02/10/2026
The story behind Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” music video is almost as iconic as the video itself.
Directed by Spike Jonze, the video was built around a completely fictional dance group called the Torrance Community Dance Group, led by Jonze’s alter ego, Richard Koufey.
The idea was simple: make the worst dance performance imaginable and film it in public.
Jonze and the dancers showed up outside the Fox Bruin Theater in Los Angeles with a boombox and started dancing to “Praise You” in front of real people. The awkward reactions weren’t staged. Most of the people watching genuinely had no idea what was happening.
The dancing was deliberately terrible. Jonze played Koufey as an overconfident amateur who seemed convinced he was an incredible dancer.
Then a theatre employee came outside and shut off the music.
That reaction was real too.
Instead of stopping, Koufey continued the chaos, creating one of the most memorable moments in music video history.
And the best part? Fatboy Slim himself, Norman Cook, is actually standing in the crowd watching it all happen.
The entire video reportedly cost around $800 and was filmed in an intentionally lo-fi, documentary style.
Then things got even crazier.
The fictional Torrance Community Dance Group was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 1999 and won all three: Breakthrough Video, Best Direction and Best Choreography.
The fake dance group even performed “Praise You” at the VMAs.
In 2001, MTV viewers voted “Praise You” the greatest music video of all time.
A fake dance crew.
A boombox.
A cinema.
$800.
And one of the most iconic music videos ever made.
