Dancing Triangle

2018viral videoclassic

Dancing Triangle is a looped CGI animation of an anthropomorphic Triforce piece from a fan-made Legend of Zelda web series, used as a meme format layered over various songs. The clip first spread through Spanish-language Facebook groups in 2018 and returned as a viral Twitter and TikTok trend in early 2020, most often paired with Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control.'

zelda memesdancing character memescgi animation memesmashup video memesdelayed virality memes

Overview

Dancing Triangle, also called Triangulo Bailando, is a looped CGI clip of a walking anthropomorphic golden triangle. The character is a personified piece of the Triforce, the sacred artifact from Nintendo's Zelda franchise4. Meme edits pair the loop with different songs, letting the character's rhythmic bounce sync to any beat.

The format is closely tied to Missy Elliott's 2005 hit 'Lose Control,' a Grammy-winning single from her album The Cookbook2. A February 2020 Twitter post by @melancholyhill paired the two and pulled over a million views in two months1.

How It Spread

Meme use took off in mid-2018 when YouTuber Tino uploaded a June 6 version synced to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga music, and Facebook user EricoTereran reposted it to the 'Nintendo Switchposting' group on June 25, prompting the launch of the Spanish-language Facebook page 'El Mismo Triángulo Bailando Con Diferentes Canciones' (translated from Spanish: 'The Same Dancing Triangle With Different Songs'), which eventually hosted over 600 song-swap videos3.

The format returned on February 11, 2020, when Twitter user @melancholyhill paired the animation with Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control,' a post that reached over a million views in two months1. TikTok users adopted the format within days, with early edits by @danieldessau in late February and a March 2020 wave of viral videos set to a Tongo cover of 'Pumped Up Kicks,' and the meme later returned in August 2021 as Indonesia's 'Keju Joget' (translated from Indonesian: 'Dancing Cheese') trend3.

How to Use This Meme

People typically loop the short clip of the triangle walking and layer it over a song with a steady beat, letting the character's bounce sync to the rhythm1. A common convention is to caption the video with the reason a specific song fits the triangle's mood, or to pair it with 'Lose Control' as a callback to the 2020 Twitter post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Dancing Triangle

2018viral videoclassic

Dancing Triangle is a looped CGI animation of an anthropomorphic Triforce piece from a fan-made Legend of Zelda web series, used as a meme format layered over various songs. The clip first spread through Spanish-language Facebook groups in 2018 and returned as a viral Twitter and TikTok trend in early 2020, most often paired with Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control.'

zelda memes dancing character memes cgi animation memes mashup video memes delayed virality memes

Overview

Dancing Triangle, also called Triangulo Bailando, is a looped CGI clip of a walking anthropomorphic golden triangle. The character is a personified piece of the Triforce, the sacred artifact from Nintendo's Zelda franchise4. Meme edits pair the loop with different songs, letting the character's rhythmic bounce sync to any beat.

The format is closely tied to Missy Elliott's 2005 hit 'Lose Control,' a Grammy-winning single from her album The Cookbook2. A February 2020 Twitter post by @melancholyhill paired the two and pulled over a million views in two months1.

How It Spread

Meme use took off in mid-2018 when YouTuber Tino uploaded a June 6 version synced to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga music, and Facebook user EricoTereran reposted it to the 'Nintendo Switchposting' group on June 25, prompting the launch of the Spanish-language Facebook page 'El Mismo Triángulo Bailando Con Diferentes Canciones' (translated from Spanish: 'The Same Dancing Triangle With Different Songs'), which eventually hosted over 600 song-swap videos3.

The format returned on February 11, 2020, when Twitter user @melancholyhill paired the animation with Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control,' a post that reached over a million views in two months1. TikTok users adopted the format within days, with early edits by @danieldessau in late February and a March 2020 wave of viral videos set to a Tongo cover of 'Pumped Up Kicks,' and the meme later returned in August 2021 as Indonesia's 'Keju Joget' (translated from Indonesian: 'Dancing Cheese') trend3.

How to Use This Meme

People typically loop the short clip of the triangle walking and layer it over a song with a steady beat, letting the character's bounce sync to the rhythm1. A common convention is to caption the video with the reason a specific song fits the triangle's mood, or to pair it with 'Lose Control' as a callback to the 2020 Twitter post.

Frequently Asked Questions