For teens, the dances have become a part of life. Members of Stajez say they do them in their school hallways, after school, and during breaks in their dance practice.
"You'll be in the middle of a ballet class and they're doing the Superman," says Haynes-Cardwell.
Teens learn new moves in a variety of ways. When Briana Brown, 16, wanted to add one of the most popular new dances, the Superman, to her repertoire she looked to fellow Stajez members Jasmine Dyer, 14, and Charae Hemingway, 14. First, Brown watched them do the dance several times. Then she got behind them and began doing it herself.
"There's always one person who knows all that stuff," says Williams. "You can learn it from your friends."
Or a myriad of other resources. Brown also went online to learn the Superman - Soulja Boy helpfully uploaded an instructional video on how to do the dance. Hemingway learns new dances by watching the MTV show Dances From Tha Hood. Or she discovers new ones when she and her family visit out-of-state relatives.
Even with the Internet helping to spread trends faster, the teens say Boston woefully trails behind on the dance front. The dances often originate in the South, usually Atlanta, or New York City. Although Fofana knew the Aunt Jackie, some of his fellow Stajez members had never heard of it.
"It gets old" in other places, says Fofana, "and then it comes here and gets hot."
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