It’s not just FKA Twigs. It’s not just the Raes, Tate Mc, and Addison. It’s not just Katseye. It’s not just the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders or Adèla or Lexee Smith or that guy on your FYP doing the “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” moves. It’s not just Tyla’s new album or Sinead O’Dwyer’s choreographed runway show at the V&A. It’s everything and everywhere: Dance.
Over the past year, we’ve noticed an uptick in moves across culture, whether it’s viral trends (do you count 6-7 as a dance?), fine art performances (Rosalía’s collaboration with La Horde), or pop music (even Audrey Hobart is doing a jeté).
It’s not like dance ever went away, but that it hasn’t occupied this much space in mainstream culture since the early aughts. I’m talking Center Stage (2000), Bring It On (2000), Billy Elliot (2000), Save the Last Dance (2001), Chicago (2002), Honey (2003), You Got Served (2004), and Step Up (2006). The year 2005 alone brought the premieres of two new dance TV shows in the US: So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars, while 2004 had the infamous Janet Jackson halftime show, and 2003 saw Beyoncé’s solo debut, “Crazy in Love.” Those were the days of dancing in your living room like Regina George’s little sister (2004). In the 20 years since, Hollywood, music, and trends went elsewhere and we learned to love MCU movies, hyperpop, and the Ice Bucket Challenge.
This summer, though, we can feel the 5, 6, 7, 8 coming back in full force for all the reasons I listed above and because, after Hot Girl Summer, Brat Summer, and Brat Summer 2, we’re all sort of ready to shed our self-awareness and just dance. Sweaty, late-night, party, grooving dance. And we have the album to do it to: Confessions II.
So this week, everyone at i-D is exploring what it means to dance in 2026. I interviewed Judy Trammell, the head choreographer of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and Doug interviewed Grant Gilmore, the head choreographer of Katseye. Marley followed London dancers around for a week, and Nicolaia is exploring a brief history of TikTok dances. Flora learned to do the splits with an 89-year old phenom, and our friend Sakura Smith goes deep on dance in Japan. We’ve got a couple more surprises too, so polish off your Capezios and join us.
And remember, if you have a pitch for Dance Week, just reply to this email or leave it in the comments on the Substack app.
Hey Steff! About Dance Week... You should definitely check out what’s happening in Paris with CLMX, an experience merging club culture, guided freestyle dance, DJ sets and meditation.
No mirrors. No choreography. No levels. Just music, movement and mindfulness.
Dance as collective release. A true kinetic catharsis.
Full disclosure: I created it 👀 Would love to tell you more!
Got a club in Vegas. Everyone forgot to dance