David Li | Lariat Photographer
By Alyssa Maxwell
Reporter
Wanted: People who love to dance. Poppers, Lockers and Breakers is a hip-hop organization — the only one of its kind at Baylor — that has been dancing on campus at the McLane Student Life Center for three years.
“Dancing is freedom [where] I can let loose and be myself,” Nacogdoches sophomore Brittany Epps, secretary for Poppers, Lockers and Breakers, said.
The group’s purpose is “to promote Baylor unity and spirit throughout the campus.”
Atlanta junior Preston Blackburn, treasurer for the group, said the name Poppers, Lockers and Breakers indicates three different styles of dancing.
“Poppers isolate different body parts, lockers tense their body and breakers are what you see on TV spinning their head on the ground,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn said the group’s founder, 2011 Baylor alumna Cindy Adibe, wanted its name to encompass a wide range of hip-hop-style dancing.
“Most people think hip-hop is one-dimensional, but it’s not,” Blackburn said.
The approximate 45 members call the group PLB for short. The organization consists of two groups: a performance group and a basic membership group.
“The performance group takes more time and dedication, [but] there are no auditions to get in the group,” Blackburn said.
The performance group is made up of 13 people who get together outside of meeting times to rehearse.
The group performs at various locations in Waco and at Baylor.
“We’ve performed at Late Night at the SLC, African Student Extravaganza and will perform this Saturday during the opening of a play,” Epps said.
The basic membership group is made up of those who come to the meetings just to dance. This group does not perform outside of the SLC.
“[Dancing] is just an expression and is no different than an artist or singer convey[ing] emotion,” Blackburn said.
Although it is the only hip-hop group at Baylor, it is expanding their musical horizons into other genres.
“[We] dance to mostly hip-hop, but we’re trying to venture into new genres like dubstep and popular songs from our generation,” Epps said.
Membership is limited to Baylor students and children of faculty, because the SLC requires students and faculty to present their ID card upon entering.
“The youngest member is 14 years old,” Epps said. “[That member] is a child of a professor here at Baylor.”
Anyone can show up on a Friday and just dance, Blackburn and Epps said. No skills are required or needed.
“We like to incorporate different styles and bring hip-hop to the forefront,” Blackburn said.
If there are groups looking to learn a choreographed dance, Poppers, Lockers and Breakers will teach them, Epps said.
The group’s meetings are held from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays in the Bearobics room on the third floor of the SLC. Epps said dues are $5 per semester.
