Fad dances are dances which are characterized by a short burst of popularity, while Novelty dances typically have a longer-lasting popularity based on their being characteristically humourous or humour-invoking, as well as the sense of uniqueness which they have. A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance (from Old French dance, further history unknown) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... See also: popularity. ... Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the ability or quality of people, objects or situations to evoke feelings of amusement in other people. ... In predicate logic and technical fields that depend on it, uniqueness quantification, or unique existential quantification, is an attempt to formalise the notion of something being true for exactly one thing, or exactly one thing of a certain type. ...

Fad dances

These are also called "dance crazes". Dancing style fads have always been a part of social dancing, sometimes gliding smoothly into tradition after their "newness" has faded, and sometimes simply fading away into oblivion. Dances such as the waltz, jitterbug, or the Charleston were once fads, that have become a part of dance tradition. Herd behaviour is the term used to describe situations in which the individuals of any particular group react coherently. ... The waltz is a dance in 3/4 time, done primarily in closed position, the commonest basic figure of which is a full turn in two measures using three steps per measure. ... The Jitterbug is a swing dance, a subset of Lindy Hop, with an emphasis on 6-count moves and fast spins. ... A USPS stamp from the Celebrate the Century series: Flappers Doing the Charleston by John Held Jr. ...

In modern times the rate in which new dances ("fads") are introduced seems to be much faster and more often. This is certainly spurred by modern communication improvements (printed media, radio, movies, television, internet).

During the 1960s and 1970s new dances appeared almost every week, often choreographed to popular songs ("Mashed Potato Time" by Dee Dee Sharp, "Freddy (Freddie)", the "Twist"). Their steps were often printed in dance magazines. Dance crazes have continued into the 1980s with "YMCA", and the 1990s with "Macarena". Contemporary sources for dance crazes include music videos and movies. The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... A week is a unit of time longer than a day and shorter than a month. ... Choreography literally dance-writing, also known as dance composition), is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... This page indexes the individual year in music pages. ... Dee Dee Sharp was born Dione LaRue in Philadelphia Pennsylvania on September 9, 1945. ... Printing is an industrial process for reproducing copies of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. ... A collection of magazines A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles. ... The 1980s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... Members of the grounds crew of Yankee stadium pause to do the YMCA dance. ... The 1990s in its most obvious sense refers to the years 1990 to 1999. ... Macarena is a song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. ... A music video (also video clip, promo) is a short film or video meant to present a visual representation of a popular music song. ... Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. ...

There are fad dances which are meant to be danced individually (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, Hitchhike). Only some of them survived until now, 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 are associated with a specific time period, and evoke a nostalgia when danced nowadays. Solo dance is danced by an individual dancing alone or individually, as opposed to couples dancing together but independently of others dancing at the same time, if any, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner. ... Two people doing the Salsa. ... Group dances are danced by groups of people simultaneously, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually, and as opposed to couples dancing together but independently of others dancing at the same time, if any. ... For the martial arts related meaning of Pattern see Tae Kwon Do and Kata (Karate). ... Survival may refer to: Survival techniques Survivalism Survival, a Bob Marley reggae album Survival, an episode of Doctor Who Survival, a British wildlife television program This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The term fashion applies to a characteristic means of expression or presentation; fashions may follow trends, in which they gain or lose popularity. ... This is a list of named time periods defined in various fields of study. ... Nostalgia currently describes a longing for the past, often idealized and unrealistic. ...

Novelty dances

Novelty dances might include quirky and unusual steps, or have an unusual name. Novelty dances may also have been fad dances which have remained popular over a longer period. It is not necessary that they ever were fashionably popular. These are also referred to as "party" or "dance party" dances. Novelty dances that have remained popular are no longer associated with a specific time period--they are timeless. Novelty dances are meant to be funny, and to evoke general mirth verging on silliness in participants. A party is a social gathering intended primarily for celebration and recreation. ... Silly dance moves, are especially common in Lindy hop. ...

List of novelty and fad dances

• Alligator
• The Bartman
• Bunny Hop
• Bus Stop
• Carioca
• Cha-Cha Slide
• [[C walk, also known as crips walk
• Chicken Dance
• Electric Slide
• The Fly
• The Freddy
• The Frug
• Hitch hike
• Hokey Pokey, also known as Hokey-cokey, Okey-cokey
• Hully Gully
• Hustle
• Jerk
• Lambada
• Letkajenkka (also known as Letkajenka, Letkiss, Letka-Enka)
• Limbo
• Macarena
• Mashed Potato
• Madison
• Mexican Hat Dance
• Monkey
• The Pacman
• Pee-Wee Herman's dance
• Pony
• The Robocop
• The Robot
• Shake
• Shimmy
• The Smurf
• Swim
• Suzie Q
• Time Warp
• Twist
• The Urkel
• Watusi
• YMCA

The Alligator is a dance that was introduced in a most effective way by The Cramps on their album Look Mom No Head. Theres quite a bit of jumping about and rolling on the floor with lots of chomping staggering the line between human fun and morbid acts of... The Bunny Hop is a novelty dance that was created in a San Francisco high school in 1953. ... Carioca is the name of a dance choreographed for the Fred Astaires movie Flying Down to Rio, where he paired with Ginger Rogers for the first time. ... The Cha Cha Slide is a 2000 song/dance sometimes referred to as the Casper Slide. This song is often played at dance clubs, parties, etc. ... The Chicken Dance [[oom- dance]]. In the United States, the publishing rights for the song were acquired by a New York publisher Stanley Mills. ... The Electric Slide was originally a line dance The Electric (Electric Boogie), created in 1976 by Ric Silver for the opening of Vamps Disco in New York at 71st and Broadway. ... The Freddy was a short-lived 1960s dance craze prompted by the release of the song Do the Freddy by Freddy & the Dreamers. ... The Frug (pronounced froog) was a dance craze from the 1960s that evolved from another dance of the era, The Chicken. ... Hitch hike was a dance craze of 1960s. ... The Hokey Pokey is a participation dance that became popular in the USA in the 1950s. ... The Hokey Pokey is a participation dance that became popular in the USA in the 1950s. ... The Hokey Pokey is a participation dance that became popular in the USA in the 1950s. ... The Hully Gully is a type of unstructured line dance originating from the sixties which consisted of a series of steps that are called out by the MC. Each step was relatively simple and easy to do however the challenge was to keep up with the speed of each step. ... Hustle is a catchall name for many disco or nightclub partner social dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. ... Lambada is a dance which became internationally popular in the 1980s. ... Letkajenkka is a Finnish folkdance that is often danced at parties (at home, not so often in clubs). ... Letkajenkka is a Finnish folkdance that is often danced at parties (at home, not so often in clubs). ... Letkajenkka is a Finnish folkdance that is often danced at parties (at home, not so often in clubs). ... Letkajenkka is a Finnish folkdance that is often danced at parties (at home, not so often in clubs). ... Limbo is a novelty dance that originated on the island of Trinidad. ... Macarena is a song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. ... Mashed potato (mashed potatoes in American English) or puréed potato is a common way of serving potato in many countries, including Germany, Finland, Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. ... The Madison is a novelty dance popular in France in the early to mid 1960s. ... The Mexican Hat Dance is a popular name for the dance known as El Jarabe Tapatio in Mexico, usually accompanied by a mariachi. ... The Monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. ... Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman. ... Throughout the 60s and early 70s, we did a variety of dances that they are now calling fad dances, but the one dance that remained constant during that time was the Pony, from Chubby Checkers Pony Time. The beat is 1&2, 3&4, etc, with the... The robot was a dance popularized by The Jackson 5 for their 1974 hit Dancing Machine, characterized by jerking movements of the arms, legs, and hips. ... A shimmy is a dance in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. ... The Smurf is a dance that originated with the cartoon. ... Suzie Q (or Suzy Q) is the name of a dance step in the Big Apple, Lindy Hop, and other dances. ... The Time Warp is a dance featured in the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, performed during the chorus of the song of the same name. ... The twist was a rock and roll dance popular in the early 1960s and also the name of the song that originated it. ... The Urkel was a novelty dance that originated on the television show Family Matters. ... The Watusi is a solo dance created in the early 1960s. ... Members of the grounds crew of Yankee stadium pause to do the YMCA dance. ...

See also

• Dance basic topics for a list of general dance topics.
• Summer hit
• list of specific dances for a general, noncategorized index of dances

These should be the most basic topics in the field--topics about which wed like to have articles soon. ... A summer hit is a song which gains huge popularity during the summer and then almost completely disappears when the summer is over. ... This is the main list of dances. ...

External links

• Streetswing.com's Dance History Archives hosts a large information base about more than thousand dances.