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School Bans 'Floss' Dance Move Because Of Links To Fortnite Battle Royale

School Bans 'Floss' Dance Move Because Of Links To Fortnite Battle Royale

The primary school's headteacher wrote to parents to say the dance was linked to the game which is "violent" and "addictive".

Anonymous

Anonymous

A primary school in Devon has banned the 'floss' dance because of its links to the video game Fortnite, which rewards the "mass killing of other human beings" with a "dance of celebration".

Fortnite's Battle Royale game mode involves multiple players in a free-for-all battle to be the last remaining player alive by killing or evading others while remaining inside a shrinking safe zone.

Fortnite has become the biggest game of 2018 and is bit of a phenomenon, with vast numbers of players worldwide and even more following the game online with livestreams on Twitch and YouTube.

Epic Games/Fortnite

Fortnite Battle Royale is beginner-friendly and free - meaning it's massively popular with gamers of all ages.

At the end of the round, the victorious players' avatars can do a celebratory dance that has become a nailed-on feature of round-based online games like Call of Duty.

One of the options is the 'floss' dance - the biggest thing since the iconic dab. It was made famous by the Backpack Kid, who first shared videos of him performing the dance with his classic deadpan expression online in 2016.

Youtube, Inside Edition

But it came flying into the mainstream - and became the bane of the lives of parents everywhere - in May, when the Backpack Kid performed the dance on Saturday Night Live during Katy Perry's performance of 'Swish Swish'.

While the dance may be seen as annoying by some - the same people who have inevitably tried it and failed - Ilfracombe Junior School in Devon has taken it a step further by banning its pupils from doing the dance in school.

PA

The headteacher of Ilfracombe Primary School, Catherine Cox, wrote to parents to say the dance move was banned because of its place in the "violent" and "addictive" Fortnite game and because children were using it to intimidate their classmates.

She said: "We want our school to be one in which human beings treat each other with kindness and appreciation.

"Fortnite is for 12 years plus. Fortnite is about mass killing of other human beings and being awarded by a dance of celebration if you are successful.

"One of these dances is called the Nazi dance!

Fortnite
Fortnite

"Fortnite is extremely addictive and playing violent games is associated with real-life aggressive behaviour and mental health issues.

"Children in our school have been using these dances to surround and intimidate other children."

But parents took to Facebook to say their children just enjoyed doing the dance and some of them had not even heard of Fortnite.

While they were keen on the idea of tackling bullying in school, others found the idea of the children intimidating each other with the dance move in some StreetDance 3D-style dance off "ridiculous".

The dance move has previously been a big hit in schools, with one teacher from Tottington Primary School in Manchester, Simon Hunt, posting a video that went viral of him being taught to 'floss' by his young pupils.

He said: "If you can't beat them, join them."

Featured Image Credit: Fortnite

Topics: UK News, Dance, Devon