Case Study No. 0822: Staff of Calvert Library

Harlem Shake - Calvert Library
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Calvert Library Prince Frederick's librarians do the Harlem Shake!
Tags: Public Library Harlem Shake Calvert
Added: 1 month ago
From: CalvLib
Views: 258

[scene opens inside the Calvert Library, as staff are going about their normal duties (shelving books, putting up flyers, etc.), while one male librarian (wearing a blue hardhat) is standing in the middle of the room, shuffling his feet and pumping his fists to the sound of Baauer's "Harlem Shake"]
[as the song hits its crescendo ("Do the Harlem Shake!"), cut to all of the librarians dancing around the room with goofy props (a Cat in the Hat poster, a ski mask with goggles, dancing on top of a step stool, etc.)]

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From facebook.com:

Calvert Library, your destination for imagination, information and inspiration!
850 Costley Way
Prince Frederick MD

Title:Harlem Shake - Calvert Library Style
Shared with:Public

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From knowyourmeme.com:

"Harlem Shake", not to be confused with the hip hop dance style, is the title of a 2012 heavy bass instrumental track produced by Baauer. In February 2013, the song spawned a series of dance videos that begin with a masked individual dancing alone in a group before suddenly cutting to a wild dance party featuring the entire group. Despite what the name suggests, the videos present a wide range of hip hop dances, including the Bernie, Twerking as well as improvisations.

Origin
"Harlem Shake" by Baauer , the stage name of American music producer Harry Rodrigues, was uploaded to YouTube on August 23rd, 2012. The lyric "do the Harlem Shake" is a sample from the 2001 track "Miller Time" by Philadelphia party rap crew, Plastic Little. The lyric was taken from an incident in member Jayson Musson's life where he got into a fight and finished by getting up and doing the dance. Bauuer's song was met with positive reception from electronica & trap music blogs, as well as other artists including Diplo, Brodinski, and Flosstradamus. On January 30th, 2013, video blogger Filthy_Frank uploaded an episode that opens with four people dressed in latex suits dancing to Baauer's "Harlem Shake".

The Dance
The Harlem Shake is a style of dance that involves pivoting the shoulder out while popping the other shoulder out at the same time. Introduced in 1981 by a Harlem, New York City resident named "Al Bm," the dance was initially referred to as "albee" after his name, but later became known as the Harlem Shake as its prominence grew beyond the neighborhood. The popularity of the dance reached its peak around 2001, when it was featured or referenced in songs by several New York-based hip hop artists such as Jadakiss, Cam'ron and P. Diddy.

Spread
The dance itself is defined by Urban Dictionary as 'An eccentric upper body dance move that involves the shaking of the upper torso and shoulders.' On February 2nd, 2013, several parodies of DizastaMusic's video were uploaded by YouTubers TheSunnyCoastSkate and PHL_On_NAN, the latter of which would go viral on February 5th, amassing 300,000 views within 24 hours and prompting further parodies from other YouTubers shortly after.