Black dance moves have evolved tremendously. I mean, they’ve gotten so complicated that even some of the most coordinated movers and shakers can’t keep up. Even though I still had difficulty doing even the simplest of dances, let’s still take a moment to reminisce and appreciate the dances from back in the day. See if you can remember these dance moves:

1. Thunder Clap

The thunder clap was the dance that was overused by everyone who couldn’t dance — namely, me! Whenever a song came on with a solid bass line, my hands flew into the air and I was clapping away.

2. Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It

This dance was a hit with every guy who wore those long shorts, oversized t-shirts, durags, footies, and Forces. It was one of the only dances that a thug could do and still look hard.

3. Stanky Leg

We killed this back in the day… Or at least I thought I was doing something when I stuck my leg out!

4. Bankhead Bounce

This wasn’t much of a party dance; at least it wasn’t in any party that I went to. It was more of a “my-direct-deposit-just-hit” or a “my-income-tax-check-just-dropped” kind of celebratory dance.

5. Crank Dat whatever you felt like crankin...

Soulja Boy released “Crank Dat Soulja Boy” and after that came hundreds more! You could “Crank Dat Soulja Boy, Crank Dat Spiderman, Crank Dat Yank, Crank Dat Batman, Crank Dat Robocop, Crank Dat Carlton Banks, Crank Dat Lion King, Crank Dat Lawn Mo, Crank Dat Roosevelt…” You get the idea.

6. Chicken Head

Chingy was never really allat, but this dance was! My mastery of this dance helped me to not look like a baby horse for a change.

7. Pop, Lock, & Drop It

This dance was perfect for anyone with good knees. I couldn’t do it, though. I had too many problems with getting back up after I dropped it. I turned “pop, lock, & drop it” into “pop, lock, & wait until I can pop it again.”

8. Beef It Up

Beefing it up just came naturally. Sometimes you’d just hear a song that you really didn’t know how to dance to. So, you’d sway from side-to-side and then you’d get saucy and add your hands. However, I’m really sold on the idea that beefing it up was invented by some drunk uncle long before the song was released.

9. Cat Daddy

I was so amazed at everyone who could do this dance because I obviously couldn’t. It was too complicated! It looked like the dancers had to wheel themselves around in imaginary wheelchairs and one of their tires came off causing them to lean to the side. You know what? I overanalyze, and maybe that’s why I can’t dance.

10. Walk It Out

This dance was sure to take you from one side of the party to the other, especially if you had a great hype man! I remember when one of my cousins and I were on my Grandma’s front porch attempting to do this dance. She knew exactly how to do it and looked flawless. I, on the other hand, looked like I was doing a complicated version of “The Twist”. She stopped mid-dance and just stared at my crooked feet.

11. Dougie

When this dance came out, everyone and their mama was doing it! I tried. I failed, but I tried. The funniest thing about this dance, however, was that Cali Swag District (the artists behind the song) could do the dance better than Doug E. Fresh, himself!