Top 20 Fortnite Dances and Where They Are From

Top 20 Fortnite Dances and Where They’re From

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Top 10 Fortnite Dances & Where They're From

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Fortnite Dances and Where They Came From. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most popular dances featured in the online battle royale by Epic Games and their origin stories What’s your favorite emote in Fortnite? Any we missed? Groove out the answers in the comments below!

“Dumb and Dumber” (1994)

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Jim Carrey has always been known as a master of physical comedy, but we doubt that even he thought that his Hootenanny dance from 1994’s “Dumb and Dumber” would still be referenced almost 25 years after the film’s release. And yet, the Hootenanny has become one the most frantic and hilarious dances in “Fortnite,” and that’s saying something. Hopefully more of Carrey’s iconic moves will make it into the game someday. There’s certainly plenty to choose from.

Sometimes it feels like most of the dance emotes in Fortnite come from some kind of hip-hop song. If you ever thought that about the “Rollie” emote, you were right! Rapping duo Ayo & Teo collaborated with Epic Games, along with several artists during the Fortnite “Icon” content packs. Rollie was one of the most popular of Ayo & Teo’s additions, originating from their “Rolex” music video back in 2017. It’s not uncommon for music artists to make appearances in Fortnite nowadays, with Marshmello, Travis Scott and Ariana Grande hosting concerts live in the game. So it might not be long before the duo makes another appearance on the island.

“Arrested Development” (2003-06; 2013-19)

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Throughout the Netflix series “Arrested Development”, Will Arnett’s character, Gob, will occasionally mock people by doing an interesting, bizarre, and supposedly offensive chicken dance. Some of the other Bluth family members have their own versions, but Gob’s iconic dance is the one that made it into “Fortnite”. Now, you, too, can be inflammatory by purchasing the emote in the Item Shop.

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” - Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell

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As if making one of the most popular rap songs of the 2000s wasn’t impressive enough, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams’ “Drop It Like It’s Hot” video also birthed this popular dance move that has made the transition to becoming a “Fortnite” emote. It’s a subtle move, but one that is instantly recognizable and a welcome addition to the game.

“Seinfeld” may be a show about nothing, but it remains one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. In the season four episode, “The Wallet,” Elaine finally returns from her vacation, prompting her and Jerry to greet each other with arms in the air and their feet dancing frantically. Yep, this was the birth of the Jubilation emote. You can only acquire it by purchasing it from the Item Shop, but once you get it, you can freely use the emote to celebrate a friend’s revival or express your excitement when exploding an enemy to bits. Make Jerry and the gang proud!

There’s no denying that K-pop has made its way into Fortnite. You might recognize the emote “Smooth Moves” as the choreography behind several of BTS’ songs. However, it’s the “Eagle” emote that came from Korean pop-star Dahyun which is the most bizarre. Before she was banging out tunes with her bandmates, she was leaving people stunned at the local church. While in sixth grade, a video was taken of her doing her “eagle dance”, which gained considerable attention. She was later scouted by JYP Entertainment to compete in the reality show “Sixteen”. The dance made another prominent appearance here, cementing her as a member of the band “Twice”, creating the famous emote.

If you're a veteran on YouTube, you might remember the “Techno Viking”. This was a viral video taken during a 2000’s parade in Berlin! It was posted online in 2001 where it captivated audiences, becoming one of the world’s premiere memes! Many people wondered about the identity of the shirtless man, to no avail. The video resulted in a lawsuit, where the man featured in the video, who wished to remain anonymous, stopped the original from being distributed. As a result, the documentary about this whole ordeal removed his likeness entirely… which you gotta admit looks a little weird! Of course, you can still find versions online, which led to the inspiration of the “Intensity” emote. Would the guy be upset it’s up there? Maybe less so since his face isn’t being used. It’s a long story for an awesome dance!

If you’re on Tik Tok, you’ve probably seen this dance. “Lottery” by Atlanta rapper K-Camp spread rapidly across social media once a dance erupted from it, which Epic Games then decided to adopt. When it made its debut as an Icon Series emote, most people would’ve seen it via creator Charli D'Amelio. But a New York Times article claimed she wasn’t the creator of the dance, instead coming from a 14-year-old dancer Jalaiah in 2019. It joined the ranks of many other dances popularized on the platform and has been used by the players ever since.

We get the feeling some employee at Epic Games found their way to the weird part of the internet, found this dance, and went… Yeah, why not? The “Zany” dance was released in Season 4 during 2018, where it gained notoriety for being a little strange. Well, its source is even more so! This video of an alien called Popoy dancing to a remix of “Dame Tu Cosita” by El Chombo circulated online for being incredibly uncanny. It also spawned challenges where people attempted the dance in a variety of locations. The “Zany” emote seems to be loosely based on the alien dance, and Fornite’s Battle Pass was all the better for it.

This strange emote originated from a Saturday Night Live skit in 2000 called “More CowBell”. It featured the cast of the show acting as the band “Blue Oyster Cult” in the recording booth for the song “The Reaper”. As they start playing, Christopher Walken demands the CowBell be played louder and more incessantly! Will Ferrell really gets into playing his instrument, which leads to Walken delivering one of his most iconic lines. (play “I have a fever” line) It’s a hilarious skit, and the movement alone is enough on its own to make you chuckle when you see it online. There are plenty of incredibly funny moments on SNL, so we doubt this will be the last addition from the late-night comedy show.

Who didn’t recognize this dance when it debuted? During the second season of “Fortnite”, reaching Tier 20 would earn you the Ride the Pony emote. Obviously, there’s more to this dance than the western music. Does anyone remember the internet-famous song “Gangnam Style”? Hey, we understand if you’re sick of hearing about. Even Psy is weary of it! However, the song and dance are a piece of internet history, which merits a little admiration for it. You may not see too many players using it now, but for the few times we do, it’s a pleasant memory of something that took the world by storm.

“Shoot” - BlocBoy JB

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Sometimes you just need to flail your arms and legs, and you’ve got a famous dance! BlocBoy JB first featured the dance during a video for his song “Shoot”. The moves, where a dancer swings their arm and leg back and forth, quickly went viral on social media! Fortnite then appropriated it as an emote during the Season 4 Battle Pass to many users' delight! But not to that of BlocBoy JB, who went on to sue Epic Games over using the dance without his permission! This isn’t the first time that Epic Games has been sued over using dances they didn’t license, and it won’t be the last on this list.

Being a dancer is one thing, but being immortalized in the gallery of Fortnite emotes? That’s a whole new level! Electro Shuffle was choreographed by YouTube dance sensation Gabby J David. She bopped along to a remix of Bad and Boujee by Migos, attracting millions of views! The high-energy movements are enough to catch anyone’s attention, which is why a snippet of the dance was added to the Item Shop! But you have to see the full dance to appreciate its awesomeness, as the flourishes she adds are unbelievable. It may have only been an “Epic” emote, but it is a legendary dance in our opinion!

“Scrubs” (2001-10)

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“Fortnite” has been making references and Easter eggs since it’s initial launch, and one of its first ones is in the default Dance Moves emote. If you’re a fan of the television series “Scrubs”, you might recognize it! In the season five episode “My Half-Acre”, Turk shows off his sweet skills to the tune of “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe in order to join the hospital band. Since the episode aired, people have done breakdowns on how to pull it off. We’ll just stick with the emote and save ourselves the embarrassment.

This dance has been spreading everywhere lately. The Floss may not look like much, but the dance is harder to pull off than you may think. While it didn’t originate from him, Russell Horning has popularized the dance, especially after his appearance during Katy Perry’s performance on “Saturday Night Live”. To see the dance make its way into “Fortnite” isn’t completely shocking, and as a Season 2 reward, it’s probably one of the more rare emotes you’ll come across.

If this dance looks vaguely familiar, there’s a chance you may have seen a little film called “Napoleon Dynamite”. In one of the movie’s most memorable moments, the titular character (played by Jon Heder) puts on a surprisingly impressive dance in front of his school in order to help his buddy Pedro become class president. During the fourth season of “Fortnite”, you were rewarded with this dance if you managed to reach Tier 95. The best part? The song accompanied with the dance closely resembles the song from the movie, “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai.

“The Band of the Bold” - Marlon Webb

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This dance was mentioned so much in the comments of our previous video, we’re ashamed we didn’t list it. Best Mates is a surreal dance that was featured in a video titled “The Band of the Bold” by Marlon Webb, which was posted to Facebook in 2016. It featured a few buddies jogging in a very peculiar way to “Take on Me” by A-ha, clearly having a good time doing it. It spawned several sequels, and other creators started doing variations on the weird runs! “The Band of the Bold”, or the “JoggingManChallenge” spread like wildfire, and as such, years down the line, Epic Games added it to their roster of dance emotes. Now, it remains the best way to solidify your friendship with someone in Battle Royale.

Doesn’t this dance just put you in a good mood? In a nod to the classics, Fortnite players were graced with the “Flapper” Emote in 2018! It’s really the “Charleston” dance, featured with a broadway song of the same title, which is named after the city in South Carolina. It was incredibly popular after being featured on the show “Runnin’ Wild” back in 1923, and continued to be so for years to come! Nowadays, it’s commonly used with “swing” music, and improvisation with the bop is encouraged. Epic Games translated the choreography into Fortnite, and we’re all the more cultured and jolly for it!

When the winners of the Boogie Down contest were announced back in April, many fans were upset that one entry was nowhere to be found; the Orange Shirt Kid. He wasn’t even mentioned as one of the runner-ups! As you might expect, players were incredibly vocal about their dissatisfaction, with many crying out “justice for orange shirt kid!” Fortunately, Epic heard the outcry, and Orange Shirt Kid’s dance made it into “Fortnite” as a Tier 26 reward during season four. While his dance was certainly reminiscent of Roy Purdy’s entry into the contest, Orange Shirt Kid quickly became the “Fortnite” People’s Champ.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96)

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Almost thirty years later, and this dance still puts a smile on our faces. In a few episodes of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, Carlton Banks would put on this dance while listening to “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones. The dance has become so famous that actor Alfonso Ribeiro used it as part of his performance in the nineteenth season of “Dancing with the Stars.” In a game that’s already chock-full of references, the Carlton Dance fits right into “Fortnite”, and its constantly being used by players before boarding the Battle Bus.