Angry Dance

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"You're an angry dancer. I'm the same way."

A person gets angry and then dances in order to express that anger.

Almost always Narm and fabulously so.

A Dance Battler takes this trope to a logical conclusion, by beating people to death while grooving. If a sizable number of a Cargo Cult is doing this, it is likely a War Dance they're doing to hype themselves up into battle.

See also:

Contrast with Mating Dance.

Examples of Angry Dance include:


Comic Books

  • In Hate, Buddy and Valerie are at a party after one of their bigger fights, and the drunker she gets, the more out of control she gets, and eventually she starts dancing:

"C'mon, you faggots! I'll dance with anyone who's name isn't Buddy Bradley!"


Films -- Animation

  • In Happy Feet, Mumble angry-dances at Gloria when they have their lover's quarrel. Bonus points for scuffing snow at her.


Films -- Live-Action


Live-Action TV

  • "Bret's Angry Dance" from Flight of the Conchords. This song is instrumental, and is played when Bret starts dancing to vent his anger on being fired from the band. The dance closely follows the style of Kevin Bacon's angry dance in Footloose.
  • On Thirty Rock, Liz suggests that a former classmate is gay at a class reunion. He replies by saying "I'm so mad all I can do is dance," and begins to do so.
  • Peep Show: "Great. Now I'm getting an angry lap dance."


Music Videos


Myths & Religion

  • Happens a lot in Hindu Mythology. The God Shiva, who is both the God the Destroyer and the God of Dance, danced a spectacularly angry dance, called Rudra Tandava, when his wife Sati immolated herself. It does not end too well for her tormentors.


Puppet Shows


Theater

  • Billy Elliot has an Act 1 Finale entitled "Angry Dance".
  • "The Right Girl" in Follies


Video Games

  • Michael Jackson seemed to do this a lot, in his music videos mentioned above, but most specifically in his video game, where he can defeat Mooks with his "Dance Magic".


Western Animation

  • Wakfu
    • In season 1 episode 5, the Bullies (minotaur-like brutes) start a dance clearly reminiscent of a Haka before charging.
    • So do the Sadida warriors in season 1 episode 19.


Real Life

  • The Maori, the native people of New Zealand, have the War Haka, famously used by the "All Blacks" rugby union team. Yes, they perform a war dance before each game.
    • The Hawaii [Rainbow] Warriors, football team of the University of Hawaii, also do a Haka before games.