Product Code Database
Novelty and fad dances are which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance crazes.
In 1965, Latin group Cannibal and the Headhunters had a hit with the 1962 Chris Kenner song "Land of a Thousand Dances" which included the names of such dances. One list of Fad Dances compiled in 1971 named over ninety dances.Encyclopedia of Social Dance. Albert and Josephine Butler. 1971 & 1975. Albert Butler Ballroom Dance Service. New York, NY. Table of Contents in 1971 edition. Standardized versions of were published in dance and teen magazines, often choreography to popular songs. Songs such as "The Loco-Motion" were specifically written with the intention of creating a new dance and many more pop hits, such as "Mashed Potato Time" by Dee Dee Sharp, were written to cash in recent successful novelties.
In the early 1970s, disco spawned a succession of dance fads including the Bump, the Hustle, and the Y.M.C.A. This continued in the 1980s with the popular song "Walk like an Egyptian", in the 1990s with the "Macarena", in the 2000s with "The Ketchup Song" and in the 2010s with "Gangnam Style". Contemporary sources for dance crazes include and film.
There are fad dances which are meant to be danced individually as Solo dance, others are , and yet others are danced in groups. Some of them were of freestyle dance type, i.e., there were no particular step patterns and they were distinguished by the style of the dance movement (Twist, Shake, Swim, Pony, Hitch hike). Only some have remained to the modern day-era, sometimes only as the name of a step (Suzie Q, Shimmy) or of a style (Mashed Potato) in a recognized dance. Fad dances are in fashion at the time of their popularity. They come to be associated with a specific time period, and can evoke particular forms of nostalgia when revived.
| The Grizzly Bear |
| Charleston |
| Duckwalk |
| Carioca |
| Suzie Q |
| The Lambeth Walk |
| Thunder Clap |
| Conga |
| Hokey cokey |
| The Chicken | |
| Bunny Hop | |
| Sock Hop | |
| Madison | |
| The Stroll | |
| Hully Gully |
| Shimmy |
| Twist |
| Hasil Adkins |
| The Pony |
| The Loco-Motion |
| Martian Hop |
| Mashed Potato |
| The Monster Mash |
| The Swim |
| Watusi |
| Popeye Dance |
| Chicken Dance |
| Hitch Hike |
| Monkey |
| Letkajenkka (aka Letkajenka, Letkiss, Letka-Enka) |
| The Frug |
| Jerk |
| The Freddie |
| The Mouse |
| Limbo |
| Batusi |
| The Shake |
| Sprinkler dance |
| Rufus Thomas |
| Hustle |
| Time Warp |
| Bump |
| Tragedy |
| Grinding |
| Car Wash |
| Electric Slide |
| Robot |
| The Running Man |
| Y.M.C.A. |
| Moonwalk |
| Cotton-Eyed Joe |
| Harlem Shake |
| Agadoo (aka Agadou) |
| Superman (aka Gioca Jouer) |
| The Safety |
| Thriller |
| Hasil Adkins |
| Wig-Wam Bam |
| Cabbage Patch |
| Da Butt |
| Lambada |
| Carlton Banks (Alfonso Riberio) |
| Hammertime (MC Hammer) |
| The Humpty Dance (Digital Underground) |
| Vogue (Madonna) |
| The Stonk (Hale & Pace) |
| The Urkel (Jaleel White) |
| Achy Breaky (Line dance) |
| Macarena (Los del Rio) |
| Saturday Night |
| Tic, Tic Tac |
| La Bomba (not to be confused with Bomba) |
| The Roger Rabbit |
| Cha Cha Slide |
| Algorithm March |
| The Ketchup Song (Las Ketchup) |
| Dutty Wine |
| Caramelldansen |
| Chicken Noodle Soup (Webstar) |
| Daggering |
| Laffy Taffy |
| Lean wit It, Rock wit It (aka Snap dance) |
| Shoulder Lean |
| Crank That (Soulja Boy) |
| Cupid Shuffle |
| Single Ladies (Beyoncé) |
| Jerkin' (brought to mainstream by New Boyz and Audio Push) |
| Stanky Legg |
| Hoedown Throwdown (Miley Cyrus) |
| Dougie | |
| The Creep (The Lonely Island) | |
| Wobble (VIC) | |
| Gangnam Style (PSY) | |
| The Smurf | |
| Twerking | |
| Harlem shake | |
| Nae Nae | |
| Hit Dem Folks | |
| Dab | |
| Hit the Quan | |
| BlocBoy JB | |
| The Floss | |
| Skibidi (Little Big) | |
| 2019 | Lottery/Renegade Dance (TikTok) |
| 2021 | Griddy |
| 2023 | Hot to Go! (Chappell Roan) |
|
|
