The 90’s were known for some of the sickest dance moves, and hammer pants, you can’t forget the hammer pants.
Of course we had the Macarena. This Los del Rio hit was remade by Bayside Boys and became a hit in 1995, with a remix in 1996 that included a video showcasing the new dance moves that made it really take off. After that the dance was everywhere. MTV played the video non-stop and everyone got in on the dance, many people who made it look good and a whole lot more who had no business dancing in public, no matter the dance, ever. Eventually, it ran its course and as it turns out, pizza deliverers everywhere celebrated!
If you have attended a wedding at any time in the last 30 years, you are no doubt familiar with my next 90s dance craze and no, I do NOT mean the chicken dance! While a good guess as it is a wedding (and hockey game) staple - I’m not sure it could ever be considered a “craze” and am pretty sure it has existed long before the 90’s. I’m going to give you a hint, it is sung by Marcia Griffiths. So, I didn’t really expect that to help. The song is called the “Electric Boogie” and the dance, as I am sure you have done multiple times, is the Electric Slide. A simple repetitive dance made that much cooler by adventurous folks who would add in extra spins and dips. Just to be clear, “those folks” do not include me. I’m pretty much happy to be able to dance and laugh and not trip over my own feet.
Another popular dance craze of the 90s was Line Dancing. Primarily this was for fans of country music, but you didn’t need to be to get out there and “Boot Scootin Boogie”. It was a dance craze that even I participated in! Yes, you read that right. This girl, the queen of two left feet, was coerced by her much more coordinated college friends to hit up the local country bar first for lessons and then for a night of raucous, rowdy and fun line dancing. Was I good at it? Decidedly not. Did I laugh (at myself mostly) and have a wonderful time? Most definitely. Did I decide to do it again the next weekend? And this one might surprise you, but yes! I hauled both of my left feet back out to Cotton Eye Joe (that was the name of the bar) to do the Cotton Eye Joe (that was my favorite dance). A little kick, stomp, triple step and shuffle, shuffle to do it again. Seriously, I’m pretty sure it’s the easiest line dance ever invented, making it just my speed.
In addition to the dances that made the 90s so remarkable, there were just a lot of great dance moves you could throw into your club dance. You know the one, bite your lower lip, bend your elbows and bring your forearms parallel to the ground and snap while you do the step-touch-step-touch. You got it! Now to spice things up a little, add in a running man, the alf or vogue.
Running Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYpRasK4c9k)
The Alf (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z6rtoCuDaWs)
Vogue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlZn6qAd3No)
In case you haven’t had enough of the 90’s dance moves, I have one more for you AND it involves hammer pants. If you aren’t already standing up, because let's face it, you just finished showing off your running man, now is the perfect time. Do some stretching if you must because you do not want aching knees to slow you down. We shall close out our time together today with - the typewriter!
https://tenor.com/view/mchammer-typewriter-gif-18913431