With the new year already started, many of us are looking to shed those extra pounds. Whether you’re planning on going on a diet or are already on one, you’ll want to revamp your routine to shed the weight. Fortunately, K-pop dances can help!
The list of popular K-pop dances is almost endless. The dances are performed in front of large crowds and are a great opportunity for fans to express themselves. However, not all celebrity dances are created equal. Some are extremely popular and have gained a large amount of traction in the K-pop community due to their infectious nature and catchy melodies. Others are less known but have become quite the rage on social media platforms such as TikTok. Still others are simply there for the fanservice.
If you’re looking to shed some weight, you could try a few of these dances out. After all, they might just be what the doctor ordered.
The Hoonie Dance
The Hoonie Dance was originally created as a parody of a popular American sitcom. The dance was inspired by the theme song to one of the show’s episodes that featured a group of penguins that turned into human beings. The lyrics include the line, “It’s hilarious how the hoonie dance.”
As it turns out, the hoonie dance has become quite the rage on TikTok. The craze started after a popular Korean-American YouTuber uploaded a video of himself performing the dance. Since then, it has seemingly spawned an entire generation of young people who want to perform this quirky dance. In fact, you might even see little ones doing the hoonie dance in front of the mirror before bedtime. Parents, beware.
The Wormie Dance
The Wormie Dance is often confused with The Hoonie Dance. However, the two dances are very different. While The Hoonie Dance is a mockery of the noble penguin, the Wormie Dance is pure sincerity. The dance was named after Charlie D’Amelio, a character on the sitcom Seinfield. In the show, Charlie is a cartoonist who dreams of meeting and becoming friends with Jack Nicholson. The song that inspired the dance is called “I’m a Worm.”
While Charlie is busy drawing, he often gets interrupted by a character named Murray, who constantly worms his way into Charlie’s conversation. The lyrics include the lines, “Don’t worry, Murray, I don’t bite. (I’d rather eat worms than have a bite.)” and “How can I help it if worms always want to share my food? (I love worms. They’re my friends.)”
The Dougie
The Dougie is named after a popular British singer. The dance was inspired by a photo of Adam Ant taken in the ’80s. The Ant, who went by the stage name of Dougie, wore an exuberant shirt with a collar that was turned up too high. The shirt actually had the word “dougie” written on the front in large letters. The word “dougie” is a portmanteau of the words “Douglas” and “Gentleman.”
However, it wasn’t Ant’s shirt that inspired the dance, it was his posture. The Dougie is characterized by a stiff upper body and a swagger in the hips. The music video for “Good Times” by British band Hot Chip includes a brief clip of them performing the Dougie. In the video, lead singer Tim Simsek is seen performing the dance while wearing a similar shirt with the word “dougie” on it.
The Macarena
The Macarena is another dance that was inspired by a cheesy meme. In fact, the name Macarena simply means “bad imitation” in Spanish, as the dance resembles a mariachi band performing a medley of South American songs. One of the most recognizable songs in the Macarena is “La Macarena” by Los Del Rio. The song is a cover of the traditional Mexican folk song “El Macarena.”
While the dance might not be the most original idea in the world, it has stuck around thanks to its popularity on TikTok. As it happens, TikTok is home to some of the greatest minds in meme culture, who have helped popularize this particular dance.
The Harlem Shake
The Harlem Shake is named after a 1960s black musical that centers around a neighborhood of New York City. The music video for “Harlem Shake” by Japanese band Tokyo Police Club includes a brief clip of them performing the dance. The viral craze that grew out of this particular video involves fans dancing along to the song while shaking their device in front of the camera.
As it turns out, the Japanese have truly mastered the art of making the most out of a meme. Before the Harlem Shake video went viral, Tokyo Police Club had already established themselves as masters of the genre. Most of their songs are based on bizarre news stories or popular TV shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale or Fleabag.
The Running Manicure
The Running Manicure is named after the 1980s TV show The Running Man. The premise of the show is that contestants compete in dangerous puzzles as they try to escape from a psychopathic assassin known as The Running Man. The puzzles themselves are designed to test the contestants’ brains rather than their physical fitness. The show itself is incredibly entertaining to watch, even if you don’t understand a word of what is happening on-screen. The music video for the song “Running Manicure” includes a brief clip of the contestants performing the ritual foot-polish dance before their big televised match.
The Robot
The Robot is named after the popular 1950s TV show Lost In Space. In the show, the Robinson family flees their doomed spaceship after it crash-lands on an unknown planet. As it happens, the lyrics to “Robot” include the line, “It’s a small step into the unknown.” Indeed, the song is about exploring new territories and being fearless. It also includes the lyrics, “Let’s live dangerously, shall we? (The future is uncertain.)” and “There’s more than one robot out there, who wants to be your friend.”
The Robot has been around for a while now and has seemingly been a part of every generation’s dance routine. However, it wasn’t until 2015 that it began to gain a bit of popularity on TikTok. Since then, it has been covered by mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times and Time Out magazine and been featured in popular TV shows such as Suits and Fresh Off the Boat.
The Electric Slide
Last but not least, we have The Electric Slide. This dance was inspired by a 1950s jukebox musical that featured a band named the Silhouettes. In the musical, the titular characters are a group of identical girls who become the queen’s personal dancers. One of the songs from the musical is called “The Electric Slide.”
The girls in the group are supposed to be an ode to the science fiction film serials of the 1950s, when women weren’t supposed to wear clothing and were often barefoot and in bikinis. The film industry was actually pretty progressive back in the day, especially when it came to female characters. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case for The Electric Slide, as it seems to have been inspired by the most notorious piece of sexist clothing ever made: the bridal gown. Indeed, the song is simply called “Electric Slide” and is a basic boogie-woogie rhythm with no real lyrics beyond the line “It’s fun to dance with someone who understands you.”
While many of the dances mentioned here are just silly and designed for humor, there is also a deeper message behind them. Many of these dances were inspired by things that are considered to be a part of pop culture. People are attracted to them because they recognize the topics or events that they are based on. In most cases, these dances bring to mind nostalgic thoughts of the 1950s and the early 1960s, when pop culture was perhaps a bit simpler and sexier.