Pick It Up Dance Tutorial: Every Move, Step by Step

The Pick It Up dance looks fast on TikTok, but it is only six moves on one spot. The dancer bounces with the arms out, locks the hands on top of the head, turns to show the back, turns around again, drops into a wide squat and jumps with both hands up. This Pick It Up dance tutorial walks through every move in order, with the timing from the take most people copy, so you can learn it in an afternoon.

Short on time? You can also make the Pick It Up dance from one photo and skip the practice.

What the Pick It Up dance is

The Pick It Up dance is a short solo routine on TikTok, also searched as the “make it jump” or “put your hands up” dance after the line creators quote in their captions: “pick it up, make it jump, put yo hands up”. The sound is an original TikTok upload by DJ Zackkk from 23 April 2026. The routine itself arrived later. One of the earliest dance posts we found is a hallway solo by @cyber_kris1 from 26 September 2026, captioned “Pick it up boo”. The take most tutorials and AI templates now copy is the night plaza solo by @overlyyocean from 3 October 2026, which had about 723,000 plays when we checked on 10 November 2026.

You do not need a partner, props or a big room. The phone stays in one place for the whole take, and you never travel more than a step.

Before you start: set up the shot

• Phone height and distance. Put the phone at waist height about three meters away, in portrait. Every take we watched keeps the dancer head to toe in frame.
• Room above your head. Two moves put your hands high over your head, and the jump goes higher still. Leave space at the top of the frame.
• Shoes and trousers you can squat in. The squat is wide and deep. Stiff jeans make it look shallow.
• Start the sound from 0:00. The moves below are timed from the start of the clip. Count along with the beat rather than the seconds once you know it.

The Pick It Up dance steps, in order

The timings come from the 14-second @overlyyocean take, checked frame by frame. Other takes run a little faster or slower, but the order never changes.

1. Bounce with the arms out (0–1 s)

Stand with your feet under your hips and bounce on your knees. Fling both arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height, palms down. Keep the bounce small. It is a pulse on every beat, not a hop.

2. Hands up and locked on your head (1–3 s)

Sweep both arms up into a V, bring the hands together over your head, then lock your fingers on top of your head with the elbows wide. This is the pose every thumbnail shows.

3. Turn your back to the camera and bounce (3–6 s)

Keep the hands up and turn until your back faces the phone. Step your feet wider and bounce your hips on each beat. In the original the hands stay overhead the whole time and the stance gets wider as the bounce goes on. Because your back is to the camera, the outfit and the width of your stance carry this part.

4. Turn back to the front (6–8 s)

Drop the arms and turn through a side profile back to the camera. Take the turn slowly enough that the viewer sees the profile for a beat. Rushing it is the most common reason a take looks messy.

5. Loose bounce facing the camera (8–10 s)

A short reset: arms loose by your sides, a relaxed groove on the spot. It sets up the squat, so keep your weight low and your knees soft.

6. Deep wide squat (10–13 s)

Step the feet wide, turn the knees out and sink into a deep squat. Bring the fists up to your chest first, then drop the hands down by your knees and pump down on the beat. Go as low as you comfortably can. The depth of this squat is what people comment on.

7. Jump with both hands up (13–14 s)

Spring out of the squat and throw both arms high over your head as you jump, then land facing the camera. In the night plaza take the dancer lands leaning toward the phone, which makes a natural end to the loop.

The routine as a quick reference

Time (14 s take)	Move
0–1 s	Bounce, arms straight out
1–3 s	Arms sweep up, fingers locked on the head
3–6 s	Back to camera, wide stance, hip bounce
6–8 s	Turn through the side back to the front
8–10 s	Loose bounce facing the camera
10–13 s	Deep wide squat, hands by the knees
13–14 s	Jump with both hands high

Common mistakes and quick fixes

• The hands drop during the turn. Keep the fingers locked until you are fully back to front. Practice the turn slowly in front of a mirror first.
• The squat looks shallow on camera. Lower the phone a little and widen your feet before you sink. A wider stance reads deeper.
• Arms leave the frame on the jump. Step back half a meter or tilt the phone slightly down to leave headroom.
• It looks rushed. Count in beats, not seconds. Every move lands on the beat in the original, and the turn takes two full beats.

Duo and trio versions

The routine works side by side. A three-person take by @dtn.rayaaa posted on 16 October 2026 had about 1.2 million plays when we checked, and duo takes are everywhere on the sound. Line up shoulder to shoulder with a little space for the arms, agree who counts in, and do the turn at the same moment so all the backs face the camera together.

Make the Pick It Up dance from a photo instead

If you would rather not film it, OraClip turns one photo into a 10-second vertical Pick It Up dance clip with the same moves: arms out, hands locked overhead, the turn, the squat and the jump. Add a second photo to dance it as a duo.

Read the step-by-step guide to the AI version, or go straight to the Pick It Up Dance AI generator.

Pick It Up dance FAQ

How long is the Pick It Up dance?

Most takes run about 11 to 14 seconds. The @overlyyocean take is 14 seconds and a popular trio take is about 11 seconds. The full sound is longer, but the routine fits in that window.

Is there a big jump in the Pick It Up dance?

Yes, at the very end. After the squat the dancer springs up with both hands over the head. Some takes keep it small, but the night plaza take most people copy ends on a full jump.

What song is the Pick It Up dance to?

An original TikTok sound by DJ Zackkk, uploaded on 23 April 2026, which creators caption with “pick it up, make it jump, put yo hands up”. We explain where it comes from in the Pick It Up, Make It Jump song explainer.

Can beginners do it?

Yes. There are no spins on one foot, no floor work and no partner tricks. The squat is the hardest part, so warm up your hips and only go as low as is comfortable.

Related dance trends

More TikTok dances you can make from a photo: the Jisoo Addicted dance, the Parking Lot dance AI and the Chipmunks dance. Browse every current trend on the Trends page.

Sources

Timings were read from the @overlyyocean take. Play counts and post dates were read from the public TikTok posts by @overlyyocean, @cyber_kris1, @dtn.rayaaa and @djzackkk on 10 November 2026 and will have changed since. Further reading: the Atlas Cloud move breakdown and the MakeViral trend timeline.

Make your Pick It Up dance video from a photo →

OraClip is not affiliated with TikTok, DJ Zackkk or any creator named here. Creator clips are shown with credit and a link to the original post.