Forgotten Dance Crazes We All Did (and Secretly Still Remember)

There was a time when no school disco, birthday party, or family wedding was safe. The DJ only had to press play on that beat, and suddenly the floor was full of kids (and a few enthusiastic aunties) busting out the exact same routine. Simpler times. Cheesy times. Legendary times.

Let’s dust off a few of those dance floor “crazes” that had us all moving in sync — whether we wanted to or not…

🕺 The Macarena (1995, eternal)

One of the OGs. Left arm, right arm, turn your palms, wiggle those hips, shout “HEY!” — job done. Somehow this song managed to sneak into every party for about a decade straight.

Daisy says: If you didn’t mess up the order halfway through and panic-laugh until the next “HEY!”… did you even Macarena?

🐸 Crazy Frog’s Axel F (2005)

Not technically a dance routine… but try telling a room of Year 7s that. Jumping up and down, pulling the worst possible shapes, pretending to be a frog on Red Bull. Utter chaos.

👟 Cha Cha Slide (2000)

The one that doubled as a cardio workout. “To the left! Take it back now y’all! One hop this time!” You’d be out of breath but committed. And admit it — you still hear the whistle in your head.

🧀 5, 6, 7, 8 (Steps, 1997)

Less a dance craze, more a full line-dancing experience. Honestly? Iconic. Shoutout to the kids who thought they were about to pull off a country-western routine but ended up galloping like lost ponies.

✨ Saturday Night (Whigfield, 1994)

“Dee dee na na na…” The choreography nobody asked for but everyone magically knew. Half the moves made zero sense, but we all committed like our lives depended on it.

🎉 Honourable Mentions

Superman (Black Lace) — basically PE disguised as a song.
Agadoo — push pineapple, shake the tree… why??
The Ketchup Song — Spanish lyrics, random arm flails, still legendary.

🐎 Bonus Round: Gangnam Style (2012)

None of us knew what we were singing. All of us knew the gallop. Your nan probably did it at least once at a wedding. True global unity.

Final Thought

These songs weren’t just cheesy fun — they were our social glue. For three minutes, you didn’t have to worry about fitting in. You just joined the line, did the moves, and hoped you didn’t trip over your mate’s trainers.

And let’s be real: if any of these came on at a wedding today, we’d be on that floor in seconds. Muscle memory never dies.