Robot (dance)
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The robot (or mannequin) is an illusionary dance style often combined with popping that attempts to imitate a dancing robot or mannequin. Body joints are bent in straight unnatural ways and all movements started and finished with a small jerk to give the impression of motors starting and stopping, or creaking hinges. The dancer's posture is kept stiff at all times.
Skilled robot dancers are very uncommon, to the point of causing a limited public concept of what constitutes state of the art robot dancing. Because of this, more often than not the robot is confused with popping and liquid dancing in general. Robot dancing, however, refers only to the technique of imitating a humanoid robot (or mannequin come alive) - one of several techniques used in these dance styles.
Broken robot
A variation on the robot is the "broken robot" style, where various parts of the dancer's body is shaken rapidly giving the impression that the robot is breaking down. A lock-and-release of joints can also give the appearance of supports breaking down.Music
As with popping in general, the visual impact of the robot can be boosted by doing it in pace with music. The best effect is achieved with music that has very distinct beats such as electrofunk. It is nonetheless common to use music not particularly suited for the dance, but which has a "robot theme", e.g. Styx's Mr. Roboto.Unlike most other dances, the robot may also be accompanied a cappella by making vocal impressions of beeps and motor noise.
Robot dance in popular culture
The Robot is frequently featured in popular culture more often than not, as a joke. Following the cheerful nature of such appearances, most of these instances are rather unskilled examples of the dance. Common themes are either a person or a situation for which the robot dance is unexpected or out of place, or using the irony of having actual robots do the robot-imitation dance for comical effect. Examples include:
- Musician Buckethead is known for his robot dancing.
- Charles "Charles Robot" Washington premiered the dance in the first season of the dance show Soul Train.#redirect
- Allegra Cole does the robot in the wedding scene during the end credits of Hitch.
- Soccer player Peter Crouch has performed a basic version of this dance as a goal celebration[Peter Crouch's goal and celebration against Jamaica] (YouTube)
- In the Futurama episode Fear of a Bot Planet Fry attempts and fails the robot dance. Leela then upstages him.
- The GEICO gecko does popping and some robot in one of the company's commercials.[Watch the gecko dance the Robot]
- In the MMORPG Guild Wars Factions, the Male Assassin class can use an emote that triggers a Robot dance.
- The dance is done by King Julien in the movie Madagascar#redirect .
- In My Name Is Earl, a drunken Earl Hickey does the dance at his ex-wife's wedding.
- The dance is done by a robot in the movie Robots#redirect .
- It is done in Scrubs by ElliotScrubs season 4, episode 25 My Changing Ways.
- The song I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor by the Arctic Monkeys includes references to the robot dance.
References
External links
Video clips
- [Humorous robot clip] without makeup or costume, using vocal sound effects (Google Video)
- [Robot dance] combined with air guitar at the Air Guitar World Championships 2005 (Google Video)
- [Mannequin mime] on 1980s Norwegian TV (Windows media video)
- [Botting routine on japanese TV] by dance crew U-Min (YouTube)
| Street dance |
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| Breakdancing - Hip hop dance - Krumping - Liquid dancing - Locking (dance)>Locking - Popping - Robot - Tutting - Uprock |
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