Remembering Adolfo ‘Shabba Doo’ Quiñones: Actor Died at 65

It’s a safe bet that a lot of people are going to hear the name Adolfo ‘Shabba Doo’ Quinones and say ‘who?’, which will only make those that did know the actor and dancer shake their heads and wonder where they went wrong. One shouldn’t feel too bad since Adolfo’s importance stemmed more from the dancing and choreography he was responsible for over the years, while his acting talent wasn’t misused, but wasn’t utilized to its full extent, his time spent as a dancer and choreographer were well-spent since he was one of the few that were responsible for the emergence of locking, which a lot of people should know by is the act of stopping and ‘locking’ part of your body in place while still using the rest to move. Adolfo was one of those that helped to make the dancing scene what it is today, and despite not having a lot of huge roles as an actor he was someone that, if you had the chance to watch him, wouldn’t be forgotten. So far a cause of death hasn’t been determined, but hopefully many won’t be leaping to conclusions since he did test negative for COVID-19, which makes his passing at the age of 65 a little hard to understand. It’s easy to think that something else was up, but until someone is willing to talk a lot of folks are likely to say what they will.

There’s likely quite a bit that people who followed Adolfo’s career can say about the man since a lot of us have idols we remember from our younger years that we’ve continued to adore as we’ve grown up, or at least still have a few fond feelings for since letting them go hasn’t been that easy. Those that remember when breakdancing was one of the biggest things around are likely to recall Adolfo’s contributions to the style since he was front and center to be noticed as he appeared on Soul Train a number of times and made a couple of movies that were popular in their time. While that fame obviously slipped as time went on, people no doubt held onto the memories and made certain that they wouldn’t forget him or anyone from that time period. But it does feel as though asking anyone in the modern era who Adolfo was and what he did is bound to be met with a blank stare since dancing has undergone a lot of changes since his day, as he likely knew since he was a choreographer for a good part of his life as well, showing that he could remain versatile in his career and pass on some of what he’d learned and mastered over the years.

In a way, it’s like watching an actor become a director since choreography says quite a bit about someone’s style, character, and what they feel passionate about. The job of a choreographer is one that’s pretty impressive when it’s really understood and looked at since not only are they doing what others want of them and creating dance moves and entire sequences that are going to make something look even better, they’re putting their stamp on that piece as well. Choreography is akin to writing in a way since both have to possess some type of structure if they’re to be fully understood, and both really need someone at the helm that knows where to take each and every move and how one sequence will fit with another. Some might want to think that dance choreography is all about putting funky moves together to make them appear a little more impressive, and they’re not entirely wrong since putting moves together is a part of what choreography is about. But there’s a little more to it than that, as there’s more of a story to tell with the art of dance than to just display the funky type of moves that one can perform and put together in an impressive sequence. A good choreographer will be valued in show business since they’ll do as they’re asked and come up with a routine that will be impressive and entertain the audience, while a great choreographer will come up with something that will push boundaries and show a great deal of innovation as well as heart when it’s all said and done.

Adolfo was very good at what he did and had a lot of heart when it came to his profession. While he did kind of get stuck back in the past few decades in terms of his career, one can’t deny that he was still effective moving forward since he continued to push forward as an actor and as a choreographer. It’s easy to be inspired by someone that didn’t throw in the towel when their fame started to wane. Rest in peace sir, you’ll be missed.