Breakdancing first came to New Zealand via TV, Movies and American Samoa through Western Samoa in the early 1980s. One can see the influence of Samoan culture in New Zealand's appropriation of breakdancing specifically through language. The term "bopping," for example, comes from a Samoan pronunciation of popping, one of the elements in breakdance, where a dancer will move in a stilted fashion, isolating their limbs robotically.Kopytko, Tania. "Breakdance as an Identity Marker in New Zealand." Yearbook for Traditional Music Vol. 18 (1986): 21-28. After its initial period of popularity, breakdancing fell out of fashion for most of the 1990s. Late in that decade it underwent a revival, and breakdancing stages can be found at events such as the Aotearoa Hip-Hop Summit.
