‘The world has lost a legend today’

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Dance pioneer Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones has passed away at the age of 65.

Musician Toni Basil, who was his close friend and collaborator, broke the sad news on Wednesday, which Yahoo Entertainment has independently confirmed. Basil did not disclose his cause of death. Quiñones’ team has not yet responded to Yahoo’s request for comment.

Quiñones and Basil were two of the original members of the Lockers, the influential 1970s dance troupe that created and popularized the lock style of dance. They performed from everything Saturday Night Live to Disneyland to Soul Train.

But Quiñones was perhaps best known for his appearances in the hit 1984 dance film Hack’ and the sequel, Breakin ‘2: Electric Boogaloo.

In June, the influential dancer was one of the few cast members from those films to reunite and look back on the legacy of the cult classics that have long been loved by audiences, though not so much by critics.

‘I didn’t really care Breakin ‘2, ”Said Quiñones at the virtual event hosted by Yahoo Entertainment (see below). He explained that he felt the story “ moved more to a cartoonish point of view. ” He also hinted that a third movie was in the works. “I’ve been negotiating with people who can help make the film,” he said, outlining the premise: “In today’s world, the king of street dancing should be primarily a woman. We hope not to recapture what we did before, but to do something much bigger. ”

Quiñones was also a respected choreographer who collaborated with and danced alongside the likes of Lionel Richie and Madonna.

He started dancing at a young age “just at parties and stuff,” he told the paper in his hometown, the Chicago Tribune, in August 1987. “My mother used to throw me like a fighting hen. “Go out and dance for Mommy,” she says. And they gave me a small cup of wine to get me started. That’s how it all started. “

Quiñones explained that he felt he had developed into a good dancer by the time he was just a teenager.

“I wasn’t really good at sports or anything, and I wasn’t good at basketball, but I could cut a rug at a dance party,” he said. “I could knock, and then we did that in Chicago.”

Earlier this month, when it was announced that breakdancing would become an Olympic sport, Quiñones spoke to Yahoo about his mixed feelings. “Street dance is a personal journey for most of us,” he said. “How are you going to get these judges to judge that?”

He said he feared that “what we had to overcome to get to this Olympic moment” would be lost, as well as “the taste, personality and spontaneity” of breaking. “That’s just another version of gymnastics,” he says, “unless you have the people out there who really understand and understand the balance that has to take place.”

The day before he died, the artist told his social media followers that he felt better after a cold. He also shared his relief after testing negative for COVID-19.

After Quiñones’ death, his famous friends and others paid tribute.

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