--- title: Alfonso Ribeiro Explains Fresh Prince of Bel Air Carlton Dance description: We have Courteney Cox, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Murphy to thank canonical: https://time.com/4004806/alfonso-ribeiro-explains-carlton-dance/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-20T16:39:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:14.226Z og:title: Here's the Origin Story of the Carlton Dance from 'Fresh Prince' og:description: We have Courteney Cox, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Murphy to thank og:url: https://time.com/4004806/alfonso-ribeiro-explains-carlton-dance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt536112429efde605/6988603d2dce0103039e52dd/gettyimages-140621933.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2321 og:image:height: 1306 og:image:alt: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's the Origin Story of the Carlton Dance from 'Fresh Prince' twitter:description: We have Courteney Cox, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Murphy to thank twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt536112429efde605/6988603d2dce0103039e52dd/gettyimages-140621933.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's the Origin Story of the Iconic Carlton Dance From _Fresh Prince_ > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: 5 Elements of A Viral Video [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Elements of A Viral Video](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vgQtqA8c.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2015-06-22. 5 Elements of A Viral Video_ by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Aug 20, 2015 4:39 PM UTC  Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air NBC/Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Aug 20, 2015 4:39 PM UTC _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ is one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, largely because it introduced us to the cultural phenomenon known as[ the “Carlton Dance.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ8) And now, finally, we know where this iconic jig came from. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton Banks, [told _Variety_ ](http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/fresh-prince-of-bel-air-alfonso-ribeiro-carlton-dance-1201570543/)that the dance was mostly improvised. It was created because the script simply read, “Carlton dances.” Ribeiro took it from there. “It was never even intended to be funny; it was just that he was dancing,” Ribeiro said. “The dance is ultimately Courteney Cox in the Bruce Springsteen video ‘[Dancing in the Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs);’ that’s the basis. Or in Eddie Murphy’s ‘Delirious’ video, [The White Man Dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsyYuFv5ltc) as he called it. And I said, ‘That is the corniest dance on the planet that I know of, so why don’t I do that?'” Soon enough, the Carlton Dance became a legend. 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