Harlem Shake

I have seen the phrase “Harlem Shake” everywhere on Facebook and I am kind of annoyed. At first, I did not know what my friends were talking about. I thought it was some kind of drink similar to milk shake, but made in Harlem! But, more and more people are talking about it and posting videos. Then I did some research about it.

According to Wikipedia, in early February 2013, Harlem Shake video that was posted by YouTube comedy vlogger Filthy Frank became famous. Then it went viral and made it onto Today show. Now there are more than 11,000 versions of Harlem Shake videos on YouTube and received more than 44 million views. The videos are short and they last only 30 seconds each. There is no set of rules or dancing style. The setting can be anywhere: office, dorm room, gym, or even underwater.

In the beginning (the first 15 seconds of the video), the person with the mask, helmet, or something covering his/her head is dancing. Other people around that person ignore the dance and carry on their work. When the music changes, the scene is changed. All the people go wild and dance whatever they think is funny. The feature song in almost all the video is the song Harlem Shake by Baauer, electronic musician and Brooklyn-based producer.

History: it referred to the dance created in Harlem, New York in 1981. The dance was descended from Ethiopia and was called Eskista. This is the original Harlem shake dance.

These are some of 2013 Harlem Shake videos:

Baruch Edition (VC 8th floor)

The University of Georgia’s men’s swimming team

Maker Studios

Queens College (CUNY challenge)

There will be another Baruch edition Harlem Shake video filming on February 21, 2013 1:00pm.

Reference: Wikipedia, ABC news, and Washington Post.