Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers is an Americandancer and actor known for his role as "Turbo" in the 1984 film Breakin and the sequel '. In both movies he is credited as Boogaloo Shrimp, a name that remains linked to the Hollywood phase of popping, boogaloo and robot dancing, as well as the freestyle art of b-boying. During the height of the popularity of those movies, Chambers, along with his Breakin''' co-star Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quiñones and other dancers from the film, was prominently featured in the 1984 music video for Chaka Khan's song "I Feel for You". As of 2020, Chambers has been working with independent Chill-Hop artist E-Styles and is to release a website, as well as music and YouTube pages, featuring vintage and original footage from his career.
Early life and influences
Born in Wilmington, California, Chambers is the youngest of four. He grew up in a small town, but a community with a diverse mix of ethnic groups and cultures. In 1978, while at junior high, Chambers would see a member of the Samoan American dance group - Blue City Strutters perform; the Blue City Strutters - Danny, Paul, Ted, Jack & Charlie heavily influenced Chambers' style, performing King Tut and domino routines, bringing dance styles from San Jose and San Francisco to South Bay Los Angeles. Initially, he formulated his style of dance through his interest in fantasy and sci-fi television shows, including the work of Ray Harryhausen and other stop-motion experts. He credits his older brother with introducing him to the "moonwalk", a move he would later perfect, and share with pop superstar Michael Jackson as well as his signature style of animated popping. While still a teenager, Chambers' older brother would take him to the Redondo Beach, California pier where he would perform his moves for money. He claims to have earned hundreds of dollars through his street performances. To solve the problem of anonymity, Chambers' sister gave him a jacket that read "Mike a.k.a. Boogaloo Shrimp", his street dancing name. Chambers' dancing would increasingly draw the attention of promoters, and particularly Adolpho "Shabba Doo" Quinones, who was seeking to form a new dance troupe after the breakup of his previous group, The Lockers. Chambers would also meet other popping/dance legends during this time, including Bruno "Poppin' Taco" Falcon and Popin' Pete. Falcon and Chambers would share ideas and styles, building upon their own individual foundations. Both would later be featured in videos and movies, including Breakin'. Chambers enjoys teaching and has been invited as a speaker several times at USC`s Thorton Music School and has spoken at Santa Monica college, the University of Redlands and a surprise visit to Spelman University in Georgia.
Career
Chambers got an early entrée into professional dancing through television commercials, followed by an appearance in the video for Lionel Richie's All Night Long. He made further appearances in Chaka Khan's I Feel For You, Richard Marx' Children of the Night, Stay Q's Give You All My Love, Paula Abdul's Opposites Attract as assistant choreographer and character of MC Skat Kat. In 1985, he co-starred in "Stop the Madness", an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration, featuring several famous musicians, actors and athletes. He also appeared in such films as , Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey as a dancing robot and in the 1999 filmDudley Do-Right. He also appeared as Urkel-Bot in two episodes, "Robo-Nerd" and Robo-Nerd II", of Family Matters. Chambers was the announcer on the kid's show Fun House from 1990 to 1991. In contrast to his style of dancing, he would dance while "rapping" the opening spiel at the start of the show. He appeared in Sugar Ray's 1997 video of the song "Fly" and break danced in the video.
Later career
As of 2014, Chambers was in talks to do a second sequel to the Breakin’ franchise.
