Hey everyone, so I guess I'll start this blog off. I found this video of a comedian dancing through the decades. It's an interesting approach to dance in our culture. Throughout the semester (by looking at the syllabus) it seems we will be talking about different types of dances throughout various subcultures. In this video, the comedian goes through the decades using songs that were very big in pop culture for the time. All of these dances are seen as somewhat "American" from the "Twist" to the "Cotton Eyed Joe" in a different way from the "Square Dance" to the "Hula," which are most based on subcultures. Each song he dances to has its own dance, that basically everyone (who was alive at the time in this country) knows. I found this a different way to study and look at Dance in American Culture. Dances often are the result of songs as is the case here. Many of these dances came from the artist's music video such as N'Sync's "Bye Bye Bye." Here's the link, it's really funny and you can all dance along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg&feature=bf_play&playnext=1&list=QL&index=1
Hey Kim,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. Apparently, it's YouTube's #1 video of all time. What does its popularity say about the place of dance in American popular culture?
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great first post!!! I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Evolution of Dance video. This video was hysterical and really highlighted every time period of dance. What's great is that I was bouncing along the entire time. I knew every song/dance and when it was from! What does that say about the evolution and legacy of dance? Will the dances of today be just as remembered as Michael Jackson's Thriller or The Twist? I wonder if our dances will have the same effect on people 30 years from now.
Thanks!!
Alex
To respond to the first comment. I had no idea that this was the number 1 video on YouTube. I just did a search for dance videos and thought it was an interesting way to look at dance. However, now that I know it is the number 1 video I think it makes perfect sense. I think these dances are popular now because they were popular then and it is a sort of cycle, we know these dances because they were big and famous and they keep being shown. It shows that dance is a huge part of American culture, there are so many video categories on YouTube and that dance is number 1 says a lot. Which leads me to respond to the second comment. I think it is a really interested point, will the dougie be as popular as the twist? I have no idea, and we will sure find out. And the fact that you were able to dance around is great and part of the cycle. I bet the majority of people would know most of those dances.
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