Thousands of people have uploaded 30-second video on YouTube since February began, showcasing a dance step called “Harlem Shake.” This “new” dance step threatens to dethrone Korean viral superstar Psy’s gallop-horse dance featured in his hit “Gangnam Style.”
According to pop culture site Fader, a “Harlem Shake” video usually goes like this: “a person, usually masked, thrusts along with the music while others mundanely go about their day-to-day.Then, when the *drop* drops, action explodes: people change costumes, remove their shirts and generally lose it.”
“Harlem Shake” is also the title of the song you hear people dancing to in the video, produced by DJ and music producer Baauer aka Harry Rodrigues. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Baauer said that the song is not an homage to the actual Harlem Shake dance step that was popularized in 1981 and originated from, well, Harlem. Instead, he used a sample from Philadelphia rapper Plastic Little’s “Miller Time.”
