Turfing
Also known as: Turf Dancing, T.U.R.F., Gigging
History & Cultural Context
Turfing is Oakland's storytelling street dance — fluid, illusion-heavy and built on narrative. Its roots reach back to Bay Area boogaloo and strutting of the 1960s and 70s, and its immediate ancestor is the informal 'gigging' West Oakland teenagers in the Lower Bottoms were doing by the mid-1990s. In 2000 the Los Angeles-born dancer Jeriel Bey moved to West Oakland, met local dancer Demetrius Zigler, and gave the form a name: T.U.R.F., for 'Taking Up Room on the Floor.' Bey organised the first turf competition at Laney College in late 2004 and founded the crew The Architeckz, who appeared in Keak da Sneak's 'Super Hyphy' video as turfing became the unofficial dance of the hyphy era alongside E-40's 'Tell Me When to Go.' Battles at East Oakland's Youth UpRising centre from 2005 moved the scene's centre of gravity across town. The vocabulary combines gliding, waving, tutting, contortion and bone-breaking with mime — dancers act out scenes rather than only display moves. In 2009 filmmaker Yoram Savion of YAK Films shot the Turf Feinz performing 'RIP RichD' in the rain on an East Oakland corner, mourning D-Real's brother; the video went global.
Cultural Significance
Turfing is bound to Oakland's neighbourhoods — 'turfs' — and to the hyphy era, and it has consistently functioned as memorial and social commentary, addressing police violence and the deaths of young Black Oaklanders. Youth UpRising's battles made it a youth-development pipeline as much as a scene.
Characteristic Movement & Technique
Glides and slides across the ground, arm and body waving, tutting, joint contortion and bone-breaking, plus foundation steps including the two-step, Brookfield glides and tsunamis, all sequenced to tell a story with a beginning and an end.
Partnering Dynamics
Solo in a circle, but frequently sequenced as a crew relay in which one dancer's exit sets up the next dancer's entrance — the structure that gives filmed turfing pieces their continuous, hand-off feel.
Competitive Context
Battled at neighbourhood turf competitions since Bey's first Laney College event in 2004 and at Youth UpRising from 2005; Johnny 'Johnny 5' Lopez founded Turf Inc. in 2012 as the main battle production company, and Oakland has hosted Red Bull Dance Your Style.
Regional Variations
West Oakland's Lower Bottoms and East Oakland maintain distinct styles and lineages, with the scene's centre shifting eastward in the mid-2000s; nearby Bay Area cities blend turfing with older strutting and boogaloo traditions.
Common Misconceptions
Turfing is not krumping and did not come from Los Angeles — it is an Oakland form with Bay Area boogaloo roots. Nor was it invented by the 'RIP RichD' video: that 2009 film made an existing decade-old scene visible, and its makers stress it came out of real grief, not choreography for the camera.
Peak Popularity
Signature Figures
- Jeriel Bey
- Demetrius Zigler
- Yoram Savion
- Johnny "Johnny 5" Lopez
- D-Real
- Alonzo "Turf" Jones
Notable Codifiers
- The Architeckz
- Turf Feinz
- YAK Films
- Turf Inc.
- Youth UpRising
Dance Lineage
Turfing Music & Tempo
Drawn from 18 Turfing tracks in the LODance music library.
Example tracks at practice tempo
- Glamorous Lifestyle — The Jacka99 BPM
- same squad — P-Lo96 BPM
- Blow the Whistle — Too $hort100 BPM
- Hyphy Touch — The Federation96 BPM
- U and Dat (feat. T-Pain & Kandi Girl) — E-40100 BPM
- Put Me on Somethin' — P-Lo96 BPM
Turfing on screen
Films and television where Turfing appears, with the sequences worth watching for.
This site uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.
What to Wear
Attire guidance for Turfing and other Hip-Hop & Street Dance dances. Each card below is sized to the moment — class, practice, social, or competition — because the wardrobe shifts as the stakes do.
Reading the cards
In Class
Street clothes you can sweat in and move fully in: joggers, sweats or loose jeans in thin denim, a tee or hoodie, layers you can shed. The one hard rule at most studios is a dedicated indoor sneaker that has never been worn outside — grit tracked in from the street scratches marley and wrecks the floor for everyone. For breaking, add a flat vulcanized sole (Sambas, Chucks, Gazelles) rather than a cushioned running shoe, cover your knees and elbows, and skip slick nylon or heavy zippers that catch on the floor. Long hair tied back, and take rings and bracelets off before floorwork.
Social Dancing
Jams, cyphers and club nights have no dress code — you dance in what you would wear on the street, and that is the point of the form. Practical constraints only: clean sneakers you can pivot and drop in, nothing so oversized that a judge or the circle can't read your movement, and pockets emptied before you go to the floor. Bring a second shirt if you plan to be in the cypher all night.
Competition
Battles and championships (Red Bull BC One, Juste Debout, World of Dance, the Olympic breaking format) generally have no prescribed costume — dancers wear their own street look or crew kit, and personal style is part of what gets judged. Practical rules do apply: a visible competitor bib or number, nothing that can fall off mid-round, and shoes that won't mark the stage. Breakers competing in power moves usually add a spin beanie or headspin cap and taped wrists.
Shoes
Flat, thin, minimally cushioned soles — vulcanized rubber rather than a built-up foam or air heel. Adidas Sambas and Gazelles, Converse Chuck Taylors, Puma Suedes and Vans are the perennial choices because you can feel the floor through them and pivot on the ball of the foot without the sole grabbing. Running shoes are the common beginner mistake: the raised heel and aggressive tread lock the foot mid-turn and blunt every slide and glide. Whichever pair you choose, keep it indoor-only.
In Practice
Training alone or with a crew sits between class and battle — wear what you would battle in, so you know how it moves before it counts. Fitted enough to read your own lines in the mirror while drilling isolations, since popping and locking are invisible inside an oversized hoodie, with the hoodie back on between rounds. Breakers add knee pads and a long sleeve under the top for floor sessions, and empty their pockets: keys and a phone in a pocket are the classic cause of a bruised hip.
Common Pitfalls
- ✗Wearing the shoes you walked in on — street grit scratches marley and most studios will stop you at the door.
- ✗Cushioned running shoes for breaking or footwork: the tread grabs on turns and the raised heel kills ground feel.
- ✗Clothing so oversized that isolations and body lines disappear — the teacher and the judges cannot see what you are doing.
- ✗Attempting headspins or windmills without a spin cap or padding.
- ✗Keys, phone or a belt buckle still on you when you go to the floor.
Price Range
- Budget: You likely already own the clothes. An indoor-only sneaker at roughly $60–100 (Chuck Taylors, Puma Suede) is the only real purchase.
- Mid: Adidas Samba or Gazelle around $100–120, knee pads $20–40, a spin beanie roughly $25–50.
- Premium: A purpose-built spin cap (Spincontrol and similar) at roughly $60–100, wrist supports, and multiple indoor pairs rotated for different surfaces. Beyond that the money goes into workshops and travel to jams, not gear.
Key Terms
- Vulcanized sole
- Thin, flexible rubber sole bonded flat to the upper — gives ground feel and a predictable pivot, unlike a cushioned running sole.
- Spin cap
- Padded cap or doubled beanie worn for headspins and halos; protects the scalp and reduces friction and hair loss.
- Floor burn
- Friction abrasion from footwork and floor rocks — the reason breakers wear long sleeves and durable fabrics rather than thin jersey.
- Indoor-only sneakers
- A pair that never goes outside; grit carried in from the street scratches marley and ruins the floor for the whole studio.
- Crew kit
- Matching or coordinated crew clothing worn at battles — identity rather than costume, and never required of an individual entrant.
Quick Tips
- •Suede-soled shoes allow controlled sliding and pivoting — essential for most partner dances.
- •Avoid rubber soles on dance floors; they grip too much and can cause knee injuries.
- •Bring a separate pair of clean shoes for the dance floor to keep it in good condition.
Recommended Gear for Turfing
Essential equipment and apparel selected for dancers learning Turfing.
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Sources & Further Reading
Cultural & Historical Context
Turfing emerged from Oakland, California, USA during 1995—present day. Understanding the cultural roots, musical traditions, and social circumstances of this era enriches appreciation for the dance's characteristics and significance.
Formative Influences
Codifiers & Standardizers:
The Architeckz, Turf Feinz, YAK Films, Turf Inc., Youth UpRising
Signature Movement Vocabulary:
Jeriel Bey, Demetrius Zigler, Yoram Savion, Johnny "Johnny 5" Lopez, D-Real, Alonzo "Turf" Jones
Primary Source Documents
The Library of Dance contains public-domain primary sources for dance history. Copyrighted modern syllabi are indexed with purchase links to their respective copyright owners. Search by dance name or codifier to discover primary source documents.
Last reviewed: September 2026 — This dance profile synthesizes historical research, cultural documentation, and contemporary practice knowledge to provide authoritative context.
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Browse the gallery →Works from the wider Hip-Hop & Street Dance tradition — we have not yet identified enough that depict Turfing specifically.
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