Andre Johnson's Blog
August 2, 2013
The DNA offspring of the Boogaloo
My story begins with a desire to express my feelings and viewpoints about a street dance that is very old or should I say original in its very nature, this dance is called by many the boogaloo. This dance is sacred in many and holds within its very DNA the secrets of true genius which entered into the world thru the wonderful women who gave birth to great dancer’s who have come and gone, dancer’s who held the torch long before many of us who call ourselves O.g.’s including myself. Long before any one knew of its existence God blessed this wonderful art form; it has within its structure many movements and is extremely versatile and its path is never ending this dance carries with it the seed of much controversy and pure innovation. If ever their was one single dance worth eulogizing, it’s the boogaloo; just like the super universe that brings forth many solar systems, planets and galaxy’s this dance produces styles, method’s and forms, each one has its own unique and distinct name, “The Envelope Please” like the matrix the boogaloo is the mother that connects and holds all of the children together within her bosom. Their has been many Neo’s, many chosen ones have come, their has been many oracles who foretold the boogaloo prophesy long ago; many have proclaimed themselves to be the golden child of this art form, some of us even think they are the last air bender of the boogaloo so to speak. Born in the minds of certain young men and women from the bay area of Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco and the surrounding area’s they performed structured dance routines that were for lack of a better word timeless and brilliant, some of the routines were as Einstein would suggest if he were here as intense as college level mathematics or like the secret codes hidden within the great pyramids of Egypt.
That brings me to my mission statement “One Love to all Street dancers’ Worldwide” their has been so much controversy, debate and confusion over this dance but just like an amoeba which is a one celled animal that can be separated into many millions of parts and still survive as one organism, such is the boogaloo DNA structure; it branches off into many names or tubes like ventricles connected to many cities and dancer’s throughout the world, like it or not we as street dancers are all feed intravenously thru this boogaloo matrix that has been here long before any of us, Og’s or otherwise. If we were given a tour of all the boogaloo babies that have been born and like the happy overly excited father who passes out blue bubble gum cigars at the birth to his first son; we take a glimpse into the delivery room window and we see someone brand new, a new form, a new version, and entirely new innovation that comes from the original boogaloo mothers DNA structure. Close you eyes and envision with me for a moment, you will see names and tags on the toes of all these innovative children of the boogaloo. The first offspring is boogaloo, theirs always a Jr.
Then roboting, strutting, hitting, fillmore, freezing, zig-zaging, ditalion, buggin, ropeman, creeping, dimestopping, clinking, 3-d and 5-d, you will see toy spinning, banging, ticking, Chinese robot, sacking, Fresno, old man, lurching, air posing, twistoflexing, neckoflexing, legoflexing, masterflexing, crazy legs, the puppet, the scarecrow, snaking, tutting, worming, arm waves, leg waves, reverse waves, tidal waving, various group waves, moonwalking, backsliding, various float walks, 360 circle floating walk, sideways float walks, stepping, bows, head hitting, vibrating, 5 deuce domino, the Frankenstein, the Frankenstein creep, the megatron man, the popcorn, the rumba, African snaking and waving, African body shake and vibrating, Popping, Poplocking, Botting, Bopping, dislocating, animation, the Sinbad, silent movie speed animation, slow motion movements, dynamo animation, strobing, finger waving, finger tuttng, liquid, dark matter, monster tuts, 36 chambers of the bopp, contorting, shields and yarnell roboting plus many more. Some people think they have a sort of patent on this God given and divinely inspired dance called the boogaloo, I say this because God is the giver of all good things and you can’t beat God giving. I must not neglect to mention that this dance to some is as sacred as the awe spark is to a Transformer or a Septacon, even myself The Master of Illusions had to be given the right hand of boogaloo fellowship into the boogaloo DNA a right of passage so to speak to even call myself representing this dance; I received a top secret phone call from San Francisco Bay from a well known representative of the boogaloo and strutting alliance, whose name I won’t mention here, moreover, he is largely responsible for keeping the bay area on the map and keeping people showing recognition and interest in this original art form and thru his production company hosting many shows and events. The call came on New Years day 2013 while riding on the freeway, I was informed of a meeting that was held regarding my book and some things that I had stated within it; when they realized that I didn’t mean any harm and that I was representing our beloved boogaloo, I received the message to go ahead and do my thing to the fullest and to not let any haters or anything for that matter stop me. As I mentioned already, my name is Andre Johnson aka The Master of Illusions, I guess you can say I’m one of the keeper’s of the truth and I consider myself responsible for helping preserve this art form. No one can personally lay claim to making up this dance, sorry Boogaloo Sam… its to big for one person to have all the credit; there are guys in their late 60’s maybe even 70 plus who were doing this dance and I’m in my 50’s myself, I think the best thing to do is keep an open mind and become a student of the boogaloo so you can take in its many stories and urban legends from various cities, environments and cultures worldwide. There are many, however, it is wise to know a few of the original techniques although their have been many innovations, you may say how do we know the difference? Trust me you will know the original hit when you see it and you can tell by the timing and the focus of a true boogaloo artist from back in the day or who has been taught or given the gift. Hint: look at how they hit with their head, the snap, crackle and the Pop or the stop on the dime. They will appear as though they are not even present because they will be in the ZONE. My mission is to spread this boogaloo truth and knowledge to the world of new students who will pass the Paton like a relay racer to the new keeper’s of this truth thru my book and by word of mouth to keep the boogaloo torch burning FOREVER!
For a look at the book who's time has come and that tell the story of the street dance known as the boogaloo Go to: http://tinyurl.com/clpm9hd
If you like this article or follow it, please take the time to leave a comment or a review...
Thank You
The Master of Illusions
That brings me to my mission statement “One Love to all Street dancers’ Worldwide” their has been so much controversy, debate and confusion over this dance but just like an amoeba which is a one celled animal that can be separated into many millions of parts and still survive as one organism, such is the boogaloo DNA structure; it branches off into many names or tubes like ventricles connected to many cities and dancer’s throughout the world, like it or not we as street dancers are all feed intravenously thru this boogaloo matrix that has been here long before any of us, Og’s or otherwise. If we were given a tour of all the boogaloo babies that have been born and like the happy overly excited father who passes out blue bubble gum cigars at the birth to his first son; we take a glimpse into the delivery room window and we see someone brand new, a new form, a new version, and entirely new innovation that comes from the original boogaloo mothers DNA structure. Close you eyes and envision with me for a moment, you will see names and tags on the toes of all these innovative children of the boogaloo. The first offspring is boogaloo, theirs always a Jr.
Then roboting, strutting, hitting, fillmore, freezing, zig-zaging, ditalion, buggin, ropeman, creeping, dimestopping, clinking, 3-d and 5-d, you will see toy spinning, banging, ticking, Chinese robot, sacking, Fresno, old man, lurching, air posing, twistoflexing, neckoflexing, legoflexing, masterflexing, crazy legs, the puppet, the scarecrow, snaking, tutting, worming, arm waves, leg waves, reverse waves, tidal waving, various group waves, moonwalking, backsliding, various float walks, 360 circle floating walk, sideways float walks, stepping, bows, head hitting, vibrating, 5 deuce domino, the Frankenstein, the Frankenstein creep, the megatron man, the popcorn, the rumba, African snaking and waving, African body shake and vibrating, Popping, Poplocking, Botting, Bopping, dislocating, animation, the Sinbad, silent movie speed animation, slow motion movements, dynamo animation, strobing, finger waving, finger tuttng, liquid, dark matter, monster tuts, 36 chambers of the bopp, contorting, shields and yarnell roboting plus many more. Some people think they have a sort of patent on this God given and divinely inspired dance called the boogaloo, I say this because God is the giver of all good things and you can’t beat God giving. I must not neglect to mention that this dance to some is as sacred as the awe spark is to a Transformer or a Septacon, even myself The Master of Illusions had to be given the right hand of boogaloo fellowship into the boogaloo DNA a right of passage so to speak to even call myself representing this dance; I received a top secret phone call from San Francisco Bay from a well known representative of the boogaloo and strutting alliance, whose name I won’t mention here, moreover, he is largely responsible for keeping the bay area on the map and keeping people showing recognition and interest in this original art form and thru his production company hosting many shows and events. The call came on New Years day 2013 while riding on the freeway, I was informed of a meeting that was held regarding my book and some things that I had stated within it; when they realized that I didn’t mean any harm and that I was representing our beloved boogaloo, I received the message to go ahead and do my thing to the fullest and to not let any haters or anything for that matter stop me. As I mentioned already, my name is Andre Johnson aka The Master of Illusions, I guess you can say I’m one of the keeper’s of the truth and I consider myself responsible for helping preserve this art form. No one can personally lay claim to making up this dance, sorry Boogaloo Sam… its to big for one person to have all the credit; there are guys in their late 60’s maybe even 70 plus who were doing this dance and I’m in my 50’s myself, I think the best thing to do is keep an open mind and become a student of the boogaloo so you can take in its many stories and urban legends from various cities, environments and cultures worldwide. There are many, however, it is wise to know a few of the original techniques although their have been many innovations, you may say how do we know the difference? Trust me you will know the original hit when you see it and you can tell by the timing and the focus of a true boogaloo artist from back in the day or who has been taught or given the gift. Hint: look at how they hit with their head, the snap, crackle and the Pop or the stop on the dime. They will appear as though they are not even present because they will be in the ZONE. My mission is to spread this boogaloo truth and knowledge to the world of new students who will pass the Paton like a relay racer to the new keeper’s of this truth thru my book and by word of mouth to keep the boogaloo torch burning FOREVER!
For a look at the book who's time has come and that tell the story of the street dance known as the boogaloo Go to: http://tinyurl.com/clpm9hd
If you like this article or follow it, please take the time to leave a comment or a review...
Thank You
The Master of Illusions
