Dance

Meet Manish Pop, a popper who loves getting together to exchange knowledge

Manish is a dancer from Delhi who was part of the top-16 at the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2024 India Finals which took place in Mumbai in April.

Written by Omkar Dhareshwar

4 min readPublished on 18.04.2024 · 11:20 UTC

Manish Pop has been dancing for 16 years and is one of the most respected popping artists in India.

He was recently part of the top-16 that competed at the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2024 India Finals hoping to become the national champion. Manish was eliminated from the competition in the round-of-16 by Nextion from Bhubaneswar. The competition was eventually won by hip-hop dancer T, who will now represent the country at the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2024 World Finals taking place in Mumbai in November.

Manish is reputed for organizing Bharat Jam, one of the biggest independent dance events to take place in India. While he is one of the most well-known names in the Indian dance scene, he says he stays humble by remembering where he started from – doing flips in a park alone because he didn’t really know any other street dancers.

Here he discusses what he loves about popping, memories from his first battle, and much more.

Name: Manish Yadav
Age: 25
City: Delhi
Dancer name: Manish Pop

What does your dancer name mean?

I’ve always had really hard pops. I wanted that to reflect in my dancer name, so that’s why I added ‘Pop’ to my given name, and that’s how everyone knows me.

Are you part of any crew?

I represent two crews – Same Age Crew and Desi Boyz Crew.

Where do you usually practice?

I practice in my house in Delhi.

Could you tell us about how you got started in dance and your journey so far?

I started dancing in 2008; I must’ve been in fourth grade at the time. My journey has been quite fun. Initially I used to just do jumps and flips at the park in the name of dance practice. Then I enrolled in a class and learnt in a studio for a year. Later I attended sessions at Brooklyn Dance Academy and Big Dance Academy. One day, B-Boy Bunny from Rocfresh Crew told me about a battle that was happening in my neighbourhood, and that’s how I started battling.

What is the main street dance style you practice? How or why did you get drawn to this style?

My main dance style is popping. The first time I saw popping was when I saw Kingbolt (Koushal Pradhan) perform, and I was instantly hooked. The muscle control is what drew me to the style.

Aside from your main style, what other street dance styles do you practice?

Apart from popping, I also practice breaking.

Which is your favourite genre of music or a favourite song to dance to?

I love to dance to funk music.

Who are the dancers from the local and international scene who have inspired you?

There are so many Indian dancers who have inspired me; too many for me to name. Internationally, my inspirations have been Slim Boogie, Mr Wiggles, Boogie Frantick, Greenteck, and Hoan.

What do you love most about street dance culture?

I love getting together with the community and exchanging knowledge with everyone I meet. The culture supports that.

What do you remember of your first-ever dance battle?

My first battle was at Boogie Down in 2011. I remember there was a fight that broke out about who would be the winner, and I loved that competitiveness!

What has been your greatest achievement in dance so far?

Organising Bharat Jam. I’m proud that we’ve successfully conducted five editions of Bharat Jam.

Is there any one stage, event, competition that will be a dream achieved if you perform there?

I’d love to perform in the popping category of Freestyle Session, which takes place in USA.

Is there a particular goal or target you have set yourself in your dance career?

No particular goal.

Any dancer across the world that you want to collaborate with?

Hoan and Slim Boogie

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