returned as Ozone in Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984).
“Breakin’ was more than just a dance film, it launched a cultural revolution,” he said in a 2014 interview. “In that way, there is no other feeling quite like it. … I knew it was going to be a hit.”
Quiñones’ father was Puerto Rican and his mother was African American. “When I was three or four years old, I used to dance for my family at parties and holidays for change,” he said. “I grew up in a mixed household … so I would listen to James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Tito Puente, all in the same moment.”
His early influences ranged from Cab Calloway, Fred Astaire, and Ray Bolger to James Brown and Jackie Wilson.
You May Also Like
After his mother brought him and his sister, Fawn, to Los Angeles, Quiñones was dancing in clubs around the Crenshaw strip when he changed his street dance name from Sir Lance-a-Lock to Shabba-Dabba-Do-Bop, eventually shortened to Shabba-Doo at the suggestion of Greg “Campbellock Jr.” Pope.
With The Lockers, he opened for Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall and presented an award at the Grammys with Franklin.
Quiñones also appeared in such films as Xanadu (1980), Tango & Cash (1989), Lambada (1990) and choreographed the 2007 film Kickin’ It Old Skool, starring Jamie Kennedy and Maria Menounos. He had worked with Kennedy on the 2006 MTV series Blowin’ Up.
Survivors include his sister, a daughter, and a son.
You May Also Like
Asked in the 2014 interview what was the biggest lesson he had learned, Quiñones replied: “If I could tell anyone out there one thing, it’s that working on your craft is great, having the desire is great, passion is great, but the match that ignites it all is education. Go to school, know your craft, know how it works, and be in control of your destiny.”
