DEEP DIVE

A dance move known as The Smeeze is rapidly growing in popularity on TikTok, but it’s been around for over a decade.

Origin

The Smeeze is a dance developed by Chonkie, a member of the East Oakland-based dance group the Turf Fienz, in 2009. Since Chonkie invented the dance in the Bay Area alongside his cousin who is named Smeeze, it’s gone viral on multiple online platforms including Instagram. It’s also been featured on The Ellen Show and has been performed by numerous big-name dancers including the Jabbawockeez. In 2019, the rapper Milla released an official Smeeze song.

How To Do The Smeeze

The Smeeze consists of a combination of stomping one’s feet, hopping up and down, and moving side to side. In-depth instructions can be found in YouTube tutorials and in TikTok videos like this one by Chonkie himself:

@chonkster_How to really Smeeze from the creator ##fyp ##foryoupage ##4u ##smeeze ##bayarea k♬ In My City – KINGMOSTWANTED

#Smeeze On TikTok

Although The Smeeze has been around for years, its virality on TikTok accelerated in February 2020 under hashtags including #Smeeze and #SmeezeChallenge. At the time of writing, videos associated with these hashtags have been viewed over 120 million times on the app. While The Smeeze can be performed to many different songs, it’s particularly popular to “She Gon Go” by Trill Ryan and “In My City” by KingMostWanted.

@chonkster_Now this is how you Smeeze wit @4ktreyyt @dijhae2k ##fyp ##foryoupage ##4u ##smeeze ##bayarea ##smeezechallenge♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

On TikTok, celebrities including Sterling K. Brown and fellow This Is Us cast members have posted their own videos of the dance.

@sterlingkbrownA family that smeezes together… ##smeeze ##smeezechallenge ##thisisus @justinhartley @susankelechiwatson @chrissymetz♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@g0ddessammiyaWho says mom can’t smeeze😂❤️ ##fyp ##foryoupage ##dance ##smeeze♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@sheafreak4jb##fyp ##smeeze ##foryoupage ##4y♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@meplus2crewNow I don’t wanna see nobody saying they learned how to do it incorrectly from me 😂😂 ##fyp ##foryoupage ##foryou ##bayarea ##smeeze♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@4ktreyytReal Bay Area dance ##smeeze ##bayarea ##fyp♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@ypkxComment which part?🔥🙌🏽 @konaniii ##fy ##fyp ##bayarea ##viral ##BeatTheZombieFunk ##smeezechallenge♬ original sound – adonii.ss

@prettyybabyyariiIf this don’t get us famous idk anymore ##fyp ##smeezechallenge ##foryoupage ##bayarea♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan

@allyabdallawe lowkey hit that tho @babeykyky @sweetlifeofteancum ##fyp ##foryoupage ##dance ##xyzbca ##CoolRanchDance♬ In My City – KINGMOSTWANTED

@jabez@crissa_ace♬ She Gon Go – Trill Ryan