For more than 30 years, there’s been only one way to dance the Macarena – and it doesn’t involve hand rolls.
The original routine, first seen in the video to the smash-hit song by Spanish duo Los Del Rio in 1993, went viral before going viral was a thing – with dancefloors across the globe filled with people having a go at the Latino inspired moves.
The routine involves putting one arm outstretched at a time, then flipping palms, crossing hands to shoulders, then head, on the hips, followed by a thrusting wiggle and a jump – before repeating it all over again but facing a different way.
However, recent footage showing Gen Z on the dancefloor when the pop classic plays reveals only murder on the dancefloor, with a host of new moves replacing the classic routine.
Choreography catastrophe: Tiktoker FrikenArleth shared a clip of people dancing to the Macarena – but the original moves were nowhere to be seen
One very bemused millennial shared her clip with commentary on TikTok of younger dancers tackling the routine on the dancefloor at a party – and it was barely recognisable.
FrikenArleth wrote, alongside a crying emoji: ‘I’m scared why they dancing the macarena like that?’ In the clip, she adds: ‘I feel so old…what the f***?’
While the young men are perfectly in sync, they replace the iconic arms out hand move with a gentle wave motion instead.
Murder on the dancefloor: The Gen Z dancers offer a fresh take on the Macarena – and millennials were not impressed
While the familiar jump to another direction was intact, what comes next in the video will strike a blow to Macarena purists – a forward hand roll.
Those who danced to the track way back when were left horrified.
One wrote in the comments: ‘They cannot change the Macarena, this must be stopped. What are we teaching the children?’
Another, equally pained, added: ‘That is not the Macarena’.
The original 1993 video took dancers through the steps, which began by putting both hands out one at a time, and then flipping them
Wiggle and repeat: It was then hands crossed to shoulders, hands on head, hips and the legendary wiggle before jumping to face another direction – and doing it all over again
And one suggested that age wasn’t an excuse, writing: ‘I’m younger than them and the hell are they doing, that’s not the macarena.’
Despite being over 30 years old, the song has endured and still makes it onto party playlists as a vintage Spanish classic – with even Hillary Clinton attempting the dance earlier this year after meeting Los Del Rio in person.
The former US First Lady was filmed grinning and jiggling her hands in January while the two musicians danced the correct moves on either side of her; she was attending a party in her honour in Seville.
Last month, millennials fixated on the dance moves of generations above them, asking their parents to recreate their favourite 80s dance moves.
In recent weeks, the hashtag #80sdancechallenge has been used for over 10,000 videos – and amassed millions of views.
It’s been over 30 years since Spanish duo Los del Rio stormed the charts and sparked a dance craze with their smash-hit song Macarena
As part of the viral trend, millennial children play the 1984 hit Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat and ask their parents to show them how they danced in the 80s.
Earlier this year, TikTok user Ethan Baylin went viral when he got his mother to participate in the trend.
TikToker Phoebe – who boasts 670,00 followers on the account she shares with her father Paul (pictured) – was also quick to jump on the trend.
TikToker Meg, from the UK, also jumped on the trend and asked her mother (pictured) to dance while she took in the threshold of her bedroom
TikTok user Alexis (pictured) uploaded a video of her uncle dancing along to Smalltown Boy as part of the trend
Although apprehensive at first, Ethan’s mother – who was dressed in a grey playsuit and white socks – broke out into a jig.
As she got more into the dance, she then lifted her arms in the air and gave a twirl for the camera.
The video has amassed over 7m views and been ‘liked’ by over 500,000 people.
One fan replied: ‘I love this trend because at first you can kinda see their age but as soon as they start dancing, they look way younger.’
Another added: ‘Ahh she is loving the memories.’
A third said: ‘Seeing this trend, I think everyone’s parents danced the exact same way.’
What’s more, TikToker Phoebe – who boasts 670,00 followers on the account she shares with her father Paul – was also quick to jump on the trend.
She captioned her video: ‘Nice to see his moves haven’t changed in 40 years…’.
