Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks and Will Smith as William “Will” Smith are pictured in an episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air“.
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The Carlton Dance is something that will forever live on in the hearts and minds of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” fans everywhere.
Ribeiro finally opened up to Variety on how the dance came to be. As a result, he wasn’t sure what the dancing should look like, adding “it was never even meant to be amusing; it was just that he was dancing”.
It’s remained so popular that there have even been “Carlton Dance” flash-mobs in recent years, and the actor is often asked to perform it whenever he’s in public forums, and often, he does with pleasure.
I didnt know Barry Manilow. “I was a hip-hop kid”.
Despite the lack of specific instructions, the “Dancing with the Stars” champ said that instinct told him to try thinking of the silliest thing he could to best illustrate Carlton’s personality. “Or in Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” video, “The White Man Dance” as he called it”, Ribeiro said.
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His creative inspiration paid off. Carlton’s cheerful, arm-swinging jive became a pop culture phenomenon and has since remained a favorite ’90s relic. One of his most iconic moments are during what we know as the “Carlton Dance”.
