How to dance gangnam style song

How to Do the Gangnam Style Dance

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"Gangnam Style" is fast becoming this decade's version of the "Macarena. "

It's a catchy song and you don't need much hand-eye coordination to do the dance.

"The mindset of this dance is to dress classy and dance cheesy," Psy (the man behind "Gangnam Style") told Ellen DeGeneres.

While some people watch the music video and become overwhelmed at Psy's impressive dance skills, it's really a simple routine to learn.

"Imagine you're on a horse," Psy tells NY1 reporter Michelle Park

Psy

Source: Michelle Park

1.

With that in mind, pick up and step down with your right foot, left foot, right foot, right foot

2. Repeat, except this time, pick up and step down with your left foot, right foot, left foot, left foot

Basically, your feet go Right, Left, Right Right, Left, Right, Left, Left over and over...

3. Your upper body, meanwhile, alternates between this horse riding motion...

4. ... and lassoing motion

5. Put it all together and you get this:

Some moves, though, just can't be taught

Watch the "Gangnam Style" music video here:

And find out more about "Gangnam Style".

PSY - Gangnam Style

How Psy’s K-Pop Satire Hit YouTube’s First 1bn Views

A highly localized critique of South Korean society, Psy’s song ‘Gangnam Style’ became a global sensation thanks to a YouTube video that went viral.

Photo: Schoolboy/Universal Music Group

When the K-pop industry first set out to crack the lucrative Western market, it’s unlikely that Psy was the figure they had in mind. At 34, he was a relative old-timer when “Gangnam Style” was released, and he had neither the squeaky-clean image (he’d been in trouble with the authorities for marijuana use) nor the traditional looks of a classic K-pop star. So how did he do it, and what was it about the song – a highly localized critique of South Korean Society – that turned it into such a global phenomenon?

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE(강남스타일) M/V

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Setting the stage

Psy had written “Gangnam Style” with the idea of parodying the flamboyance, narcissism, and ostentatious wealth he felt had become prevalent in the newly rich country – epitomized by the youth who hung around the ultra-rich district of Gangnam, known locally as the Beverly Hills of Seoul.

Ironically, Psy was from the area himself. Born Park Jae-sung, in 1977, to an affluent family, he was earmarked to take over his father’s semiconductor manufacturing business. Sent to the United States to study, he soon quit his place at Boston University to dedicate himself to music.

In the 11 years before “Gangnam Style” was released, Psy had carved out a niche for himself as a rapper known for his comedy, irreverence, and controversy (the blunt lyrics on his first album got him fined for “inappropriate content,” while his second was banned outright). By 2012 he’d joined YG Entertainment, one of South Korea’s three biggest entertainment agencies, and was an established star. With those elements in place, his sixth album, Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1, and its lead track, “Gangnam Style,” was set to be a hit – domestically, at least.

A YouTube sensation

Shot in a mere 48 hours, “Gangnam Style”’s music video was stuffed with a host of well-known South Korean celebrities to ensure local success. Seven-year-old Hwang Min-woo, whose dancing had proved a sensation on TV talent shows, was brought in to add his distinctive moves along with comedian and TV host Soon Jae-suk (who dances alongside Psy in a yellow suit). TV personality No Hong-chul provided the infamous elevator dance, with K-pop star Hyuna featured as the romantic interest.

And then, of course, there was the “horse dance” itself. Psy had already built a reputation for his memorably silly dance moves. Keen to give his fans something unique, he and his choreographer spent a month coming up with “Gangnam Style’”s signature horse trot and lasso spin.

Released on July 15, 2012, the song galloped straight out of the gates, with 500,000 YouTube views on its first day. What happened over the next few months, however, cemented “Gangnam Style’”s place in history.

As the song gained domestic popularity (before the month was out, it became one of the biggest South Korean hits of the year), word began to spread way beyond K-pop’s heartland. US rapper T-Pain was reportedly the first to give the track his endorsement when he tweeted enthusiastically about it, on July 29. Before long, a cavalcade of stars, among them Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise, and Robbie Williams, had picked up on it, too, introducing the song to their millions of followers and creating a viral sensation in the process. By September, “Gangnam Style” was averaging over six million views a day. Having topped the charts in over 30 countries, on December 21, 2012, it became the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube. By the time it hit 2,147,483,647 views, in 2014, YouTube’s counter needed to be upgraded in order to register any more. As of December 2019, the total is heading towards 3.5 billion.

‘Gangnam Style’ parodies and cultural impact

As momentum built, parodies of the dance swept across the world. The British Army and Thai Navy filmed their versions, while celebrities and politicians from countries as diverse as Pakistan, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Germany performed it on regional television. Flash mobs of thousands attempted recreations in California, New York, Sydney, Paris, Rome, and Milan, and professional footballers, boxers, tennis players, and cricketers all paid tribute in their sporting celebrations. Even the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and members of the British royal family attempted their own versions of the video’s dance routine.

Ultimately, “Gangnam Style’”s international success can be put down to a variety of factors: a great video filled with a mix of silliness and satire; a supremely catchy tune; and a dance that was bizarre, brilliant, and easy to parody. With perfect timing, it harnessed the power of the internet to make a South Korean rapping in his own language an international break-out star.

Looking for more? Discover the history of K-pop.

Song + dance. How did the Korean dance "Gangnam Style" break the Youtube counter? | Culture

However, the cheerful guy Pak Chae-sang hardly imagined that his composition would ever go beyond South Korea, wipe Justin Bieber himself, and the cry “Oops! Gangnam Style!" will become as contagiously popular as “Stop! Hammertime! from MC Hammer. Perhaps, knowing this, our hero would have been careful not to stigmatize US policy in his youth, so as not to apologize once again ...

True, there is no politics in his super duper hit. "Gangnam Style" was written as an ironic parody of Korean pop in general and "golden youth" in particular.

The song's title, "Gangnam Style", refers to Gangnam, a district in the southeastern part of Seoul. The author of the song knew firsthand about this most densely populated and prosperous area - after all, he was born there on December 31, 1977. When Pak Chae-sang began to compose songs and perform, he took on the pseudonym PSY (from the English Psyho - crazy), which was the best match for his ability to "ignite" and excellently scoff.

So "Gangnam Style" is a set of "show-offs" and antics. The song is sung from the perspective of a guy who "squares" a girl. At the same time, both of them are "quiet" on the outside, but incredibly sexy and irresistible inside. As PSY himself said, the song is dedicated to the perfect girl who "knows when to be sophisticated and when to be wild. " Well, what we hear as “Opa!” is actually not an emotional exclamation, but a completely meaningful Korean word “Oppan”. Literally, it means "girl's older brother", but the girls themselves usually call their boyfriends or idols that way.

Transfer - Ksenya from Khabarovsk:

A quiet girl, but this is just a game,
A girl who let her hair down when the time comes,
A girl dressed modestly, but much sexier than a girl without clothes,
A reasonable girl.

I'm a guy,
A quiet guy, but it's just a game,
A guy who goes crazy when the time comes,
A guy with an idea, not muscles,
I'm such a guy.

The main "lure" of "Gangnam Style" was, of course, not so much the song as the insanely funny video. On it, PSY in the same black glasses (which he does not take off even in the pool) appears before us every time in a variety of places and funny situations. By the way, for the filming of the video, the singer also attracted other Korean "stars" - two popular comedians and singer HyunA.

All this "bacchanalia" would not be so lethal if it were not for the marvelous and comical dance that PSY constantly dances in the company of pretty Korean women. And since the image of a horse (live or merry-go-round) passes through the clip like a “red thread”, the main “pas” of the dance resemble the movements of a rider. The singer then “jumps”, clutching imaginary “reins” in his hands, then rotates an imaginary “whip” over his head. It’s even hard to believe where this plump Korean has so much flexibility and drive!

PSY himself admitted that he made a video for his fans and did not expect it to spread like a "virus" over the Internet. Moreover, it will garner enthusiastic praise on Twitter from celebrities such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Tom Cruise ...

The flywheel of success began to spin in July 2012 after the video "Gangnam Style" was uploaded to YouTube. Already on November 25, the creation of the Korean overtook the video “Baby” of the idol of the girls Justin Bieber in terms of the number of views. And on December 21 of the same year, it became the first YouTube video that was viewed by more than a billion people. Probably, for the first time since the Macarena, the dance left the video directly to the people - everyone rode together on invisible horses.

The victory march of the song was also facilitated by the fact that the singer gave it to the public - waiving copyright claims.

In a matter of months, PSY became a world-class "star" for the first time in Korean pop history. "Gangnam Style" topped the charts in the UK and peaked at number 2 in the US. Although it is unlikely that the listeners there understood anything other than “sexy lady” in the lyrics of the song (the rest was sung in Korean). However, for the correct perception, the entire clip was enough. In our country, the Basurman text is habitually changed into all sorts of obscene "Condom-style" and "Oops! G ... om became!

What can we say about the glory of the singer in his homeland! In February 2013, it was he who had the honor of entertaining the crowd in the square before the inauguration ceremony of Park Geun-hye, Korea's first female president. ..

Meanwhile, YouTube's counter kept spinning and spinning until December 1st, 2014... it broke. The fact is that he had his own limit - 2,147,483,647 views. When the number of viewers of "Gangnam Style" exceeded this figure, the counter began to show an erroneous number. It was urgently recoded, and the video continued to collect its "harvest".

On the wave of success, PSY recorded another version of his super hit "Oppa Is Just My Style". Now it was performed from the position of a woman, and the main vocal part was given to the mentioned singer Hyuna.

In addition, in 2013, PSY released two more funny songs-videos - "Gentleman" and "Hangover" (the latter he sang in tandem with Snoop Dogg). Of course, they did not cause such a stir as "Gangnam Style", but more than one seasoned pop star can envy their number of YouTube views.

P. S.: You can listen to the songs themselves in the 1st comment to this article

Tags: songs, popularity, Show Business, music, dancing

from lambada to gangnam style

Dancing goes to the people! Everyone knows the famous macarena - in the 1990s everyone from young to old danced it. They dance it today at corporate parties and weddings. It's fun, fun, and most importantly, easy! After all, you don’t have to spend a lot of time learning the movements. Just watch and repeat after everyone. A rare holiday today does without a lambada. To control the hips in the “train” to the incendiary rhythms is a pleasure! About the people's love for legendary dances - a report by the correspondent of the MIR 24 TV channel Ekaterina Bakushina.

Oh, those incendiary lambada rhythms! In the late 1980s, this dance spread all over the world, becoming popular in Russia as well. All thanks to the French producer Olivier Lamothe, a fan of the Brazilian carnival. He created the musical group "Kaoma", which performed the song "Lambada". In Brazil, this was the name for any music they liked. In the video for the song, viewers around the world saw how to dance. It was a mixture of Latin American dances - carimbo, machishi and forro. The song became an instant hit!

Lambada is based on rotational movements of the hips. Anyone can repeat them. In addition, the lambada can be danced in any order.

“The traditional lambada has been preserved in its true form in Brazil, in its homeland, in the city of Porto Seguro. It involves very amplitude movements of the hips, body, torso. Over time, the dance evolved and is now called "lambazouk". For him, music was taken from the Franco-Caribbean "zouk" and the lambada movement. The lambazooka that is being danced now has a smaller body and hips, but more sensual performance,” explains dance teacher Viktor Fomichev.

It takes no more than an hour to learn lambada. It is possible without any preparation at all.

You can quickly master the macarena. The macarena melody appeared in the mid-1990s. The song was performed by the Spanish duo "Los Del Rio". The dance involves not only the legs and arms, but also the head. You can put your hands forward, turn your palms up and back, throw them over your head and hug your shoulders. There are many options.

Usually, macarena is taught optionally in the time left from other dances or at master classes, says teacher Sergei Leonov. According to him, macarena, like nothing else, disconnects from everyday problems and quickly cheers up.