Ba Ba Ba Dance: The Routine, Who Made It and How the TikTok Trend Started

If your For You page has been full of pairs taking turns to solo on a "ba ba ba" hook, you've seen the Ba Ba Ba dance. It's playful, it has a built-in moment for each dancer to show off, and it needs two people — which made it one of the most-copied "dances for 2 people" of October 2026. Here's who made it, the routine part by part, why it spread, and how to make your own.

Who made the Ba Ba Ba dance?

The routine comes from @otr.j5, a dance creator who posted it with a friend on 2 October 2026, captioned "Ba ba baa". The video was shot in a school library, in front of the bookshelves, with the phone propped at chest height — the setup most remakes copy. It passed half a million views.

What's the sound?

The post uses an original sound, listed on TikTok as "original sound", with the "ba ba ba" vocal hook that gives the dance its name. By late October it had been used in hundreds of thousands of videos. TikTok doesn't credit a released single for it, so search the trend by its name rather than a song title.

The routine, part by part

The original runs about 30 seconds in four parts:

1. Side by side (0–4.5 s). Both dancers stand close to the camera and move together: hand gestures at the chest, claps, shoulders bouncing on the beat.
2. First solo (4.5–11.5 s). The dancer on the left steps out of frame and the one on the right takes the middle: arms crossed and opened, a point to the sky, a hip roll, a turn to the side.
3. Second solo (11.5–17.5 s). They swap: the right-hand dancer exits, the left-hand one jumps back in and solos, mouthing along to the "ba ba ba".
4. Back in sync (17.5–30 s). Both together again for the rest of the routine — open hands, arm swings to the sides, knees bouncing — finishing with both arms over the head.

The solos are the hook: each dancer gets a few seconds alone, so the video works as a duet and as a little dance-off at the same time.

Why it took off

• It's built for two. You tag the person you did it with, which spreads it.
• Everyone gets a solo. The structure gives both dancers a moment, so friends, siblings and couples all want to try it.
• The hook sticks. "Ba ba ba" is easy to mouth along to, even if you don't know the words.
• Easy to film. One fixed phone, one take, no transitions.

How to make an AI version

If you'd rather skip the practice, our Ba Ba Ba template makes the video from your photos: the people in them do the whole routine — duo, solos and sync — in a 30-second 9:16 video with the sound. Photo 1 dances on the left, photo 2 on the right; with one photo, the template adds a friend. The step-by-step guide is in How to make the Ba Ba Ba dance AI video.

FAQ

What is the Ba Ba Ba dance? A two-person TikTok dance on a "ba ba ba" hook: both dance side by side, each takes a solo, then both finish in sync.

Who created the Ba Ba Ba dance? The dance creator @otr.j5, who posted it with a friend on 2 October 2026.

Can I do the Ba Ba Ba dance alone? It's made for two, but the AI template works with one photo and adds a partner for you.

Can I make a Ba Ba Ba video without dancing? Yes. The Ba Ba Ba AI template turns your photos into the dance, with the sound.

Make your Ba Ba Ba video →