Viral Video Wednesday – The Evolution of Dance

I am really enjoying doing Viral Video Wednesday, and have enough vids bookmarked for the next month at least. My kids are helping as best they can, thought I’m not really interested in posting mash-ups with The Outsiders video and South Park audio. Call me crazy, but I’m not that geeked up for them.

This week’s featured Viral Video is The Evolution of Dance.

TEoD was part of last week’s featured video, Weezer’s Pork ‘n’ Beans music video. This week I want to tear this vid apart by posting the components of The Evolution of Dance. I had a LOT of fun looking up these dances.

First up, The Bee Gees have immortalized the 70’s with their music, and “Staying Alive” is one of the dances included in TEoD. What’s up with Andy’s teeth, by the way? I don’t remember them being so… veneer-like.

This song, in case you didn’t know, was featured in the 70’s movie “Saturday Night Fever”. This movie secured disco’s place in living memory, even those born after the seventies (like my children) recocnize this song and the movies moves… When I played the Bee Gees vid they were dancing around my room Travolta dance floor style. And speaking of the song and movie, what moments from the movie sticks in your head? Here’s one of mine:

Okay, I know… it’s actually from the second movie… AND in Italian, but I couldn’t find the strut scene from the first movie on YouTube. If you have better luck, post it and let me know 😉

Okay… If you ever go shopping at the Wal-mart with me and the following song plays on the overhead, know this: I WILL stop whatever I’m doing and I WILL dance. Consider yourself warned. I can’t help but violently and uncontrollably laugh when I watch this video. The looks on the Cowboy’s and the Biker’s faces slay me! Was there actually a time when we thought this was cool? seriously?

And now, something I watched with the committed obsession of a religious zealot… The Brady Bunch:

AND now… OMG! Like this is so totally rad! Like, this video was like one of my favorites! Like it’s totally gnarly, you know? Like, I actually got to like watch this before my dad like totally turned mideval and like totally banned MTV from our house. Like, whatever!

Oh gawd… I hated the Lawrence Welk show with an absolute passion! It would send me into a rage faster than a rabid cat being held over a bathtub full of hot sudsy water. And this clip gives you the directions to a dance I don’t think anyone NOT comotosed is ignorant of. Seriously, if you don’t know the following dance leave a comment to say so, because I can’t believe there’s a person alive, conscious and under the age of 80 who doesn’t know it.

Oookay… so, I could actually put Vanilla Ice’s actual “Ice Ice Baby” video in here, but why? I loved watching “In Living Color” and now that they have the full seasons on DVD at Family Video, I still watch it. Jim Carrey, Damon, Shawn, and Marlon Wayons, Jamie Foxx, all got their boosts from this show. It was (and still is, IMHO) some of the best sketch comedy in the history of television, and the only thing that can truly compete with SNL’s early years (SNL is a crap shoot nowadays… and mostly it’s just crap).

Now, originally… The song “Apache” was done by Tommy Seebach, then The Sugar Hill Gang had their Apache, as did Sir Mix-A-Lot, and Missy Elliot (Missy Miss Demeanor, to show my age) sampled it in “We Run This” for the movie “Stick It” (great gymnastics movie, BTW). However, as far as I can tell, the only time it’s been danced like the dude does in TEoD is here:

I love watching Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and I still remember the first time this particular episode aired… yeah, now I am dating myself 😉

Even though he really refused to dance it, I wanna put it in here anyway. It’s another one of those dances you’ve had to live in a cave not to have caught. Like the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance, this dance is played at every party, dance and skating rink I’ve ever been to.

And I wanted to save the best for last, even though it’s out of order from the song. Doug and Steve Butabi are two of the most absurd and endearing characters in SNL history. They only ask one question: What is love?

Now it’s your turn. There’s tons of dances left in The Evolution of Dance video. Which one’s are your favorite? Leave them in the comments, or EVEN BETTER! Blog your own V V W and leave the link! I’d love to share yours as well as mine!

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