Dennis Appel went viral after his daughter made a video of him dancing like it is the ‘80s and posted it to TikTok. His page, dadsgotmoves, has been a busy one ever since, with clips of him showing off moves and living up to his slogan which reads, “just a crazy dancing dad here to make you laugh & spread good vibes.”
Dennis has been on podcasts and TV shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show for simply winning viewers’ hearts with his dancing. During an episode of the My Two Cents podcast, he credited his talent to growing up in the ‘80s and going out to dance since he was 14.
‘80s dance moves
@dadsgotmoves “I forgot how we danced then” 😂 #dadsgotmoves #dancingdad #80saesthetic #dancechallenge #dancingmom #trending #coolparents @MomsGotBooze ♬ Smalltown Boy – Bronski Beat
The ‘80s was a peak era for music and entertainment, with the release of movies like Kevin Bacon’s Footloose and Grease as the previous decade closed out. Like Dennis, many Gen X-ers and boomers his age have taken TikTok by storm, thanks to their young children making them dance like they would have as adolescents.
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The trend involves parents dancing to British synth-pop band Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” of 1984. One of the gyrating parents is Yeanne Velazquez, who recalled dancing to the song in Puerto Rico clubs at 19. The post by her 23-year-old daughter, Valerie Martinez, received over a million likes and thousands of comments from excited viewers.
It was wholesome to see older people get into their youthfulness for a few minutes via the dance trend, and TikTok users can hardly help but gush over these clips. “I swear I saw a glimpse of younger thems in their smiles for a split second. Very heartwarming,” someone wrote. Yeanne’s budding fanbase asked Valerie to share photos from her mother’s childhood, and she did not hesitate.
These viral moments prove that social media is not just for the younger generation but is also a chance for oldies to relax and relive their younger days. The likes of Cindeemindy became popular last year after grooving to 1980’s “Set It Off” by Strafe and the Old Gays, which are a group of four elderly men who have millions of TikTok followers just by sharing their fun moments online.