http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/fresh-prince-of-bel-air-alfonso-ribeiro-carlton-dance-1201570543/

Alfonso Ribeiro says inspiration came from Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark and Murphy’s Delirious videos.

LOL! Yeah it makes sense the Carlton dance is basically a funny way way of how white people dance.

I agree! Eddie Murphy did a variation (or precursor) of the "Carlton Dance" during his discussion on the differences between blacks dancing and whites dancing ("Do y'all listen to the words, or the beat?") in his classic comedy concert film "Eddie Murphy Raw."