Meaning
A famous early-1990s dancehall dance move in which the dancer bends the knees and flaps them open and shut like a butterfly's wings while rolling the hips. One of the first Jamaican dancehall moves to sweep the world, it launched the era of named, choreographed dancehall steps that continues today.
Examples
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She a do di butterfly inna di dance.
She's doing the butterfly at the dance.
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Di butterfly did tek ova di whole dancehall.
The butterfly took over the whole dancehall scene.
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Everybody learn fi wine an do di butterfly.
Everybody learned to wine and do the butterfly.
Origin
Named for the wing-like knee motion; an early-1990s dancehall move that popularised named dance steps. See [[dutty-wine]], [[bogle]].
How it’s used
A signature 1990s dancehall dance (knees flapping like wings). Part of the named-dance tradition. See [[bogle]], [[dutty-wine]], [[skank]].