History Main / SucksAtDancing

If the bad dancer in question is also a singer, it can go hand in hand with DreadfulMusician and HollywoodToneDeaf. A complete opposite to the DancingRoyalty. Contrast YouSaidYouCouldntDance.

* According to ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIIArielsBeginning'', Aquata dances like a "spastic piece of kelp". This is at odds with previous comics that presented her as a good dancer due to ballet lessons. The film [[{{retcon}} ignores]] the previous extended ''Franchise/TheLittleMermaid'' media in many ways (for example, Attina is the oldest sister in the third film but extended material previously put emphasis on Aquata as being the heir).

* For its anniversary event, ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' released a series of dance emotes for the whole cast. Turns out everyone is a pretty good dancer...and then there's Soldier:76, whose awkward dad dance has to be [[https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ImpressionableWearyHagfish-size_restricted.gif seen to be believed.]]

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[[quoteright:300:[[ComicStrip/{{Zits}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1810173_copy.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"I was ''dancing'', not having a seizure!"\\
"Like anybody can tell the difference!"]]

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[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* The titular character from ''Film/MyYoungAuntie'' couldn't dance even if her life depends on it, with her tango scene with her partner in the banquet looking more like a "human ragdoll" while she desperately tries keeping with the other dancing couples.
* ''Film/FourWeddingsAndAFuneral'' upholds the tradition of energetic but laughably terrible dancing at wedding receptions. At the first wedding, the happy couple, Angus and Laura, take to the floor for the first dance (to Music/EltonJohn's "Crocodile Rock"), and while Laura is decent, Angus looks like he's never even heard music before; at one point, he jumps with both feet in random directions, not even remotely in time with the music. Similarly awful (but enthusiastic) performances are turned in by several of the guests, including Tom, Scarlett, and Gareth, whose partner, Matthew, drily comments to Charles that when he first saw Gareth dance, he "feared lives would be lost".

* ''{{Series/Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia}}'': "The Gang Buys a Boat" When Dee shows off her P. Diddy boat dance and Mac says she looks "like one of those inflatable dancing things at the used car lot." Although she dismisses his opinion at first, she later accepts it, but only after challenging [[spoiler:an inflatable tube man]] to a dance-off and [[spoiler:"learning some amazing moves."]]
* Michael Scott, the delusional manager in the American version of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', is also completely unaware of how bizarre his dance moves are in second season episode "Booze Cruise," calling himself "the boss of dancing." Reactions range from embarrassment (Phyllis) to deadpan (Darryl) to dumbfounded amusement (Jim).
* On ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' Amy is an absolutely terrible dancer and ignores anyone who tells her so. This gets a great twist when she gets into a fight at a club with her brother (who is literally better at most everything) and challenges him to a dance-off. Jake tries to warn her this is a bad idea...but to his shock, Amy's brother is actually ''worse'' at dancing than she is.
* ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': According to God while angels (with the exception of Aziraphale) don't dance, demons ''can'' but are universally terrible at it. Not that this stops them from trying anyway. At one point the audience sees a clip of Crowley, Hastur and Ligur attempting to dance during the 70's. It's even worse than you can imagine.
* In ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', Baron Helmut Zemo's dancing skills at a party in Madripoor are... less than dignified, with him just moving side-to-side while shaking his arms. It instantly became subject to MemeticMutation, even to the point where [[AscendedMeme the official Marvel YouTube account]] released [[https://youtu.be/5nEzCv5u1O8 a one-hour loop of him dancing]].
* ''Series/ChappellesShow'': Creator/DaveChappelle set out to disprove the claim that white people couldn't dance in a season 2 episode with singer/guitarist John Mayer. Dave deduces that while most white people can't dance to hip-hop and R&B, they ''definitely'' know how to bust a move if they hear rock music. Dave and John later attempt their experiment at a black and Latino barbershop, [[BigShutUp with predictable results]], until Dave brings out Music/TheRoots drummer Questlove, and a Latino pianist to get the place jumping.

* Music/LLCoolJ's "You Can't Dance" is a TakeThat at people who think they can dance, but instead make themselves look just plain silly.

* ''My Two Left Feet'' is a play about a middle-aged accountant who decides that she wants to become a ballerina, and offers up her accounting expertise to a struggling ballet school in exchange for lessons. Naturally, while she is a brilliant accountant, she turns out to be a terrible dancer, and the point of the play is that she must accept that she can't dance but that she can still become involved in ballet by helping the school manage its debts.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Smurfette's Dancing Shoes", Smurfette tries to prove that she's a natural at dancing, only to find herself falling to the ground a few times, making her fellow Smurfs laugh at her attempts.

* Larry says Bob can't dance in the ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'' Silly Song "Dance of the Cucumber", irking Bob to no end, though the interruption of the Asparaguses prevents Bob from taking his anger out on Larry until Larry insults him again by saying he can't sing.
* ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'': The episode "Orangutango" shows DK to be a very stilted and awkward dancer while Klump is about goofy, erratic movements. It ends with the two agreeing to some dancing lessons.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Downplayed with Hop Pop. He ''is'' competent enough after a TrainingMontage, but his freestyling is completely erratic, enough to horrify everyone watching except Sylvia Sundew, who [[OnlyOneFindsItFun loves his moves]] and dances just as horrifically as he does.
-->'''Anne:''' ''[averting her eyes]'' "Why?! WHY?!"
* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': By his own admission, Oscar is not good at jigging. Thus, he prefers to play the fiddle at town gatherings rather than jig.

* ''Series/{{Swarm}}'': Dre gets a job as an exotic dancer, an odd choice for someone who basically humps the floor and barely puts any effort behind her pole dancing moves. Combined with her melancholic song choices and unpleasant attitude toward customers, she earns very little

Another variant used in shows and movies featuring a cast of primarily Black characters is to either make the token white character as bad a dancer as possible, or have the other characters assume that he can't dance, [[HiddenDepths only to be spectacularly proven wrong]].