The Space Pirate Boogie represented a conventional dance of the Corellian people. Before his banishment by the Galactic Empire, the Corellian folk-singer known as Grondorn Muse was famous for spontaneously performing the Space Pirate Boogie as a conclusion to his shows. In the year 5 ABY, Han Solo, also a Corellian, threw a party celebrating his new home in his sky house on the planet of Bespin; the band he employed were familiar with all the Corellian dances he enjoyed. At this gathering, Solo instructed his lover, Leia Organa, in the steps of the Space Pirate Boogie.
The initial depiction of the Space Pirate Boogie was in the 1992 children's book titled Zorba the Hutt's Revenge, authored by both Paul and Hollace Davids.