Have you ever wondered where the moves of that Night Elf dancing on the mailbox come from? Our rundown of the World of Warcraft dance animations reveals the sources of all your favorite in-game dances.
I admit, I’m one of those WoW players who is constantly leaping into his /dance emote anytime there’s a break in the action. It doesn’t matter if I’m about to take down Cyanigosa or defending the flag in Warsong Gulch, I just can’t resist breaking off a few dance moves every chance I get.
All this dancing action has always made me curious, though. Sometimes, when one of these spontaneous dance frenzies breaks out, many of the moves seem somehow familiar to me. It turns out, in true Blizzard pop culture referencing fashion, many of the in-game /dance emotes have very familiar real-world inspirations. Here’s our rundown of the racial dances and their most likely sources.
Draenei Have Moves that are Out of This World
The male Draenei dance animation is mostly taken from a video by popular Indian recording artist Daler Mehndi. The video is for his song “Tunak Tuank Tun.” Almost every in-game move comes from this video, including the fantastic shoulder shaking maneuver and the single arm raising followed by rhythmic clapping.
The female Draenei seem to have acquired their moves mostly from the singer Shakira. Her belly dancing style, illustrated in the video for her song “Whenever, Wherever” is the most likely inspiration for female’s popular “waggle.”
Dwarven Dancing has an Multi-Cultural Flair
Male Dwarves seem to have some Russian in their bloodline, as much of their dance animation comes from traditional Russian Cossack dancing. There is also a hint of John Travolta’s “Saturday Night Fever” routine as well.
Female Dwarves have a more Irish slant, as their dance emote is clearly based on Irish step dancing, also known as “Riverdancing,” as performed by the infamous “lord of the dance,” Michael Flatley.
How do Gnomes Get Down?
The male gnome’s interesting (and nearly sexually explicit) dance has no clear single inspiration. Parts of the dance may have come from the end of M.C. Hammer’s video for “You Can’t Touch This” (mostly the ending). The thrusting/swatting motion always reminded me of Beavis and Butthead, personally.
Female Gnomes do a dance that is clearly inspired by salsa dancing, but doesn’t seem to have any one specific source.
Dance Like a Human
Human males have stolen pretty much their entire dance animation from John Travolta’s famous routine on the lighted dance floor in “Saturday Night Fever.”
As bad as impersonating Travolta might be, there is perhaps no dance in the game as lame as that of the Human female. Taken move for move from the mid-90’s embarrassment that is the “Macarena,” it’s impossible to watch this dance in action and not get that horrid song stuck in your head. Thanks for that, Blizzard.
Night Elves: Exhibitionists of Azeroth
Male Night Elves have perhaps the single coolest dance animation in all of World of Warcraft. I know people who have created NE characters simply to be able to bust out their fantastic dance moves. Their dance comes from Michael Jackson’s iconic “Billie Jean” video routine. Jackson’s reputation may have sullied a bit in recent years, but there’s no denying he was one of the greatest superstars of all time.
Perhaps the most popular dance in all of Warcraft, the female Night Elf’s dance moves come from French recording artist Alizée. Specifically, the dance comes from a performance of her song "J'en ai marre."