Carlton Dance: Five Reasons Why People Love This Iconic Dance Routine

The Carlton Dance.

More than twenty years ago, the Carlton Dance was developed simply as something funny for Carlton Banks to do when listening to his favorite Tom Jones song on the hit television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

However, long after the original run of the show came to an end, what has become known as “The Carlton Dance” or “The Carlton” still resonates through generations. Even people that are not fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV show are familiar with The Carlton Dance.

Why is that? Why is that so many have fallen in love with The Carlton Dance and cheer for it whenever they see Alfonso Ribeiro perform it – such as how he did recently as part of one of his routines on Dancing with the Stars?

Here are five reasons that just might shine a little light on the topic after all.

1. It’s an iconic dance covered in nostalgia. Who doesn’t love to relive the past – in moderation? Just like there are still people that enjoy doing The Robot dance decades after it has first created, there are also people that enjoy performing and seeing The Carlton Dance many years after it was first created as well.

2. Syndication: It’s not like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air faded into the oblivion of old television shows – never to be heard from again. Even while the original run of the show was still on the air, syndication deals were in the making. Many of those deals are still intact nearly 20 years after the series finale aired. Therefore, even people that were not alive when Fresh Prince was on the air have been exposed to Carlton Banks and the Carlton Dance either through syndicated reruns or DVDs.

3. Alfonso Ribeiro is great at doing it: As you can see from the DWTS video, Carlton Ribeiro has not lost a single step or stride of the Carlton Dance; he still got the moves! Even though many people have tried to duplicate it, it’s always so much better when you get a chance to see the originator bring it back – even if it is just for a brief moment. Think about Michael Jackson and the Moonwalk. The dance itself is iconic – imitated by many more people than you can probably count.

4. It’s easy to do: Even though you might not be able to perform the Carlton dance as well as Carlton himself, the overall concept of the dance is very easy to follow. People of all ages can perform it within just a few seconds of getting the hang of the steps involved – all the more reason why it’s such an iconic dance.

5. It’s hilarious: Unlike many other iconic dance moves that were not necessarily made to be funny, that is exactly what the Carlton dance was designed for on the show. It showed just how offbeat Carlton Banks was as a person – especially when it came to his awkward dance moves. Therefore, when people perform the Carlton dance (in most cases) they are unable to contain their laughter for very long – especially if they doing the dance at a party.

What do you think? Can you think of any reasons to add to this list that explain why the Carlton dance is so popular?

[Image Credit: Baller Mind Frame]