances evolving with the music, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s. Artists including Buddha Stretch, Mop Top and Elite Force helped share this freestyle vocabulary around the world.

A living language shaped by parties, exchange and individual expression.

What to look for

• Bounce and rock: rhythmic rebound and sway at the heart of the groove.
• Social dances such as the Running Man, reinterpreted with personality.
• Freestyle: composing in the moment in response to the music.

House dance grew on club floors, bringing together disco culture, house music and many movement traditions. Chicago was a major centre for house music, while New York clubs played a key role in developing the dance. There is no single creator: communities and artists including Marjory Smarth, Ejoe Wilson and Brian “Footwork” Green shaped and shared this language.

The freedom to improvise, hear the details of a track and share the floor.

What to look for

• Jacking: a pulse travelling through the torso.
• Footwork: quick steps, weight shifts and bounce.
• Lofting: flow and floor movement serving musicality.

“Afro” brings together several dances and influences here, rather than one dance with a single birthplace, date or creator. Ghanaian azonto, Congolese ndombolo and Ivorian coupé-décalé each have their own histories, music and originators. African urban scenes and their diasporas share movements through parties, music videos and social media while creating new languages.

An invitation to discover cultures in the plural and recognise their creators.

What to look for

• Grooves and grounding whose qualities vary between styles.
• Rhythmic play and isolation between different parts of the body.
• Personal expression that respects the names and origins of steps.

Dancehall is a Jamaican culture connecting music, dance, parties and ways of life. Rooted notably in Kingston’s working-class communities, the dance evolves with sound systems and artists. In the 1990s, Gerald “Bogle” Levy became a major figure in its vocabulary, rather than its sole originator. Jamaican dancers and crews continue creating, naming and sharing new steps.

Knowing the steps also means recognising the people and culture behind them.

What to look for

• Named steps linked to their creators and their era.
• Groove, weight shifts and full-body movement.
• The connection between dance, music, attitude and community life.

Electro developed in clubs in and around Paris in the early 2000s. Exchanges between dancers, gatherings and circulating videos quickly carried it beyond club floors. Often reduced to the Tecktonik label during its media boom, electro dance has its own history and community, continuing to evolve from improvisation circles to theatre stages.

An ever-evolving dance that turns space into a field for creation.

What to look for

• Fast, graphic and continuous arm pathways.
• Coordination, changes of direction and full-body engagement.
• Musicality driven by electronic pulses.

Krump emerged in Los Angeles in the early 2000s around Ceasare “Tight Eyez” Willis and Jo’Artis “Mijo” Ratti, alongside pioneers including Lil’ C and Miss Prissy. In dialogue with clowning, it developed its own expressive language. The 2005 documentary Rize helped introduce it to a wider audience. Sessions and knowledge shared between dancers are central to the culture.

Intensity becomes expression: emotion, mutual support and personal growth feed the dance.

What to look for

• Stomps, chest pops and arm swings: grounded strikes, torso accents and sweeping arms.
• Contrasts in intensity and personal storytelling.
• Improvisation and the energy of a circle supporting the dancer.