The Harlem Shake is the new craze all over the world in February 2013. Countless YouTube videos featuring Harlem Shakes appear every day. But what exactly is this? Why do people do a weird dance? Where does this craze come from? This is explained to you in this article, so that you are completely up to date with the new craze: The Harlem Shake and perhaps you will also perform a Harlem Shake yourself?
What is The Harlem Shake
‘The Harlem Shake is one of the latest hypes on the internet. In these videos of approximately 30 seconds, someone initially dances alone, accompanied by apparently uninterested bystanders. After 15 seconds the music starts and everyone dances along. ‘ (Source:Omroep Gelderland)
The first person to start The Harlem Shake is often masked or wearing a helmet. The bystanders are unaware that this person is doing The Harlem Shake. When the bass drops in the song, the video speeds up and everyone joins in with The Harlem Shake. This is done by wearing little or very strange clothing and then making very strange movements. To perform The Harlem Shake you do not need any musical talent or sense of rhythm, everyone can participate. There is also no special dance involved. Just running, jumping, crawling and hopping around crazily fits perfectly within The Harlem Shake.
Where does this new craze come from?
Harlem Shake is a single by the American DJ and music producer Baauer and also an internet phenomenon. The single was released in May 2012, but The Harlem Shake only became popular in many countries around the world, including the Netherlands, around February 2013. This popularity is due to the release of a video by vlogger Filthy Frank. He has 13,000 followers on YouTube. These followers spread the video at breakneck speed and more and more people started imitating this. In just a few weeks, more than 12,000 Harlem Shakes videos were created and posted to YouTube.
The new ‘Gangnam Style’?
The Harlem Shake is the new big craze after Gangnam Style. This ensures that The Harlem Shake is seen as the successor to Gangnam Style, where everyone also does a crazy dance inspired by the song Gangnam Style by the Korean singer PSY.
Why is The Harlem Shake so popular?
First of all, The Harlem Shake is popular as they are short films. On average, a video lasts about 30 seconds: the first 15 seconds someone is doing something alone, the last 15 seconds everyone participates in The Harlem Shake with crazy movements. Short videos are attractive to watch because the core is discussed quickly and you do not have to watch for minutes to see something.
Also, one of the reasons why The Harlem Shake is so popular is the fact that well-known examples also do it: for example, the PSV youth team has recorded its own Harlem Shake. More and more football clubs are following this and are also going to perform a Harlem Shake.
Where can examples of Harlem Shakes be found?
If you enter Harlem Shake on YouTube you will get numerous videos of Harlem Shakes being performed. You will also see that these videos all have the same core, but are otherwise completely different. Some Harlem Shakes are performed by sports clubs, others by groups of friends, others by a school class or by a group of colleagues. In short: everything is possible with The Harlem Shake.