Robot

The robot is an illusionary street dance created in 1967 style that attempts to imitate a dancing robot. Roboting gained fame after Michael Jackson used the dance when he performed "Dancing Machine" with his brothers and during his solo career. As long as the illusion of being a robot is maintained, it is considered the robot, which means there’s a lot of variation to this dance.

The robot’s roots are in mime, and mime Charles “Robot” Washington was the first to pair the move to funk music. Robotics, refers to the dance’s linkage to “popping” which is a form of breakdancing. Roboting has also been likened to the jazz-era folk dance of puppeting (a style also appreciated in some colors of experimental ballet), whereby the dancer would emulate the mechanical movements of a simple musical box doll.

In Action

This video illustrates just how captivating Charles "Robot" Washington was when he performed his signature move. This is a compilation of his dancing on the show Soul Train.