How to Booty Pop

Last Updated: September 20, 2022 References

Ready to shake what your mama gave you on the dance floor, but not sure how to make it pop? Booty popping, also known as twerking, is one of the most popular dance moves right now. Not only is booty popping fun and sexy, it will also give your legs and butt a real work out. Once you master the basic twerk, try some other variations so you can twerk it up like a pro the next time you find yourself on the dance floor.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Learning the Basic Booty Pop

1
Place your hands on your hips. This will help you control which direction your hips are moving.^{[1]
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- Put on comfortable clothing and shoes with traction. While it is definitely possible to booty pop in heels, comfortable shoes with good grip can help you balance.
- It might also help to practice in front of a mirror so you can watch your hips as they move.
2
Place your feet shoulder width apart. Turn your toes out to a 45 degree angle.

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3
Bend your knees. Pretend you are sitting down in a low seat behind you, in a low squat.
- Make sure your knees are over your ankles and there is no pain in your knee joints.
4
Keep your hands on your hip bones. Press with your thumbs to move your hips forward.
- Move your hips forward by pushing your hip bones forward with your thumbs three times.
5
Use your fingers to push your hip bones backward. Now that you’ve got the forward movement down, push your hip bones so they push backward.
- Push your hip bones backward with your fingers three times.
6
Put the forward and backward movements together. Push your hips forward three times and then push your hips backward three times.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Dariusz Horvath-Krol
Professional Ballroom Dancer & Dance Instructor
Expert Interview. 13 September 2021.}
- Make sure you remain in a low squat and your toes are turned out.
7
Try to pop with your hands on your knees. Now that you have the basic hip movements down, it’s time to try booty popping with no hand support on your hips.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Dariusz Horvath-Krol
Professional Ballroom Dancer & Dance Instructor
Expert Interview. 13 September 2021.}
- Get in your low squat and place your hands on your thighs.
- Push your hips forward three times and then push your hips backward three times.
- If you want to emphasize each pop with a “boom!” or “bam!”, go for it.
8
Speed up the booty pops. When you twerk, your hips should be moving to a quick tempo to get a good shake to your hips and really make your booty pop.
- Get down in your low squat, with your toes turned out and your hands on your thighs.
- Arch your lower back and stick your booty out so your hips are moving upward. Don’t start with your back caved in or your hips tucked underneath you.
- Pop your hips forward and then pop your hips backward to a quick tempo or count of 1,2,1,2,1,2.
9
Try to booty pop to music. Once you feel comfortable with the basic booty pop, or twerk, put on some music to try out your new moves.
- While you can twerk to almost any song with a steady beat, it may be best to get in the with electro/dance tracks^{[4]
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- Start with a song with a medium fast tempo and then once you feel comfortable twerking to the beat, move on to a track with a faster tempo.
- It may help to practice by turning to the side view in the mirror so you can watch your hips move backward and forward.
- Get down in your squat, arch your back, place your hands on your thighs and follow the beat to pop your hips forward and backward, forward, and backward.
- As you continue practicing the booty pop, remove your hands from your thighs and hold them out in front of you. Try to pop on double time, moving your hips faster to a song with a faster beat.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Doing the Wiggle Booty Pop

1
Stand with your legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands on your hips.
- It may help to stand in front of a mirror to the side you can watch your hips and booty as they move.
- If you have access to a wall, it may also be helpful to stand in front of the wall for balance.
2
Lean forward 45 degrees. Keep the weight in your toes.
3
Swivel your hips right to left. You can lift your heels to help you move your hips and keep your hands in front of you or against the wall to help you balance as you lean forward and twist your hips.
4
Continue to twist your hips, swiveling them faster and faster. Isolate the bottom half of your body so you are not moving your upper body at all, just your hips, legs, and booty.
- Shift your weight back and forth on your toes, twisting your hips, until you get a nice shake to your booty.
- Turn on some good booty shaking music and try out your new dance move.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Doing the Handstand Booty Pop

1
Stand in front of a wall with your feet shoulder width apart. You should be facing away from the wall. Make sure you have enough wall space to put your legs on the wall.^{[7]
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- Keep in mind this is a more advanced booty pop variation, so be sure to practice the basic booty pop first before trying out this variation.
2
Bend down and place your hands directly in front of you on the floor. Keep your legs slightly bent. Your booty should now be against the wall or a few inches away from the wall.
3
Lean forward and place your weight on your hands. Lift one leg up and crawl it up the wall.
4
Press your leg against the wall and make sure you have a good grip on the wall with your foot. Then, slowly crawl your other leg up the wall. You should now be upside down with both legs against the wall.
- Keep your legs shoulder width apart on the wall.
- Press into your palms to help maintain your balance.
5
Come onto your toes. Using the wall for balance, arch your lower back so your hips move forward and up and then hollow out your lower back so your hips move in and down.
- Continue pushing your hips forward and up and then in and down to get a good upside down booty pop.
6
Speed up the booty pop. Once you feel comfortable twerking upside down, speed up the booty pop and allow gravity to do most of the work for you as you move your hips forward and up and then in and down.
- Put on your favorite booty popping dance track and twerk away, upside down.
7
Come out of the handstand booty pop slowly and carefully. Once you’ve had your fill of upside down booty pops and/or your arms start to get tired from booty shaking, lower one leg down to the ground first and then lower the other leg down to the ground.
- Bend your legs and lift your upper body up slowly so you are back in the standing position.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you get your booty to pop?

Dariusz Horvath-Krol
Professional Ballroom Dancer & Dance Instructor
Dariusz Horvath-Krol is a Professional Ballroom Dancer and Dance Instructor based in New York. With more than 20 years of dance experience, he specializes in ballroom dancing, hip-hop, funk, and ballet. He has also spent the last seven years performing and working with Dancing With The Stars professionals. Dariusz has received full bronze, full silver, and gold awards from The Dance Vision International Dance Association.

Dariusz Horvath-Krol

Professional Ballroom Dancer & Dance Instructor

Expert Answer

Contract your lower back muscles quickly and relax everything else in a way that your pelvis goes back as far as possible. Then, contract your lower abdominal muscles and do a pelvic tilt. Keep repeating this process and you will nail it!
Question

Can I booty pop barefoot?

IncredibleGuinevere

Community Answer

Yes, you can booty pop barefoot. You can do almost anything while barefoot.
Question

How do I know that I am twerking correctly?

Community Answer

Take a video of yourself doing it to see if it looks right.

Warnings

Make sure you never feel any pain in your knee joints as you twerk.

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If your legs start to burn after an extensive booty popping session, don’t be alarmed. Booty popping is actually a very intense workout for your obliques, quads, and glutes^{[9]
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