Dance dance evolution

by Eszter Hargittai on May 28, 2006

As the resident danceoholic I have to link to this video on the Evolution of Dance. It’s been viewed millions of times so I suspect it’s not new to all of you, but perhaps some of you haven’t seen it yet.

I’m not sure if I should be proud of, embarrassed, excited, or feel pathetic about the fact that of the approximately thirty songs featured in the clip, I have definitely danced to most at parties or clubs in the past (there were 3-4 that I don’t recall). To be sure, I certainly had not used most of the moves featured on the video. I’m more confident that that part is probably a good thing.

Watching the clip is a trip down memory lane as the various moments from life rush back when the particular songs were popular at parties and clubs. For example, Cotton-Eyed Joe by the Rednex will forever transport me back to the Arcade 46 bar and dance floor in the basement of our dorm in Geneva where I spent my junior year in college. Just imagine hundreds of people in this hole dancing away to this and other songs (Macarena anyone?). Those were the days…

{ 8 comments }

1

Blake 05.28.06 at 1:19 pm

Beautiful and hilarious.

2

Carlos 05.28.06 at 1:32 pm

The Rednex’ Cotton-Eyed Joe drove me to the brink of madness on a road trip between San Francisco and Mexico City. We’re talking ia-fhtagn levels of mind alteration. Worse yet, they cut a whole freakin’ album.

3

Dæn 05.28.06 at 5:59 pm

That evolutionary journey came complete with its own smattering of atavisms—would’ve been cooler (not to mention more educational) if he’d gone in strict chronological order.

4

John 05.28.06 at 6:16 pm

Uhhhhh….Cotton-Eyed Joe…

That song will be forever creepy based on the time I went to the Camden Riversharks minor league baseball game (we won free tickets), and they played that song between innings, and all of the children in the crowd (which is to say, about two thirds of the crowd) in unison moved out into the aisles and danced to it. It was quite possibly the most terrifying thing I’ve ever witnessed.

5

Brendan 05.28.06 at 9:58 pm

I am also a big dancer, and am confident that I have danced to every one of those songs if you include bars, clubs, socials, festivals and the like. I realized this when I thought to myself “That is different than how I dance to THAT song”, which seemed happen for every damn song…The funny thing is, I am but 22. And suddenly ones life is reduced to snapshots of dance moves…

6

Ray 05.29.06 at 8:57 am

Eszter, how can we Europeans continue to put USians down with our effortless cultural superiority if you continue to post admissions like this?

7

eszter 05.29.06 at 10:21 am

But Ray, knowing all those songs is precisely what constitutes cultural superiority!

Brendan – that’s pretty impressive that you recognized every song and have danced to them, glad to know these songs are still in circulation.

8

Ray 05.29.06 at 10:29 am

That’s the kind of culture that makes me reach for my gun…

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