Living up to the dictionary's definition of the word BOP, which states that it means
"To dance or move to the beat of this music" , even the informal definition is
"To dance to pop music" BOPPING have lasted the test of time, remaining as fun means of entertaining one's self or a group friends, family, or party goers that want to smile, laugh, and have a good time. What has made BOPPING so popular is that the energy it puts out is seemingly contagious, it seems to spread like a flu virus, but instead of causing dis- ease... it infects it's victims with the same joyous energy of anyone doing the dance.
Originally called Bebop, the word BOP in regards to a style of music or dancing began in the early following World War II, it was often characterized by altered three tone chords that lack harmony, have fast tempos and eccentric rhythms, intricate melodic lines punctuated by pop-tune phrases in other words
"A style Jazz music with Rhythmic and harmonic complexity, improvised solo performances, and a brilliant style of execution"
Maybe it's just me, but the description of the 1940's Bebop, sounds nearly identical to the latest hot dance style from Chicago that has taken over the city West & South sides. Said to be more fun and inviting, than another popular Chicago dance style called "Footworking", Bopping has now extended it's reach beyond the Chicago city limits, being mentioned in rap lines from the likes of multi-platinum recording artist Rick Ross
"I don't Bop, I do the money dance". This now national recognition is largely due to the assistance of a teen from Chicago's west side, named of
Lil Kemo, who has the proclaimed himself
"Bop King Of Chicago". Along collaborations from his neighborhood friend and group mate
Dlow, 19yr old
Lil Kemo has numerous videos posted on YouTube channel showcasing this new popular dance crave including a video of "Th Dlow Shuffle", a bopping influenced dance routine that the duo created themselves which has reached over 1 millions views. (I have posted it below). Their videos have now received almost 2,000,000 views from the over 20,000 combined subscribers they have. Their dancing talent, even gotten them a recent invite and appearance on NBC's
"The Steve Harvey Show" along with plenty requests to perform at events ranging from local high school and college talent showcases to headlining performance concerts at night clubs.
After watching an hour or more of "How To" videos and videos with a variety of different people actually Bopping on YouTube, I have come to the conclusion that thy best way to describe "What Bopping Is" would be to say that it is a playful way of dancing to popular uptempo music where you fluidly move your whole body to the beat instead of just bobbing your head.
Although I've also observed that there set way of Bopping, what I did notice from all of the boppers that I have watched and talked to...
You must shimmy your way down to a crouch and back up to the rhythm of the beat, while using mixture of arm, elbow, hand and knee movements that simulate flapping, punching, swiping, and twisting. I hope that I have helped anyone like myself who has no dance skills outside of the basic 2-step, but is interested in learning the latest dance style, BOPPING!
