The Big Picture

• Elaine is the Seinfeld character that's taken advantage of the most in the series.
• Elaine's infamous dance on Seinfeld was inspired by a comedy icon's dancing.
• Seinfeld episodes draw inspiration from real life events and people, such as Kramer being based on Larry David's real-life neighbor.

Let's face it, everyone on Seinfeld is pretty terrible. That doesn't mean that we don't love them and laugh at their antics anyway, but Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are some very self-absorbed individuals. Fans of the series usually have a favorite of the Seinfeld cast, but no matter who yours is, we can all agree that Elaine gets taken advantage of the most.

Elaine is just as petty and selfish as her male friends, but as the only woman in the group, Elaine also has to put up with the most, from Jerry wanting another shot at having sex with her, dolt boyfriends who insist on eating at Arby's, dealing with mean women who won't "spare a square," and being made fun of for simply being herself. The last example was on full display in a Seinfeld episode when Elaine decided to let go of her stresses and dance. The atrocious display of movement was actually inspired by the bad dancing of a very famous person in the comedy business.

Elaine Horrifies Everyone With Her Dance on 'Seinfeld'

Elaine Benes' worst moment (or best, depending on how you look at it) occurred during Season 8. In Season 8, Episode 4, titled "The Little Kicks," Elaine takes George to a company party. She's asked to give a toast, so she stands and raises her glass. "Here's to those who wish us well," she says, "and those who don't can go to Hell." Her co-workers smile and laugh. We can tell they respect Elaine. And then she throws it all away with one move. Well, a series of very bad moves, really.

"Too Hot To Stop" by the Bar-Kays begins to play, and Elaine wants to dance. No one else will get up, so she decides to get it started and takes to the dance floor alone. Everyone turns their attention to her, excited to watch. Then the dance begins, with Elaine thrusting her arms and legs in odd directions. The crowd's excitement turns to puzzled looks. George looks horrified. "Sweet fancy Moses," he says.

Seinfeld Knew About Elaine's Bad Dancing

Later, George sees Jerry at his apartment. When Jerry asks about the party, George brings up Elaine's dance: "It was more like a full body dry heave set to music." Jerry asks, "Did she do the little kicks and the thumbs?" He's seen this dance before, obviously. We then see a flashback of Elaine doing the little kick dance on the sidewalk in front of a band. "Sometimes you can't help these people 'til they hit rock bottom," George admits.

It's then that Elaine walks in talking about how her staff no longer respects her. She blames it on George being there. Elaine then talks about the fun they had dancing and starts to do her dance again, this time in front of Kramer, who, as always, is completely unable to hide what he's thinking. "You stink," he tells her, leaving the apartment in shock at what he's seen. Jerry is then forced to tell Elaine how bad of a dancer she is. When she starts again, he stops her: "Please, please, not in my home."

Elaine's Infamous 'Seinfeld' Dance Is Based on Lorne Michaels

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Julia Louis-Dreyfus talked about how she came up with her memorable Seinfeld dance:

"I just stood in front of the mirror and tried to do movements that looked incredibly bad. I came downstairs, and I sort of auditioned these different movements for my mom and my husband, and they all voted on the one that I did [on the show]."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus may have come up with a really bad dance for the series, but she's not the inspiration for it. That credit goes to someone she knows well, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. (Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member on SNL from 1982-1985.) The true story behind Elaine's dance was revealed in Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s book Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything. Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten, who once used to be a receptionist at SNL, spotted Michaels dancing at an SNL after party one night. Armstrong writes in her book:

As he stood at the door late one Saturday, he spotted his boss dancing. What he saw, as he later told me, was Lorne Michaels dancing as if he’d never seen another human dance before. The man heaved and gyrated to a rhythm only he could feel.

Many 'Seinfeld' Storylines Are Inspired by Real Life

Finding out that Elaine's little kick dance was inspired by Lorne Michaels might be a surprise, but what isn't so shocking is to know that it came from real life inspiration. Many of Seinfeld's best moments come from either Jerry Seinfeld's or Larry David's actual life, or from the life of one of the many writers. Larry David is of course the basis for George Costanza. Cosmo Kramer comes from Larry's real life next door neighbor, Kenny Kramer. The Soup Nazi is a real guy. Festivus was made up by the father of Seinfeld writer Dan O'Keefe. Jerry's girlfriend who has "man-hands" comes from the mind of future Veep show runner Dave Mandel, who based "man-hands" on the large hands of his ex-girlfriend. He wrote the episode as a way of getting her back. Spoiler alert: it worked.

Seinfeld is a show about the little moments where its characters talk in the diner, Jerry's apartment, or wherever else, about the big moments they just experienced or are going through. It's often called "a show about nothing," but those so-called "nothings" are found in the little moments of real life. Some of the most iconic moments in sitcom history came about because a guy happened to live across from another certain guy, or because someone was hungry for soup, or because their girlfriend broke up with them. Or in the case of Elaine's little kicks dance, because a writer just happened to catch Lorne Michaels cutting a rug. (Or trying to.)

Seinfeld is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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