Have you ever wondered how the internet smash Harlem Shake is danced? If you have asked yourself, you are in the right place! Come on, run - go get your grandfather's WWII helmet and a banana-shaped costume! Let's go!
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Make a Great Harlem Shake-style Video
Step 1. Find an extravagant setting
The beauty of the Harlem Shake is that it can be done anywhere with anyone (it's actually even better with people who don't dance). The more extravagant the setting, the more extravagant the result.
Just keep it organized in places where it is legal to do so (although it was also done on a plane). If you can do it in a posh French restaurant or in the middle of chemistry class, it's top notch. In short, do it where no one expects it
Step 2. Get a group of people together
They should be inconspicuous and should be in line with the setting. A couple of people is enough, but you'll probably get a better effect with at least half a dozen. Whatever the number of people, make sure they look casual.
The more diverse your group, the better the result. Do you have a friend who dances breakdance? Fantastic. You have a friend that you have to pay to take part in this video, but when he starts with her imitation of a Russian dancer, everyone is in awe? Better yet… do you have a friend in an armadillo costume? Speaking of costumes, go to the next step …
Step 3. Get a weird costume
Well, if you and your friends have met and want to make the Harlem Shake just for fun, you can just put on your pajamas and do your best. But if you're aiming for big YouTube fame, you need to be more than spectacular. Having a particular "look" is the best thing, but anything that attracts attention will do the same.
- In most videos, everyone has a particular identity. There's the guy dressed as a gorilla in the background doing his best to look ridiculous, the one the gangster does when everyone goes out, and the other one who, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to shake his belt. around his head as his pants fall to the ground. Whatever look you choose, make it special!
- But for the recording, start in normal clothes - or in any other way in keeping with the setting. The key is to start perfectly integrated into the context, and then BOOM! Get excited. Get into the rhythm. Move here and there.
Step 4. Play the music of DJ Baauer's “Harlem Shake”
After a few moments, a person has to start dancing. In principle, everything will start on the left of the screen, then move to the right. In most interpretations, people dress in some kind of hat or mask - leaving room for creativity.
Helmets, a balaclava, a turkey mask - everything is fine. And it doesn't need to make sense. In fact, the stranger it is, the better. Just covering your eyes is fine too
Step 5. When the chorus begins, everyone has to start dancing
And by "dancing" we mean fidgeting wildly in the way we like and like. The goal of the video is not to look beautiful or to keep time on tiptoe. Do whatever you want as long as everything is full of energy and fits the type of music.
- Do not be shy. Dance as if no one was there to watch. You can also close your eyes so you don't see the people around you. If you've always wanted to pretend you're having seizures or being possessed, this is your chance! You've been waiting for this moment for years, haven't you?
- In most of the videos, there is a noticeable gap between the beginning and the moment when everyone is wearing the costumes. You don't have to be a video pro to do all of this.
- This part is when there is someone who drops to the side, a girl who keeps moving her hair back, and someone else at the bottom mimicking an electric shock in a giant squirrel dress. You'll likely have a friend who insists on standing still in one spot and just shaking their heads intimidatingly. Each group has one.
Step 6. Have the video finish in about 45 seconds
One of the reasons the Harlem Shake is so trendy is because the ADD generation [ADD is the way our generation is defined] can handle it. It's fast and straight to the point. If you made a video longer, it would get repetitive and boring. You too, how long would you really want to watch yourself while you have a seizure?
Method 2 of 2: Make the Original Harlem Shake Move
Step 1. Lift your shoulders, first one and then the other, left and right
With each beat, shake a shoulder. "Shake" means: move your shoulder up and then out to the side quickly. The rest of your body must move smoothly as a result of each shoulder movement - it's not just the shoulders that move.
You have to move your shoulders almost in an arch, starting from the inside and then moving them outwards. When you lift your left shoulder, your right side should protrude outwards. Your hips should follow the shoulder motion by just a split second
Step 2. Now do everything in groups of three moves
If you're lifting your left shoulder first, go left, right, left. Then do right, left, right. If you are working with 4/4 music, then use the minimum, or the combination of the first quarter and the second quarter, for example.
Then try to go faster and faster. Electronic dance music can be very, very fast and keeping time is absolutely essential
Step 3. Start using your arms
When you lift your shoulders, your arms should be bent at the elbows, with your forearms and hands going in the opposite direction. So when you lift to the left, your arms go to the right. When you lift to the right, throw your arms to the left. Keep your hands in the shape of a fist, without squeezing them.
When you lift one shoulder, raise your fist a little. To make a wider movement, move the other shoulder a little down. When you add your arms later, this position is particularly beautiful to look at and allows you to be more relaxed. Your arms will therefore be at slightly different levels
Step 4. Add some personality
Keeping the same basic movements (i.e. lifting the shoulders and arms in the opposite way), create to your liking. Move your arms at shoulder level or even above your head. Add a hand movement to the musical beat (as if to get rid of negative energy, perhaps?) To make it all sound more beautiful. It's always Harlem Shake!
When you are working with 4/4 music (like most songs), alternate the 3 movement (start move, move, move on 1 and 2, 3 and 4) with the movement in 2 (move, move on 5, 6). Eventually you should move your shoulders five times to 1 and 2, 3, 4 and five more times 5, and, 6, 7, 8
Step 5. Know that this is different than the original fashion of the video
The Harlem Shake is a type of dance that dates back to the 1980s - it's not just a recent YouTube phenomenon, despite what your friends may tell you. The original fashion just involves dancing wildly and has nothing to do with this way of dancing.
