The Origins Of The “Reemski” Dance Taking Over New York City
Written by djfrosty on April 9, 2024
Source: YouTube / Youtube
The latest dance taking over New York City is the “Reemski,” and its Brooklyn creator and the Bronx rapper whose song its associated with are ecstatic over its popularity.
If you’re tapped into the latest dance trends in New York City, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the “Reemski.” Gaining viral popularity thanks to posts with over 1 million views and counting on TikTok and on X, formerly Twitter, the dance has gained new forms including as a joke on the performance of the MTA for example, and being banned in the Russian republic of Chechnya as part of activities that are at too fast of a tempo. Even Kai Cenat has picked up on it. The dance’s creator, Kareem Gadson, is happy with all of it.
“I just got tired of doing the dances that I was seeing out here,” Gadson said of creating the hit dance, which he says he did in 2016. “So I just decided to do my own.”
The aspiring rapper from Brooklyn calls his dance the “Reemski” because the leg movements are similar to those of downhill skiers. “As you getting low you have to move sideways like you’re skiing,” Gadson says. The dance is normally done to the Cash Cobain track “Fisherrr,” a collaboration song with Bay Swag, and requires the dancer to get lower to the ground by bending their knees as the bass drop of the song comes in while moving their chest and shoulders in unison. “If you ever watch someone skiing and then you watch my dance, then you will go ‘OK, I see what story you’re talking about.’”
For Elijah Hicks, the man who utilized the “Reemski” in a joke about Jesus walking out of the tomb, he suggests not being too caught up in the technical parts of the dance. “You just roll your shoulders, but it’s about the drop,” he said. “The drop is what makes it fun. It’s all in like one motion. Everybody can do it, because it’s so easy to do,” before adding, “Your grandmother and your grandfather could do it. All they gotta do is roll their shoulders.”
Gadson is particularly pleased that the dance hasn’t gotten any infamous attachments. “I like that it doesn’t have anything to do with violence,” he said in an interview. “It’s got a lot to do with just having fun and enjoying yourself.” As for Cash Cobain, he’s enjoying the dance because of the associated fame for his single, calling the timing of the “Reemski” going viral “perfect.”