Latest revision: April 20, 2022
This pancocojams post provides information about four old school Hip Hop dances from the mid to late 1980s: the Running Man, the Roger Rabbit, the Reebok, and the Cabbage Patch.
This post also showcases YouTube instructional videos of these dances. All of these videos include captions.
A few selected comments from these YouTube videos are also included in this post.
Thanks to the unknown creators of these dances, and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to Howcast, the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/old-school-hip-hop-dance-video.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Old School Hip Hop Dance Video (Demonstrating the Smurf, The Prep, the Reebok, The Wop, The Cabbage Patch, The Happy Feet, and the Fila Dances)"
Click the tags below for more pancocojams posts on old school Hip Hop dances.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
After reading the comments in this video's discussion thread and similar comments in the pancocojams post entitled "Old School Hip Hop Dance Video (Demonstrating the Smurf, The Prep, the Reebok, The Wop, The Cabbage Patch, The Happy Feet, and the Fila Dances)" whose link is given above it occurs to me that while there are basic steps for specific old school Hip Hop dances, those steps may differ within the same period of time, and/or within the same racial population [which created that dance], and/or within the same nation depending on where a person lives. Also or the same basic steps (movements) for a specific Hip Hop dance may have a different name/s within the same period of time, within the same racial population which created that dance...
Further complicating this is that it's possible that a specific old school (and new school) Hip Hop dance may have a different name even within the same geographical location (city/state) in the same period of time, and in the same racial population which created that dance within the same nation.
Also, a specific old school dance may be renamed by people in other decades before or after it becomes popular at a certain time. A contemporary dance may be given the name of an older dance even though it doesn't have all or any of the basic steps of that older dance.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THESE DANCES
1. the Running Man
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_man_(dance)*
"The Running Man (aka The Hungry Caterpillar), originally an African dance, is a street and fad dance that originated between late 1986–early 1987 and was performed notably by Janet Jackson in the video of her hit "Rhythm Nation" and subsequently on the Rhythm Nation World Tour and various live performances. An early performance of the dance was in a Fela Kuti concert called "Cross Examination" by one of his back-up dancers/ex-wife in Berlin in 1978.[1] Additionally, it was performed by MC Hammer, Bobby Brown, Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla Ice during their live concert shows and music videos, but achieved renewed popularity in the 2000s. It is also used in some forms of the Melbourne Shuffle dance style. It consists of a hopping or sliding step done in such a way at speed to simulate a runner."
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The Wikipedia page for the Running Man dance that I accessed on April 19, 2022 is different from the one that I quoted above. Here's a portion of that entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_man_(dance)
"The Running Man is a street and fad dance popularized by Bobby Brown. It consists of a hopping or sliding step done in such a way at speed to simulate a runner. Notable practictionaers of the dance are MC Hammer, Janet Jackson, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla Ice during their live concert shows and music videos. It achieved somewhat of a memed revival during in the 2000s, where it is performed in some manner of the Melbourne shuffle dance style. A variation of the dance can be seen in a Fela Kuti concert called "Cross Examination" by one of his back-up dancers/ex-wife in Berlin in 1978.[1]…
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Notice that there's no mention of the African origin of that dnce and not mention of it being performed by a dancer in (Nigerian afrobeat founder) Fela Kuti's group.
2. the Roger Rabbit
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Rabbit#Legacy
Roger Rabbit is a fictional animated anthropomorphic rabbit character. The character first appeared in author Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
[...]
The book and character were later reenvisioned in Disney's hit 1988 live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In the film version, Roger is a cartoon character in Hollywood during the Golden age of American animation. The various toons live in a Los Angeles enclave known as "Toontown", and act out animated shorts in the same way human actors act out feature films. Roger is framed for the murder of a famous Hollywood film producer and owner of Toontown, and he seeks out Valiant to help clear his name...
[...]
The Roger Rabbit became a popular dance move in America in the early 1990s.[10][11] It was named after the floppy movements of the Roger Rabbit cartoon character. In movement, the Roger Rabbit dance is similar to the Running Man, but done by skipping backwards with arms performing a flapping gesture as if hooking one's thumbs on suspenders.[12]"...
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3. the Reebok Dance
Note: There's no Wikipedia page on this dance.
The transcript for the Howcast video (embedded below) indicates that the Reebok dance 1985 is named after the Reebok brand of tennis shoes "when Reeboks first came out. Again, another dance named after whatever was popular at that time. Reeboks took over in 1985, I imagine. So this dance is called the Reebok." [read the transcript under the Reebok dance video below.
Here's an excerpt that includes that 1985 time frame "when Reebok took over":
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reebok
..."1980s–1990s
In 1982, Reebok debuted the Reebok Freestyle aerobics shoe, the first athletic shoe designed for women.[5][18] Fitness professional Gin Miller became the face of "Step Reebok," the company's aerobics fitness campaign and program.[16] The following year, Reebok's sales were $13 million.[19]
The company began expanding from tennis and aerobics shoes to running and basketball throughout the mid to late 1980s, the largest segments of the athletic footwear industry at the time.[20] Fireman bought the British-based parent company in 1984. In 1985, Reebok had its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RBK.[15][20]
In 1986, Reebok switched its logo from the Union Jack flag it had since its founding, to the Vector logo - an abstract Union Jack streak across a race track - which mirrored the design of the side flashes of its shoes[21][22] The switch signaled the transition of the company into a performance brand as it began licensing deals with professional athletes in the NBA and NFL.[23]"...
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4. the Cabbage Patch
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_Patch_(dance)
"The Cabbage Patch is a dance involving putting both hands together in fists and moving them in a horizontal, circular motion.[1][2]
Several songs about the dance have been released:
Rare Item & the Bud Buddies - "The Cabbage Patch Dance" (1983)
Delmar Donnell - "In the Cabbage Patch" (1984)
Experience Unlimited - "Doing the Cabbage Patch" (1986)
XII - "Cabbage Patch" (1986)
R.P. Cola - "The Cabbage Patch Dance" (1987)
Gucci Crew II - "The Cabbage Patch" (1987)[3]
World Class Wreckin' Cru - "Cabbage Patch" (1987)[4]
The dance became very popular, showing up in many dance clubs in America. The dance's name is derived from the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls or the use of "cabbage" as slang for paper money. There are many online videos demonstrating how to do the dance.[5][6] The dance was originally celebratory and often associated with being super cool and rad.[7]"
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS:
Video #1: How to Do the Running Man | Hip-Hop Dancing
Howcast, Sep 10, 2012
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Selected comments (numbered for referencing purposes only)
1. Julian Nailuj, 2016
"Ladies and gents, this is THE ORIGINAL RUNNING MAN, not that toe-tapping bs on social media."
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2. calionetime, 2016
"Now that's the real running man. Forget the running man challenge! Kids"
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3. L O, 2016
"This is the real running man, the one we did & still do when we're feeling nostalgic lol The running man challenge is more of a shuffle but glad the kids got scholarships from it :)"
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4. Jesse Aguilar, 2016
"original running man dance step did by MC Hammer"
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5. MITHO, 2015
"That's not exactly how we did this TWENTYFIVE YEARS AGO! ;)"
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REPLY
6. McFlySwatter, 2015
"+MITHO I agree.. I was watching it going umm noooo I don't think we did it like that lol"
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REPLY
7. shannabanana310, 2016
"Dang, was it 25 years ago? I'm just wondering why all of the old 90s dance names are being recycled with something totally different. I'm glad to see this video though. 👏"
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REPLY
8. SanbaiSan, 2017
"Well, feel free to post your "old-man" version then! :P"
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How to Do the Roger Rabbit | Hip-Hop Dancing
Howcast, Sep 11, 2012
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Selected comments (numbered for referencing purposes only)
1. JurassicClark96, 2014
"Ohhhhh this is the Bobby Brown move from Every Little Step!
Been looking for this forever! Thanks Howcast!"
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2. tracy smith, 2015
"Like Rosie Perez at the start of "Do the Right Thing."
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3. Denise DeniseHuxtable, 2017
"he put some "stank" on it at the end I see you"
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"Stank" is an African American form of the word stink (to smell badly). "Stank" means to "really stink."
"Put some stank on it" means to add your own variations, style, or flair to what you are doing, and in so doing make it better. An relatively oldish African American saying from around the 1970s or so is that a person "added their own flavor to the mix". In the case of dancing, this may mean that you are dancing harder (more energetically) and/or dancing more sensuously. When people are very energetic in their dancing they tend to sweat. When a lot of people in a room dance energetically, they and that room starts to stink (smell funky). "Stank" here is a positive that means the same thing as "funk" (or "funky"). That's why people who sing or dance funky, and music that is funky" are usually considered positives in African American culture.
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REPLY
4. 0e0, 2019
"it's a pretty corny dance nowadays without that....i think she's contractually obligated to give it a bit more credibility
my corny is too strong...wholesome"
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5. Hellofacutie, 2020
"This is the dance move that Oaktown 357 did with MC hammer!"
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Video #2: How to Do the Reebok | Hip-Hop Dancing
Howcast, Sep 21, 2012
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Here's the transcript of this video: https://www.howcast.com/videos/505204-how-to-do-the-reebok-hip-hop-dancing
I'm back with my friends. My friends, my friends. I'm back. We are going to show you a dance called the Reebok.
1985, when Reeboks first came out. Again, another dance named after whatever was popular at that time. Reeboks took over in 1985, I imagine. So this dance is called the Reebok.
We're going to start with the feet first. Right leg, your left, my right. Picking up the right leg, we're going to go in, step down. One, pick it up again, and two, and you're going to do three steps. Right, left, right. Let's try it on this side, and down. Back, down, and left, right, left. Good. So you can already tell your body's rocking a little bit. Just keep that motion.
Let's try it again. Six, seven, eight, and one, two, three, and four, and five, six, seven, and eight.
Now let's add arms. Arms are whatever you want. Some people punch opposite arm and leg, and bring it around. Some people use both arms the whole time. Pick whichever one you like, and do that. You're free to do so. So we have five, slowly with the arms, seven, eight. You want to go away. One, two, three, and four, and five, six, seven, again. And one, two, three, and four, and five, six, and seven, and eight.
Let's try it with music."
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Selected comments (numbered for referencing purposes only)
1. Gemini Blaze, 2012
"Was always wondering what the name was when Will Smith was doing it back in Fresh Prince days..."
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2. Ariana Villegas, 2013
"This step doesn't call Reebok, this step is Cabbage patch!!"
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3. danielle amara, 2013
"yes you need to look deeply in oldskool dictionary reebok is more rambo dance more gang and this is the cabbage patch plz"
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4. Sean Asher, 2014
"nooooooo, this is not the reebok!! old skoolers are laughing hard at this video
sorry, but you guys are doing the cabbage patch."
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REPLY
5. Chocolate _ Deluxe, 2017
"Sean Asher - This is the REEBOK!"
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REPLY
6. Urban Beatz, 2017
"+Phony Braxton no its not"
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7. GLjunior, 2015
"that's the Reebok, the cabbage patch you stand still and move your hands in a stirring motion"
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8. James Kent, 2017
"so I'm guessing this was the cabbage patch and then changed to the Reebok"
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Video #3: How to Do the Cabbage Patch | Hip-Hop Dancing
Howcast, Sep 24, 2012
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Selected comments (numbered for referencing purposes only)
1. Kenpachi, 2012
"this isn't the cabbage patch i know..."
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2. Shakaama, 2012
"i've watched 4 videos already, and this is the closest they get to actually doing the cabbage patch. it's not a 4 count. it's a 2 & 3 count."
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3. meiyin09, 2015
"This is the West Coast Cabbage Patch."
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REPLY
4. Azizi Powell, 2020
"Kenpachi, I showed this video to my daughter and she said this is how she remembers doing the Cabbage Patch (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1980s.)
(We're African American, btw.)"
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5. Mandeep Dhaliwal, 2019
"this isn’t even the real cabbage patch smh..."
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6. Prodigal Son, 2019
"Lol. I love this. I love the way he moves and his expressions. And how he lowkey chased her at the end. I’m over here laughing like a little kid. That was funny"
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7. onecutesweetypie, 2019
"These two are great!!! Awesome tutorial and fun video!! Love it!!"
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