Shake It Like They Shook It In That One Video Where They're Shaking It

So I’m sitting here trying to figure out what the heck to write about this week with so many ideas bopping around in my head. I’m watching the videos Dreá so kindly provided for us and I was taken aback by the number of hip-hop dance videos that are recommended to me on YouTube (looks like I may have a bit of addiction). So I took a break from my vigorous brainstorming to watch a few and that’s when it hit me: dance choreography seems to me to be the perfect example of a copy of a copy of a copy.


            The set up for so many of these videos is as follows: the first round of dancers usually includes the choreographer performing their original choreography. For the video above Alexander Chung is the gentleman in the tan, plaid shirt on the left. I like to think of this first performance as the presentation of the moves, the first iteration. Yet Chung is still putting his own interpretation behind his own moves. He is not simply going through the motions. Nor are his movements extremely precise. There is nothing “robotic” about his performance.
            As the video progresses, you’ll get to see a whole host of other dancers interpret Chung’s choreography. In addition to it just being different people going through the same motions, they all belong to different demographics, which affect their dancing. I always pay particular attention to the differences when a male choreographers' combo is danced by a woman (especially when there's a lot of crotch grabbing...) Also, there are a few instances where some of the dancers make repeat appearances in the video; does their performance change depending on who they’re dancing with?
            When Auslander writes about the Abacus performance, he states that one way machines perform in a different way than humans is that in "most traditional definitions of performance" there "is an emphasis on the agency of the performer as the interpreter of a text of some kind and an artist who expresses something of her own through interpretation.” To me this indicates the importance of a sense of ownership in a human’s performance. Nowhere is this more evident then when watching dance.
            Watching dancers move with great technique is fine. But if that is all that’s there, it’s not enough to create a captivating performance. I find myself totally hypnotized by this entire video, even though it is literally the same 45 second combo over and over again. And I have to believe that my enjoyment comes because each time I watch it, it feels like a new dance because of the dancers and their individual interpretations.

            I also believe that is why I am so drawn to hip-hop performances in general. As a dance style that came out of a desire to express oneself as opposed to one rooted in technique, it is less regimented than other dance styles and therefore more prone to iterations. In this video you can hear the onlookers reaction when a dancer takes a particularly juicy interpretation and owns it. You can’t help but holler.

And how can we possibly talk about dance iterations without looking at probably one of the most iconic dance videos in history. Take it away, Bey:

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