Floss Dance

The floss dance is a dead viral dance trend from 2017 featuring a distinctive side-to-side hip movement with synchronized arm positioning. The dance became unavoidable on social media, particularly among children, and was popularized by its inclusion in the video game Fortnite as a purchasable emote. The dance's appeal lay in its simplicity and accessibility. Unlike complex choreography, the floss could be learned quickly and performed by anyone. The rhythmic, repetitive nature of the movement made it satisfying to perform and watch. However, like most dance trends, the floss eventually became oversaturated and lost novelty. Unlike some memes that achieve evergreen status, the floss dance proved to be a time-limited trend. The novelty of the specific dance move exhausted itself, and new dances emerged to replace it. Today, the floss is remembered as a textbook late 2010s trend, particularly associated with Fortnite.

The floss dance was created by Russell Horning, known as 'the Backpack Kid,' a dancer and social media personality. The dance gained initial traction on social media before achieving massive popularity when Fortnite added it as a default emote players could purchase. Fortnite was at peak popularity during 2017-2018, with millions of players worldwide. The inclusion of the floss dance in such a popular game ensured its rapid spread and adoption. Young gamers performed the dance in real life, and the trend spread to non-gaming communities as well. The trend emerged during a period when TikTok was rapidly growing as a platform for dance and choreography content. The platform's emphasis on short dance videos made it perfect for trends like the floss. The combination of a simple, learnable dance and a massive gaming audience created ideal conditions for viral spread.

The floss dance involved standing with feet slightly apart and alternately swinging the hips side-to-side while moving the arms in the opposite direction. The arms would swing forward and back in a specific pattern synchronized with the hip movements. The dance could be performed solo or in groups. Variations included: different speeds of the movement, different background music, group performances, and creative modifications. However, unlike some dance trends that evolved significantly, the floss remained largely consistent in its core movement.