Break-dancing, also called "B-boying" and "breaking," is an athletic hip-hop dance that emerged in the Bronx, in the 1970s, then exploded onto the national and international scene, along with the growth of rap music and graffiti art, in the 1980s. The acrobatic moves incorporated in break-dancing include footwork done while upright or while supporting your body weight on your hands, as well as head spins, back spins and energetic tumbling moves, with names like the windmill, the turtle and the flare. Break-dancing is often performed by one dancer at a time, out in front of the other dancers awaiting their turns in a horizontal line.
From the opposite coast of the United States, California, locking originated. At the time it was first done, in the 1960s, the dance was known as Campbellocking, a nod to the style's originator, Don Campbell. Locking is characterized by the dancer continually locking --- or freezing --- his body into position while performing his moves. After a short hesitation that lasts about 1 second, the dancer resumes his energetic movements. While a hip-hop dance, locking is often also performed to other types of music, such as funk and disco.
Although it is a different style of hip-hop dancing, popping is often misunderstood as being the same style as locking. Popping is similar to locking, in that both styles originated in California. However, while locking involves the dancer freezing his entire body, then resuming motion, popping involves the dancer contracting particular muscles, then quickly relaxing them. This produces the illusion of a pop --- or snap --- that the dancer can move around his body. A dancer, for example, may initiate a "pop" in his fingers, then his wrist, elbow and up to his shoulder.
A basic dance in hip-hop is the wave, which is very similar to popping, in that the illusion of a "wave" can travel up a dancer's arms, legs or through his entire body. The wave is a dance style considered to fall under the general term of popping. The basic difference between popping and waving is that, while in popping, the dancer employs ticking-type moves, these movements are replaced in the wave by moves that are almost totally relaxed, and rolling.