TikTok is full of 15-to-60-second-long user-choreographed dances, some of which go
viral. Here, nine to try to teach yourself at home, ranked by difficulty. Can you get good
enough to upload your own? BY SARAH SPELLINGS
3 Learn a TikTok Dance
1.
Hit Every
Beat Challenge
With“UCan’tTouch
This,”by MCHammer
Thisis easyif andonlyif you
alreadyknowtheMacarena.It’sa
goodonetowarmupwith.Think
ofit astheequivalentofa child’s
poseat thebeginningofVinyasa
class.DotheMacarenatwiceas
fast,pretendtodruma few times,
thenhitthe“woah.”Thewoahis
probablythemostimportantTikTok
dancemove.Moveyourleft arm
downat a diagonalandmoveyour
rightarmup,paralleltotheleft.
Pulse.Confusingly, there are some
otherversionsofthewoah,most
commonlya kindof“turninga car
wheel”motion,butthoseare notthe
properwoahtodointhiscontext.
2.
“Say So”
ByDojaCat
If Laura Derncandothisone,so
canyou.It ’s short, sweet, and
requiresa lotofattitude.I learned
it afterdrinkingtwoglassesof
wine,butthat’s notnecessary. The
key movesare thebodyrollandthe
punch,whichyou’llfindina lotof
TikTokdances.I putona tutorial
anddedicatedfiveminutesto
ge ttingthebasicmovesdown.Now,
mymusclememory haskickedin
wellenoughthatI canaddmy own
flair. That’sanotherkeytoTikTok
dancing:Addyourownflair. This
is yourtimetoshine!DojaCat
likedthisdancesomuchsheput
thecreator,HaleySharpe,a.k.a.
@yodelinghaley, inthemusicvideo.
3.
“Relationship”
ByYoungThug
Oneofthebafflingthingsabout
TikTokisthat somany people
seemtoget theirpartnersto
joininonTikTokvideos.This
danceisa goodexample.The
movesprettymuchcorrespond
tothelyrics—thelastword of
thevideoisbaby,soyoumake
a rockingmotion.Checkout
theonebyTikTok’sreigning
dancekingandqueen,Chase
HudsonandCharliD’Amelio.
Learnfromthepros.
4.
“American Boy”
ButShibuya
is there, too
Ifyou’re onTikToklongenough,
you’re goingtohearthissong
usedforlotsofvideos,not
justdancing.As farasI can
tell,it’ s a remixthat originated
onYouTube.My weakness,
I’velearned,isthat I havea
hardtimegettingmy lower
bodytodoanythingwhilemy
upperbodyisrecitingdance
moves.Butit’ s crucial.The
dancemoveswillonlytake
youabout 20 minutestoget
down,butperfect execution
takesmore practice.Annoying,
I know—butatleast wehave
lotsoftimeonourhands.
5.
“Cannibal”
ByKesha
I havewantedtolearnthisdance
sinceI first sawit.My initial
at temptwasaftera nightout,
anda videoofmepracticingwas
subsequentlysenttomyfriends.
Embarrassing,I know, butit’s
anoccupationalhazard when
youdecidetocommittoTikTok
dancing.Thishastwoextremely
fundancemoves—theheart
shapepulsatinginthemiddle
andtheopening“I’lleat youup”
handgestures.Everything
elseis filler. @ya.girl.bri.bri
is creditedwithcoming
upwiththechoreography
andposteda tutorial.
6.
“Savage”
ByMeganTheeStallion
EvenMeganTheeStallion,who
sings“Savage,”is doingthisdance
byKearaWilson,a.k.a.
@keke.janajah.Thechallenge is
switchinggearsfromthesuper-
sexy“throwit back”tomakinga
“nah-nah”face,like youwouldin
kindergarten.
7.
“Supalonely”
ByBenee
@Zoifishhpostedthisdancein
earlyFebruary, andthesound
hasbeenusedinover6 million
videos(notallofthemare
dancing,butmanyofthemare).
Blessedly,shealsorecordeda
slowed-downtutorial.Honestly,
it feelslikeit’s at fullspeed. There
area lotofbodyrollsandhair
flipsinthisone.Thepoutand
chestbumpsat theend,along
withthevictoriousswaying, are
a well-earnedtreat aftera rapid
tenseconds.Thedancemoves
aremostlyyourarms,butproper
executionincludesengaging
yourwholebody.Which,for the
uncoordinated,is daunting.
8.
“When
I Rule the
World”
ByLiz
Thisis theoneI spentanhour
learning.It movessoquickly it
leavesmewinded.Themoves
areallhighenergy—punch the
air,flickoff thesweat, andfinish
it witha poseattheend.The
dance’screator,Ciara, a.k.a.
@ceceiswoke,madea slowed-
downtutorial,buteventhat is
fasterthanI, forone,amused
to.Blockoutthehouryouwould
havespentat thegymandgo for it.
9.
“Attention”
ByTodrickHall
Youcanreallyonlydothisif you
candoa split.Andif youcando
a split,youprobablydon’t need
helplearningTikTokdances.But
maybethat’ssomethingtherest
ofuscanworkonwhilesocial
distancing:gettinga perfectsplit.
PHOTOGRAPHS: LEARN HOW TO DANCE/YOUTUBE
march 30–april 12, 2020 | new york 17
