Gangnam Style was a hit just a little after we had finished putting the show together which is a pity in a way as we would most probably have included it in the show if it had been around at that time. If the opportunity comes to work on the show again then I think we will have to master this one and work it in, most of the other dances are a little dated but this one shows that the impulse to dance in unison is as alive and well today as it ever was.
As with some of the other videos, this one is not so much a dance as a pop video that features a lot of dancing. This means there is not a very clear authoritative way to dance it. There are people who will try and teach it to you but there is no precise original routine to go with the song. Compare it to the Birdy Song, for example, which is as much a dance as a song and which was doing the rounds before videos of songs became expected. The Macarena too is very clear as a dance, it's brutal simplicity makes it stand out from most of the other post video age dances.
Another song / dance that has come to my attention recently is Xiaopinguo (Little Apple) this, like Gingham Style, is more a song with a smart video featuring dancers which has become very popular (in China) and spawned countless imitators. When you start to see videos of kids doing it, friends, colleagues and shoppers at it too, then you are treading into Indifference territory. Embarrassing though it is to admit it, I have started to learn the lyrics to this one: in China it is always handy to have a karaoke number up your sleeve.
