You might have heard of that internet meme from Queensland, Australia that’s taking the world by storm. The song Harlem Shake has been around for some time, but the dance craze that’s named after it is getting so wildly popular that fans have kept posting videos on YouTube to imitate the original and make their own versions. Do you want to know why that group of five teenagers featured in the video became an internet sensation in an instant? The answer is simple. It’s actually the word simple itself.
Lesson #1: Dancing is for everyone
Being a 90’s kid, I grew up watching my cousins dancing to the tune of “Macarena,” “Barbie Girl,” “The Ketchup Song,” and most recently, “Gangnam Style.” These songs were not difficult to dance to, but they still require some gracefulness and a bit of mental skill in order to memorize the dance steps and patterns. I was a very bad dancer, and saying that I was bad is an understatement. That’s why I mentioned that I only watched my cousins dance and make their parents proud during family reunions.
A few months after Gangnam Style became viral, a follow up entered in the form of the Harlem Shake.. The original electronica song is actually three minutes long, but dance videos of it are usually just 30 seconds in length. The dance step involves shaking your body in any direction you want, and just… shaking it. And that’s what really made it popular. The dance craze purely relies on jump cuts (on the videos) and surprising random shake steps from people who do it. It’s very easy to imitate, and only requires pure craziness on your part to be able to dance to the song.
So there. A 30-second song with almost no lyrics and random dancing routines can probably convince you now to join the fad and make your own Harlem Shake video. As for me, I finally danced on the floor with my cousins when they played the song at a relative’s birthday party. It made me feel that I am given the right to dance.
Lesson #2: The steps shouldn’t always be followed
It doesn’t mean that you should not organize your goals anymore and stop answering your business phone—what I mean is for you to learn to unwind and let go of yourmasterfully planned life and career path. You can dance those pretty random dance steps and still look like you’re having fun in your company’s own Harlem Shake video. And you can apply that in your life. If your life plans make you feel as if there’s too much pressure, then try to set a day to do random things that you think will make you happy. You don’t have to keep memorizing the steps in your life to have fun—all you have to do is think that you WILL have fun, whether the steps go according to your plans or not.