Harlem Shake Hits APU

If you haven’t heard of the viral craze known as the Harlem Shake yet, it has made its way to a local college campus.

The Harlem Shake You Tube videos – purposely silly and thankfully short clips of people dancing to Baauer's "Harlem Shake” – has exploded via social media. Starting with a clip made by bored teenagers in Australia frenetically dancing to the song in early February, it has been copied and spoofed by groups all over the world, from the Norwegian Army to the Dallas Mavericks, to students at Azusa Pacific University. Each clip has its own eccentric take on the dance.

Ironically, neither the videos or the song, have anything to do with Harlem, or the original Harlem Shake hip hop dance, thus already generating a backlash.

Just as employees in El Monte found themselves jobless after posting a video of themselves dancing to another You Tube craze, “Gagnam Style,” students in Brownsville High School in Pennsylvania were suspended after posting a video of themselves doing the Harlem Shake during class.

Nonetheless, at least three groups hailing from APU have tried their dancing skills to the Harlem Shake. One video features members of Azusa Pacific Theater Arts, while others look as though they were filmed in the dorms on campus.

What do you think of the Harlem Shake videos? Tell us in the comments.