Longhorns Do the Harlem Shake [Watch]

By Jack McBee in Blog on February 12, 2013 at 5:15 pm | No Comments

A new viral dance meme has UT’s Perry-Castañeda Library looking more crowded than on a night during finals week. (Yes, it’s possible!)

Last year, Gangnam Style—another kooky dance craze—took the world by storm when South Korean artist Psy’s music video became the first and only YouTube video to surpass a billion views. But now it’s out with the old, in with the Harlem Shake—the latest dance fad that baseball teams, grandmas, librarians, and yes, even UT students, are getting into.

Instead of a produced music video with a catchy tune and dance á la Gangnam Style, the Harlem Shake invites YouTube users to create their own versions of the video. And the idea has definitely caught on: there are now hundreds of Harlem Shake renditions online.

Usually only about half a minute long, the videos start with one person dancing by themselves in a calm setting—in this case, a UT library—until the bass line drops and chaos ensues. A group of people, often in outlandish costumes, begins dancing wildly to Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” song.

It didn’t take long for Longhorns to get in on the fun. The Harlem Shake (University of Texas Edition) was uploaded 18 hours ago and already has more than 40,000 views. Set on the fifth floor of the PCL, the UT version features many a burnt-orange T-shirt, but there are also some hidden gems in the crowd: a stuffed Pokemon doll, a Star Wars Stormtrooper, and a fist-pumping Obama, to name a few.

UT senior Elias Gardea, the video’s mastermind, claims no studying students were harmed in the making of this video.

“No one expressed any frustration,” he says. “There were a few students still studying, but when we told them what was planned, they wanted to participate as well.”

And UT’s not done with the Harlem Shake quite yet. On Monday, Feb. 18, more than 900 participants will meet in front of the Tower at 12:50 p.m. for another rousing rendition of the dance. As the Facebook event page says: “If you show up, you’re in.”

But Gardea won’t be attending.  “I’m retired from the Harlem Shake now,” he says. “I’m hanging up my hat.”

Tags: Elias Gardea, Gangnam Style, Harlem Shake, Perry-Castañeda Library, university of texas