How to do the Angry Dance Filter (the Bad Times trend) on TikTok and Reels

What does the Angry Dance Filter look like?

The camera plays the other side of the fight. You lip-sync at whoever is holding it while the argument builds from a point at the lens to a side turn, and nobody actually speaks. The sound is “Bad Times,” a deep house single by Imael Angel released on March 30, 2026, and the trend took off on TikTok in September 2026.

Angry Dance Filter is the name of VCap’s CapCut template for this argument version, and of this site. People also search for it as the Imael Angel trend, the angry lady dance and the heated-argument or dispute trend. For where it came from and the best-known versions, see the Angry Dance Filter trend explained.

How to do the Bad Times trend, step by step

1. 1

   Set the phone up vertically at chest height

   Hold the phone upright at about chest height, or have a friend hold it so you have someone to argue with. If you’re filming alone, prop it on something steady and use the countdown timer.

2. 2

   Frame yourself from the waist up or full body

   Waist up keeps the focus on your face and hands, like the close-up kitchen version. Full body gives the lean and the side turn more room. Keep your head near the top of the frame.

3. 3

   Add the Bad Times sound from TikTok’s library

   In TikTok’s camera, open the sound picker and search for Bad Times Imael Angel. Pick the one credited to Imael Angel, since Kairo West has an unrelated song with the same title. The sound then plays while you record.

4. 4

   Run the argument in order

   Point at the lens, throw your palms out, put your hands on your head, shrug, lean in toward the camera, then turn to the side. Make each move a little bigger than the last.

5. 5

   Keep a straight face and never speak

   Don’t laugh or break character. Lip-sync the vocal as if it were your side of the argument, but never say anything out loud.

6. 6

   Record a few takes

   Practice once or twice, then record two or three takes and keep the one where every move reads clearly.

7. 7

   Trim and post

   Cut the dead time before your first point and after the turn, add a caption and the hashtags below, and post.

Use a CapCut template instead

CapCut is where the Angry Dance Filter name comes from. VCap’s Angry Dance Filter template runs about 15 seconds, vertical, with one media slot, and had 40.45K uses as of October 26, 2026. Open CapCut (the app or the web version), find the template, tap Use template, add your photo or video, preview and export.

Mila69429’s Aidance (94.11K uses) and zallmw_’s Bad times dance (34K) show a baby doing the same moves, and Karata’s Sheldon Bad Times (10.73K) gives a sitcom character a playful routine, all as of October 26, 2026. The Angry Dance Filter CapCut template guide has more on each of them.

Make it from one photo with AI

The trend also has an AI branch: people turn a single photo of a pet, a baby, a friend or a cartoon character into the same routine. The Angry Dance Filter does that with AI motion control. Upload one photo, pick a template, and the person in your photo performs its moves in a short vertical video.

Angry Dance Filter

VCap’s argument dance, 15 s. A full-body photo works best.

Sheldon dance

A playful Sheldon routine, 15 s. Also best with a full-body photo.

Angry lady dance

The kitchen clip, close-up, 14 s. A waist-up photo works.

Choose 5 seconds, 10 seconds or the full dance at 720p or 1080p. A full-length 720p video costs 10 credits, every template costs the same for the same length, and the cost shows before you generate. Videos are usually ready in a few minutes. The full walkthrough, with the credit table and photo tips, is in how to make a Bad Times AI video, or go straight to the generator.

Angry Dance Filter on TikTok: sound and hashtags

If you filmed inside TikTok with the sound added, you’re set. Otherwise, add the sound in TikTok’s editor: search for the song and set its start so the music lines up with your first move. Do the same with a video made with AI on this site, so the music comes from TikTok’s library and the license stays with the platform.

Use the two big trend tags, #badtimesimaelangel and #imaelangeltrend. Add #angrydancefilter for people who know the dance by the template’s name.

Angry Dance Filter on Instagram Reels

Reels works the same way. Film vertically in the Reels camera or upload a vertical clip, including one made here, then add audio in the Reels editor: search for the same song and line it up with your first move. You can use the same hashtags, but the counts above are TikTok’s, not Instagram’s.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Camera too far away. Your point and your face end up tiny on a phone screen, so move closer.
• Not filling the frame. Empty wall above or beside you makes you look small. Keep your head near the top.
• Speaking. The joke is a whole argument with nothing said out loud, so lip-sync without making a sound.
• Flat lighting. Dim overhead light flattens your face, and a window behind you turns it into a silhouette. Face the light instead.
• Starting at full anger. If the first point is already your angriest, there’s nowhere to go. Build up to the turn.

Window behind you

Light on your face

Questions people ask

Sources

• Apple Music: the single — single, released March 30, 2026
• Deezer: Imael Angel artist page — biography describing a deep house producer