San Rafael resident Hank Rao initially made his “Harlem Shake (Grandma Edition)” video with the intention of only sharing it with family and close friends.
He didn’t expect the video with his dancing two octogenarian grandmothers to stand out among the thousands of homemade videos inspired by the Internet meme of the moment.
But his Harlem Shake video (see it above) has garnered more than 5 million views in roughly 10 days and also has been aired on TV stations around the world.
And Harlem Shake fever has caught on in San Carlos as well. See the videos of trampoline shakers at Rockin' Jump and boot camp crazies getting into the act.
Most Harlem Shake videos begin with a lone dancer wearing some sort of mask or helmet while everyone in the background ignores the dancer and acts casual. But when the music drops, the video cuts to a large group of dancers, often scanty clad and with an assortment of props.
The craze has spurred a website, The Harlem Shakeup, to gather the slew of videos. Some have dubbed it the new “Gangnam Style,” but the freestyle dancing in Harlem Shake has made it much easier to replicate. It’s been interpreted by everyone from UC Berkeley students to the U.S. Army to a YouTuber who set the song to the Peanuts Comic Strip cast.
Rao said it took less than three takes to make the 30-second video. “Originally it was just a quick edit for friends and family, then it blew up. I didn’t spend too much time planning it or anything.”
His grandmothers enjoyed making the video, Rao said. “They like dancing and they like going crazy. It was a good outlet.”
And while Harlem Shake might be slowly on its way out, the song itself, by Brooklyn electronic artist Baauer, became a No. 1 single on Billboard this week.
What’s your favorite Harlem Shake video? Tell us in the comments!
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