The Most Popular Dance Moves Through the Decades

Since Michael Jackson’s moonwalk in ’83, Los Del Rio’s Macarena in ’94, Beyonce’s Single Ladies in ‘08 and many others, people have been tapping deep into their creative minds to try and come up with the next monumental dance move.

In 2012, the dance hit was Gangnam Style, created by South Korean pop artist Psy, and involved a silly horse-riding dance that quickly became popular worldwide. The common theme across these decades of dance is that once popularized, learning the moves became a must.

Interestingly, even dances that are less about specific moves and focus more on matching the beat of the song catch on just as powerfully. For example, 2013’s Harlem Shake lets dancers personalize their movement, as long as they start when the main bass line drops.

Dance is a pretty fascinating thing, isn’t it? Ranging from moves with finesse to simply capturing the rhythm of the music, the love of dance never goes out of style. These modern dances imitate many of the moves and styles of ballroom dancing as well – from the highly stylized Waltz to the free flowing Foxtrot.

While you decide what kind of dance you’d like to learn, play along with us! Take a look back in time and see if you can fill in the missing lyrics for these famous song lines that were followed by even more famous dance moves:

DANCE TRENDS THROUGH THE YEARS QUIZ:
A. “Stop, it’s ______ time” -MC ______B. “Walk Like an ________” -The Bangles

C. “Come on, _____. Let your body move to the music” -Madonna

D. “Slide to the left. Take it back now y’all. One ___ this time!” -DJ Casper

E. “Don’t tell my _____. My achy breaky _____. I just don’t think he’d understand” -Billy Ray Cyrus

F. “Crank that ______ ___” -______ ___

G. “_____ _______ in the house tonight. Everybody just have a good time!” -LMFAO

H. “You do the _____ _____ and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about!” –Charles Mack, Taft Baker and Larry Laprise

What’s your first memory of a favorite dance trend catching on?

ANSWER KEY:
A. Hammer B. Egyptian C. Vogue D. hop E. heart F. Soulja Boy G. Party rockers H. hokey pokey