Dance Crazes: Bringing a Whole Community Together

By Gil Alon

Arts Reporter

Traditionally trends in dance have been dictated by professionals, but the recent spread of dance challenges and crazes like the “whip” and “juju on that beat” have increased the accessibility of dance, bridging together professionals and the general public.

Dance challenges have only been around for a short period of time, but during that time they have taken over parties, prom, and even the hallways at school– everyone seems to be dancing to the latest new song or craze. The popularity of these dances derives from the fact that anyone can get involved.

“It’s a way for everyone– even if they can’t dance [or] can dance– to get involved,” junior Annabelle Elmaleh said.

The positive atmosphere that emerges as everyone gets excited when that song comes on is the reason these dance moves continue to spread. The ability to be creative without judgement is a unique elements of these trends that does not exist in many aspects in high school, and it is another key factor in the rise of popularity of these dances.

These trends have also gotten increasingly ingrained in our social consciousness.

“After one person does [the dance], other people feel like they need to do it too,” sophomore Vanessa Yee said. “It’s related to clothes– if someone buys something, then the next person buys something. It’s like a trend.”

Though the cycle of trends seems to be going strong, the dances themselves are often somewhat short-lived. Everyone is doing it one day, but then no one is doing it the next. However, the popularity of these dances would not have been able to rise to today’s levels if not for the power of social media. The generation of students that have grown up with Facebook and Youtube have also been inspired by the videos they are watching online.

“From watching videos on Youtube and Facebook, it’s been interesting to see people do those moves in their own style,” senior and captain of the dance team Samantha Saada said. “A lot of people watch those videos and that gets them excited, and then they want to do it too and look as cool as them. People can make those moves into their own style and still look good while doing it.”

The accessibility of these videos allows for these dance crazes to not only spread, but also to remove the curtain separating professionals from everyday people. Now like never before, users can go on Youtube to look up dance videos and learn how to do them. A huge community of choreographers, hip-hop dancers, and ballerinas are posting thousands of videos to be viewed, inspired, and replicated.

These dance crazes have come up as a product of a larger trend of dancers coming together over social media to inspire each other. Now, with one common dance, dancers are connecting with their audience and each other. In addition, these popular dance moves make celebrities out of their creators, giving more people the courage to put their videos online.

“Some people express themselves through those dances because [they] are afraid to show their own moves [in public], so people share videos on social media instead of in person,” Yee said.

The blurring of the line between viewers and dancers provides more timid people an outlet to take the leap and share their talent. Especially now with the huge online community, posting a dance video is not any different than posting a status or a picture.

This surge of dance crazes into enormous popularity creates a cycle: more and more people post videos, more people are comfortable posting videos, and thus will have the courage to do it. In this aspect, social media has created a supportive community like no other. The seriousness that it once had is being replaced with the acceptance of everyday people dancing in their bedrooms.

Even more structured dancers like the dance team at South realize the importance of putting these dances into their routines, as these dances have been incorporated frequently in past routines.

“We put [the dances] in once or twice in a routine to get the crowd going, because I feel like those moves gets everyone more excited,” Saada said.

Overall, these dance crazes have allowed many more people to experience the beneficial aspects of dancing, whether it be by oneself in one’s bedroom or in front of a crowd.

“For me personally, [dance is] therapeutic and lets my emotions out,” Saada said. “I feel like a lot of people can relate to dancing as a way of dealing with their problems.”