Novelty and fad dances

Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them may get longer-lasting life. They are also called dance fads or dance crazes.

"Dance craze" redirects here. For the documentary film, see Dance Craze.

Dancing Twist, Berlin, 17 May 1964

Fad dances

As the pop music market exploded in the late 1950s, dance fads were commercialized and exploited. From the 1950s to the 1970s, new dance fads appeared almost every week. Many were popularized (or commercialized) versions of new styles or steps created by African-American dancers who frequented the clubs and discothèques in major U.S. cities like New York, Philadelphia and Detroit. Among these were the Madison, "The Swim", the "Mashed Potato", "The Twist", "The Frug" (pronounced /frʊɡ/), "The Watusi", "The Shake" and "The Hitch hike". Many 1950s and 1960s dance crazes had animal names, including "The Chicken" (not to be confused with the Chicken Dance), "The Pony" and "The Dog".

In 1965, the Mexican-American 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.[1] Standardized versions of dance moves were published in dance and teen magazines, often choreographed 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 exploit recent successful novelties.

In the early 1970s the disco spawned a succession of dance fads including the Bump, the Hustle, and the YMCA. 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 music videos and movies.

There are fad dances which are meant to be danced individually as solo, others are partner dances, and yet others are danced in groups. Some of them were of freestyle 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 survived to the present day, 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.

Notable novelty and fad dances

Year Dance 1909 The Grizzly Bear 1926 Charleston 1930s Duckwalk 1933 Carioca 1936 Suzie Q 1937 The Lambeth Walk 1940 Thunder Clap 1941 Conga mid-1940s Hokey Pokey 1950s Bomba 1950s The Funky Chicken 1952 Bunny Hop 1957 The Hop 1957 The Meatstick 1958 Madison 1958 The Stroll 1959 Hully Gully 1960 Shimmy 1960 Twist 1961 The Chicken Walk 1961 Pony 1962 The Gravy ("On My Mashed Potato") 1962 The Loco-Motion 1962 Martian Hop 1962 Mashed Potato 1962 The Monster Mash 1962 The Swim 1962 Watusi 1963 Chicken Dance 1963 Hitch hike 1963 Monkey 1964 The Frug 1964 Jerk 1965 The Freddie 1965 Limbo 1966 Batusi 1966 The Shake

Year Dance 1970s Sprinkler 1971 Penguin 1972 Hustle 1973 Time Warp 1975 Bump 1975 Tragedy mid-1970s Grinding 1976 Car Wash 1976 Electric Slide 1976 Robot 1977 The Running Man 1978 Y.M.C.A. 1979 Little Apple 1980s Moonwalk 1980 Cotton-Eyed Joe 1981 Harlem Shake 1982 The Safety 1983 Lambada 1983 Thriller 1986 The Hunch 1987 Cabbage Patch 1988 Da Butt 1990s The Carlton 1990s Locomía 1990 Boot Scootin' Boogie 1990 Do the Bartman 1990 Hammer 1990 The Humpty 1990 Vogue 1991 The Urkel 1992 Achy Breaky Heart (Line dance) 1992; 1994; 1996 Macarena 1994 Saturday Night 1997 Thizzle 1998 The Roger Rabbit 1998 Tootsee Roll

Year Dance 2000 Cha Cha Slide 2002 Algorithm March 2002 The Ketchup Song 2003 Dutty Wine 2004 Lean Back 2005 Letkajenkka (a. k. a. Letkajenka, Letkiss, Letka-Enka) 2006 Chicken Noodle Soup 2006 Daggering 2006 Laffy Taffy 2006 Lean wit it, Rock wit it (a. k. a. Snap dance) 2006 Shoulder Lean 2007 Crank That 2007 Cupid Shuffle 2007 Dougie 2008 Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) 2009 Jerkin' 2009 Stanky Legg 2011 The Creep 2011 Wobble 2012 Gangnam Style 2012 The Smurf 2013 Twerking 2014 Nae Nae 2015 Dab 2015 Hit the Quan 2015 Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) 2017 Dame Tu Cosita 2017 Shoot 2018 The Floss 2018 Level Up 2018 Skibidi 2019 The Git Up 2020 Toosie Slide 2020 Laxed Siren Beat See also Outline of dance for a list of general dance topics. Summer hit List of specific dances for a general, noncategorized index of dances References Encyclopedia of Social Dance. Albert and Josephine Butler. 1971 & 1975. Albert Butler Ballroom Dance Service. New York, NY. Table of Contents in 1971 edition. External links Streetswing.com's Dance History Archives hosts a large information base about more than thousand dances. Dance Crazes of the 50s & 60s - by Dr. Frank Hoffmann sixtiescity - 60s Dance and Dance Crazes Go-Go Dancing - Fad and Novelty Dances from the 1960s at Little Miss Go-Go!