Popping (a.k.a. hitting) is a funk dance and street dance style based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with other mime-style movements.

Popping is also used as an umbrella term for a group of illusionary dance styles and techniques that are often combined with popping to create a more varied performance. The effect of popping as entertainment hinges on an almost-surrealistic contrast between the human dancer and the unnatural moves performed. Like other street dances popping is often performed in battles and thus involves competitive tricks such as mocking the opponent.

It's generally believed that the dance evolved in California in the 1970s and was originally inspired by locking.



It was later incorporated into both the hip hop- and electronica dance scenes.