Where did dance TikTok’s go?

If you were to talk about any video on TikTok before 2021, everyone would ask if you meant ‘the dancing app’. Between 2019 and 2021, the app was dominated by strangers dancing to ‘Renegade’ or ‘Say So’. However, today, a mindless scroll on TikTok offers a social smorgasbord of skits, life hacks, beauty tips, edits, and every other niche interest and video type imaginable. While the odd dance trend remains, TikTok is no longer the dancing app it once was, and the dominant trend seems to have died out for a combination of reasons. While factors such as changes to the app and its increasing popularity have contributed to the decline of dancing on TikTok, ultimately, it is the shift in public taste that has led to this decline.

TikTok launched in 2016 as a replacement for Musical.ly (the lip-synching app) and was quickly dominated by similar content, including lip-synching to comedy skits and dancing to music. As the app’s popularity grew, so did its trends and their influence on popular culture, with the dances becoming increasingly popular among teenagers. The TikTok dances from around 2019-21 are usually categorised by fast arm and body movements, punctuating the beats of the music and reflecting lines of the lyrics. The satisfaction came from the fast and synchronised dance moves on the small screen. Furthermore, there was a social and dynamic element to a TikTok dance, as they commonly learnt and posted with friends. The dances became a springboard to launch the careers of seemingly ordinary people with a talent for dance, like Addison Rae and Charlie D’Amelio. Yet, despite this early popularity, TikTok has shifted its focus away from dancing, as observed on most For You pages and in trending videos.

TikTok’s dances were never immortal, and their death is simply a reflection of society’s shifting consumption and subsequent condemnation of trends

Of course, dances are still found on TikTok, and can be trending, but these are decidedly less popular and widespread. These dances, including ‘I Aint Got No Panties on on the Dance Floor’ and ‘My Main’, will likely die out or be replaced in a week. The dances are also posted for other purposes than the satisfaction of watching someone dance. They are commonly used to showcase outfits or, when combined with text, describe a humorous situation or relatable dynamic to increase the video’s engagement.

One of the simplest reasons for the death of TikTok dances is society’s and teenagers’ tendency to suddenly dismiss things previously praised. The intense popularity of the dances so early in the 2020’s means that they quickly flamed out rather than becoming a sustained aspect of the app. The fast, often sexualised dances of the COVID era are now seen as unimpressive and almost cringy. This switch is not exclusive to dances online; previously dominant trends, such as POV’s or the sped-up lip-synching seen during the app’s establishment, have also become sources of ridicule and embarrassment. TikTok’s dances were never immortal, and their death is simply a reflection of society’s shifting consumption and subsequent condemnation of trends.

The widespread dominance of dance trends on TikTok has faded and become a relatively minor aspect of the app, despite its early prevalence

However, this natural cycle of trends is not the only factor that has killed the TikTok dance. The app had the potential to define itself entirely by its dancing trends, but it has moved on. As more creators joined the app and began to understand its creative possibilities, new video types (including comedy skits, product promotion, politics, and community forming) began to surface, and the fresh content overshadowed these repetitive videos of the same few actions. As a result, TikTok developed new features, including stitches, text, text-to-speech technology, and photo slideshows. All of these additions seemingly move creators away from the easy, established dance trends to new ways of creating enjoyable content. These infamous dance trends, which once defined the app, have become a waste of TikTok’s features and creators’ creativity.

The widespread dominance of dance trends on TikTok has faded and become a relatively minor aspect of the app, despite its early prevalence. While the dance’s gradual decline in popularity online is a natural cycle of users beginning to dislike mainstream trends, the dance ultimately died when TikTok and its fan base grew in popularity and video types. With updates that included new features and ways to create, the dances that dominated online in 2019-21 became another bygone trend in the past, rather than defining the app.