Will Smith and Tatyana Ali Recreate Trending 'Anxiety' Dance

Will Smith and Tatyana Ali reunited to recreate their iconic "Anxiety" dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The viral trend, originally inspired by Doechii’s hit song, sparked a wave of nostalgia on TikTok. Fans were thrilled to see the two actors from the beloved show join forces again for a fun and energetic dance moment, reigniting excitement around the series and the song. The dance quickly became a trending challenge across social media platforms.

Smith and Ali's dance from the first season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has become a massive trend on TikTok. It was the ideal reunion moment.

On March 14, Will Smith posted a TikTok video featuring him and his Fresh Prince co-star Tatyana Ali participating in the "Anxiety" dance trend. The trend involves recreating a scene where Ali’s character, Ashley, dances in her room while listening to music on her headphones. Smith’s character, Will, sneaks into the room and mimics her dance moves. The challenge is set to Doechii’s popular track “Anxiety.”

In Smith’s video, he and Ali, wearing headphones, join the dance, and they are later joined by Doechii, who enters the room and dances along. Smith, 56, captioned the post, saying, “Waited 35 years for this dance to trend.”

The dance trend began picking up momentum in late February and has since become one of TikTok’s biggest viral moments. Smith had posted the original Fresh Prince clip on March 5, captioning it, “I’ve been watching y’all and every video has been better than the last!! Love that track @Doechii. @Tatyana Ali remember this?”

Doechii also posted a video of herself performing the dance, with the caption, “Who else is forcing everyone to do this dance with them?” Meanwhile, Ali, 46, shared a video of herself doing the dance solo at an airport.

The dance originates from the end of The Fresh Prince’s pilot episode, which aired on September 10, 1990. In the scene, Will has just moved in with his more conservative cousins and finds Ashley in her room dancing with the Walkman she took from him. Ashley explains that her father, Uncle Phil, won’t let her have a Walkman, so she uses Will’s. The scene doesn’t reveal the song Ashley was listening to, but it is a heartwarming moment that establishes the connection between the two cousins and sets the tone for the series.

The Fresh Prince ran until 1996, lasting six seasons and helping to propel Will Smith to superstardom. The "Anxiety" dance isn't the first dance trend the show has inspired—Alfonso Ribeiro’s “Carlton” dance became an iconic cultural touchstone after it debuted on the show.

In 2020, most of the original cast reunited for a special. A more dramatic reimagining of the show, Bel-Air, premiered on Peacock in 2022. Ali reprised her role in the second season as the teacher for the new Ashley, played by Akira Akbar.

Reflecting on her experience, Ali described the moment as a “360-degree moment” during a 2024 interview with People. She shared, “I’m telling this beautiful Ashley, ‘Always be yourself. Never let anybody define you.’” Ali went on to explain that the experience was emotional for her, adding, “She is the age that I was when I was doing Fresh Prince, and being a young actress on a hit show at this time was very special.” She emphasized the importance of self-protection, self-awareness, and confidence, traits that the new Ashley embodies.

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Source: people‍