You know the image. It’s 1989. Jean-Claude Van Damme is wearing high-waisted pleated khakis and a black tank top that’s doing a lot of heavy lifting. He’s in a sweaty Thai bar, slightly inebriated, and suddenly, he starts swaying.
It’s not just swaying. It’s a rhythmic, hypnotic, and somewhat aggressive shimmy that has survived three decades of pop culture shifts. Honestly, Jean-Claude Van Damme dancing in the movie Kickboxer might be more famous than the actual martial arts in the film.
That’s saying a lot for a guy nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels."
Most people see the meme and laugh. They see the guy from Bloodsport doing a goofy "dad dance" and think it’s just a relic of 80s cheese. But if you look closer, there’s a weird kind of grace there. It isn't accidental. Jean-Claude actually spent five years studying ballet starting at the age of 16.
He once told Late Night with Conan O'Brien that ballet is an art, but it's also "one of the most difficult sports." If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive anything. You see that training in the way he moves his hips. Most action stars of that era moved like refrigerators—heavy, clunky, and strictly linear. Van Damme moved like a pendulum.
The Kickboxer Scene: How It Actually Happened
In the context of the film, the scene is basically a "training" moment. His mentor, Xian Chow, wants to test his focus. So, he gets Kurt Sloane (Van Damme) drunk and tells him to dance with some local women.
Then come the thugs.
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The music is "Feeling So Good Today" by Beau Williams. It’s got that quintessential 80s synth-pop beat that feels both dated and strangely timeless. As the thugs move in to start trouble, Jean-Claude doesn't stop dancing. He integrates his kicks and splits directly into the rhythm.
It’s the ultimate "flex" before the term existed.
Why the Internet Won't Let It Die
Memes are the lifeblood of the modern web. And JCVD is a king of the format. Around 2015, a video of him recreating the dance on Conan went nuclear. He was 54 at the time. He walked out, the music hit, and he did the exact same shimmy. No warm-up. No hesitation.
The audience lost their minds.
People have edited that clip over almost every song imaginable. You’ve probably seen the version where he’s dancing to Dr. Alban’s "It’s My Life" or some obscure techno track. It works because the rhythm is so consistent. He has this weirdly perfect internal metronome.
But there’s a deeper reason it sticks.
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We live in an era of hyper-curated, serious action heroes. Everyone is gritty. Everyone is "tactical." Van Damme was different. He was a world-class martial artist who wasn't afraid to look absolutely ridiculous for five minutes in the middle of a revenge flick. That vulnerability—that willingness to be the guy in the pleated pants—is why he’s still a legend at 65.
From Ballet to the Big Screen
The transition from a ballet studio in Brussels to a film set in Thailand isn't as long of a jump as you’d think. Jean-Claude’s teacher, Monette Loza, once said he could have been a professional dancer.
He was incredibly flexible. He could do the splits between two chairs.
That flexibility is what made his kicks look like art. When he’s dancing in Kickboxer, he’s using the same core strength and balance required for a grand jeté.
- 1984: He's an uncredited extra in Breakin'. You can literally see him in the background of a dance scene wearing a black singlet.
- 1989: Kickboxer changes everything.
- 2015: The Conan recreation proves the legend is alive.
- 2025: His official social media accounts still use the dance to engage with millions of fans.
It’s funny to think about, but Jean-Claude Van Damme dancing is basically the "Friday" mood for an entire generation. It represents a time when movies were allowed to be fun, slightly weird, and unapologetically physical.
How to Channel Your Inner JCVD
If you're looking to capture that specific energy—confident, fluid, and maybe a little bit drunk on life—here is the breakdown of the "Sloane Shimmy."
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First, forget about your feet. It's all in the shoulders and hips. You need to sway with a slight delay, like your body is trying to catch up with the beat. Second, the clap. The clap is essential. It signals that you are the center of the room.
Finally, the splits. Okay, maybe don't do the splits unless you've been stretching since the Carter administration.
The real lesson from Jean-Claude isn't about the specific moves. It’s about the attitude. He owns that floor. He’s not worried about whether the thugs at the bar think he looks cool. He knows he's the baddest guy in the room, so he can afford to dance.
Honestly, we could all use a bit of that.
Stop taking your workouts and your "image" so seriously. Go to a bar. Put on some synth-pop. Sway your hips like you've got a black belt in karate and a background in French ballet.
If you want to see the master in action again, look up his 2025 Instagram clips where he’s still busting moves by his pool at age 64. The man is a machine. He’s outlived the critics, the skeptics, and the trends.
Ready to see it for yourself? Go watch the original Kickboxer (1989) bar scene. Pay attention to the timing of the first kick—it lands exactly on the beat. That’s not movie magic; that’s a professional dancer showing the world how it’s done.
Take a page out of the JCVD playbook: stay flexible, don't be afraid to look goofy, and always be ready to kick a pillar if the situation calls for it.