Don't try this at home.

June 4, 2008 7:47 AM

OK, I got yer muhfuggin Single Link You Tube post right here. That's right. Now you tell me that's not amazing.

Alright, so I lied. It's NOT a SLYT post. So sue me. But you probably made it here to the [more inside] cause you agree that that was some AMAZING dancing, right? I mean, that was some tippity-top amazing stuff, no? And you wanna see more, right? OKAY! Check the first coupla guys in this clip: I find their nonchalant manner most appealing. Toward the middle, though, we get back into some of that high-speed, jaw-dropping stuff like we saw earlier in the FPP. Wow! And in this clip we get to see the drummers, too, which is of course a plus.

And, one more for the road. This one's a little different. Fellow comes home from a typical day in the jungle hunting bush meat, but there's something just a little strange... he's got that white feather on his head, and some kind of juju's got ahold of him! Then his wife gets the feather, and she gets it, too! They're gonna need a priestess doing one of the sacred Edo songs, for sure! And there she is! Everything's gonna be fine.

posted by flapjax at midnite (88 comments total)

I am dizzy.
posted by dov3 at 7:54 AM on June 4

Yes, yes...we're all happy about Obama's nomination.

(too soon?)
posted by ColdChef at 7:58 AM on June 4 [4 favorites]

I don't know, my 2 year old does that daily.

Or at least it seems like it.
posted by fungible at 7:58 AM on June 4

I know I'll probably catch hell for this...

Impressive gymnastics, but what makes that first video "dancing"?
posted by JaredSeth at 7:59 AM on June 4

Wow, that's awesome.
posted by cashman at 8:00 AM on June 4

This is like capoeira masturbation. Whee!
posted by Pecinpah at 8:00 AM on June 4 [3 favorites]

Pfft. Big deal.

I did the same thing at university, the only difference being that, with me, it involved a 26er of Smirnoff's, an envelope of Tang crystals and three flights of stairs.
posted by Mike D at 8:01 AM on June 4 [4 favorites]

I thought the crazoid in the Russian office looked real but was in fact fake, and I think this looks fake but is in fact real. Amazing indeed.

Now how in God's name do they spin so fast? The momentum of their twirling, where their feet touch down for barely a second, seems superhuman. Any gymnasts or physicists want to give us some insight here?
posted by ornate insect at 8:01 AM on June 4

hat makes that first video "dancing"?

The timed jump/spin/land to the rhythm? Breakdancers beware.
posted by ageispolis at 8:02 AM on June 4

Since it says "this video is no longer available," I will indeed have to say "that's not amazing."
posted by Forktine at 8:03 AM on June 4

All the pop and none of the lock. Great link.
posted by Haruspex at 8:04 AM on June 4

Since it says "this video is no longer available,"...

Yeah? A recheck shows them all still opening just fine for me.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:06 AM on June 4

Man, Chuck Norris is a fucking chump.

That's a roundhouse kick.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:14 AM on June 4 [1 favorite]

flapjax at midnite: "Yeah? A recheck shows them all still opening just fine for me."

The pop-in version of the first link is busted, for some unidentifiable reason.
posted by Plutor at 8:15 AM on June 4

That white feather video...a guy wanders around in a fake daze, gives the feather to the woman and then there's a fake flash/glow and then some regular dancing ensues...is this, like, Benin MTV?
posted by kozad at 8:15 AM on June 4

Fine writing, flapjack.
posted by stbalbach at 8:19 AM on June 4

Wha- wha- whaaaat???? (said in the manner of Kyle's mom from South Park)

I totally tried to do this in my third-floor apartment just now. I....could not. And my neighbors probably think I got a pet rhino. And..........ow.
posted by nosila at 8:24 AM on June 4

The pop-in version of the first link is busted, for some unidentifiable reason.

I wonder, could it have something to do with this clip being one that you can "watch in high quality"? I'm an ignoramus about stuff like this, so that's just a guess. By the way, though, I highly recommend clicking there: big difference in picture quality.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:26 AM on June 4

Was this filmed before or after "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo"?
posted by swift at 8:28 AM on June 4

That move he does? I invented it. S'called a "Joe Saunders". They named it after me. Srsly.
posted by Jofus at 8:28 AM on June 4

I'm blown away. And, well, really and truly dizzy.

The drummers are *always* a plus.
posted by squasha at 8:30 AM on June 4

Well my friends don't do this, so I guess they're no friends of mine.
posted by Debaser626 at 8:37 AM on June 4 [3 favorites]

Needs more cardboard.
posted by wfrgms at 8:38 AM on June 4

Did you notice the gorilla walking through the crowd at 1:07?
posted by leapfrog at 8:38 AM on June 4 [11 favorites]

Now how in God's name do they spin so fast? The momentum of their twirling, where their feet touch down for barely a second, seems superhuman.

You have to have played some first person shooters to understand. These guys are using aimbots.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:39 AM on June 4 [1 favorite]

Did you notice the gorilla walking through the crowd at 1:07?

Musta been the gorilla my dreams.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:40 AM on June 4 [2 favorites]

Impressive gymnastics, but what makes that first video "dancing"?
posted by JaredSeth

What makes it not dancing?
posted by Saxon Kane at 8:41 AM on June 4

Hey, isn't that the dance school where Dominic and Neil trained before appearing on "So You Think You Can Dance" season 3?

Sorry, I just didn't think it was amazing. At least in that first video, it was the same move over and over and over. "Trick" dancing just doesn't *move* me. Hell, where was the rebellious dancer who tried the same trick counter-clockwise?!?!
posted by hincandenza at 8:45 AM on June 4

What makes it not dancing?

There's no caption telling me that it's peanut butter jelly time, for one thing.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:49 AM on June 4 [6 favorites]

Amazed. Really amazed.
posted by rtha at 8:54 AM on June 4

hincandenza writes: Hell, where was the rebellious dancer who tried the same trick counter-clockwise?!?!

Actually, there were two of them. One, unfortunately, was just outside the frame, which is a shame, cause his counter-clockwise gyrations would've surely *moved* you. And the other, well, he got fed up with that "trick" dancing down in the jungle and went to study ballet in one of the great European capitals. He is currently practicing his jetés and demi-pliés.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:57 AM on June 4 [2 favorites]

My friend tried this once and she went back in time.
posted by mediocrates at 8:58 AM on June 4 [2 favorites]

Too much catnip.
posted by Dave Faris at 9:02 AM on June 4

Well played, ROU_Xenophobe. Well played.
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:11 AM on June 4

My cat does those same moves when she gets a piece of tape on her back paw.

I honestly don't know how someone could do such syncopated and sustained jumping and spinning like that, and not fall over from dizziness as soon as they stop. Clearly they have magical inner-ear fairies or something.
posted by quin at 9:17 AM on June 4

A few of these guys are spinning so fast it defies the imagination. Snark and magical inner-ear fairies aside, how is that kind of whirling momentum possible for multiple spins if one's feet barely touch the ground?
posted by ornate insect at 9:27 AM on June 4

What the heck is a 26er?
posted by Baby_Balrog at 9:28 AM on June 4

This whole thing looks much more plausible if you rotate your monitor 45º downhill.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:34 AM on June 4

Wow! That makes Whirling Dervishes look like pussies.
posted by Mr_Zero at 9:34 AM on June 4

Oh, those wacky native tribesmen and their kooky home videos!

I compell all of you to watch this one and add a Bob Saget narration on it. Good times.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:46 AM on June 4

Needs more rollerskates
posted by tawny at 9:49 AM on June 4

Impressive gymnastics, but what makes that first video "dancing"?

Obligatory Detours link.
posted by phaedon at 9:51 AM on June 4

I love the groupies. I'd like to see these guys try that on the subway like the breakdancing troupe that does. I'm going to start demanding receipts from them, I give them so many tips.
posted by limnrix at 9:56 AM on June 4

"What the heck is a 26er?"

That'd be a 26-ounce bottle, well-known to the serious Canadian pre-metric boozer. I think it compares to a US "quart". And what US drinkers have always called a "fifth", we call a "mickey".

Bottom line? It was a hell of a bottle of "screwdrivers". At least what I can recall of it before I hit the stairs.
posted by Mike D at 10:03 AM on June 4

This is awesome, but would be better if someone would dub in Mario jumping sound effects.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:04 AM on June 4 [1 favorite]

They remind me of the voodoo doll in Chrono Cross.
posted by prototype_octavius at 10:13 AM on June 4

How come there's no way to harness the rotation of the earth these guys as a power source?
posted by gfrobe at 10:27 AM on June 4

I did the same thing at university, the only difference being that, with me, it involved a 26er of Smirnoff's, an envelope of Tang crystals and three flights of stairs.

there's other differences - they got up afterwards and they felt fine the next morning

I think it compares to a US "quart". And what US drinkers have always called a "fifth", we call a "mickey".

a quart is 32 oz - and a fifth would be nearly 26 oz - and after the first 20 oz, you're not going to be in any shape to count anyway

been there, done that, puked on the t shirt
posted by pyramid termite at 10:35 AM on June 4

I think some people have a bad definition of what dancing is. It is not always about watching, but also about feeling; often to attain a different state of mind. Someone already mentioned the Whirling Dervishes, who reach an altered state of mind through their spinning. Simply this is dancing simply because it has music and intentional body movement. Wait, maybe we should judge everyone's cultural dance by our own schemas.
posted by Knigel at 10:36 AM on June 4

The only thing that would make this sweeter is if they were wearing Hammer pants.
posted by availablelight at 10:39 AM on June 4

Amazing in a Quarters Champion sort of way, sure.
posted by Brocktoon at 10:39 AM on June 4

of course if it's imperial gallons and ounces ... well, i just give up
posted by pyramid termite at 10:39 AM on June 4

Hell, where was the rebellious dancer who tried the same trick counter-clockwise?!?!

He moved to a small, rural village, led by a fire-and-brimstone preacher that had banned such counter-clockwise dancing. He eventually won the respect of the locals, fell in love with the preacher's daughter, and inspired everyone to dance at the senior prom.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:24 AM on June 4 [2 favorites]

But why are they wearing pajamas?
posted by sour cream at 12:01 PM on June 4

But why are they wearing pajamas?

Dude! It's, like, prom. Gawwwd...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:03 PM on June 4

The first video doesn't appear in the pop-up because the uploader has disabled embedding.
posted by roofus at 12:43 PM on June 4

reminds me of this little guy
posted by HappyHippo at 1:03 PM on June 4

obviously fake.
posted by weezy at 1:24 PM on June 4

Impressive gymnastics, but what makes that first video "dancing"?

"Trick" dancing

It's okay8212;really, it is8212;if dance is about physicality, immediacy, and the experience of the dancer as much as the experience of the audience. In fact, it's pretty damn likely that's where dance came from, and that kind of dance has probably been around way longer than any kind of choreographed dance-as-theater.

The western artistic tradition may seem like the normal, default paradigm to you, but compared to the whole of cultural time and space, it's actually the exception.
posted by greenie2600 at 1:29 PM on June 4

Okay, those 8212;s are supposed to be em-dashes.
posted by greenie2600 at 1:29 PM on June 4

No tiny snake skin drums... I expected better from you in Edo state cultural matters, Ogan Flapjax.

If you want Nigerian MTV... Osuofia performing I go Chop Your Dollar in the role of a crooked businessman. He got arrested in a Dutch sweep of a club show attended by a hundred suspected email scammers.

Nigeria: news you just could not make up. Even if you try.
posted by zaelic at 1:37 PM on June 4

The second link makes me want to shout "DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!"
posted by Pastabagel at 1:51 PM on June 4

Fake, obviously. Oh wait. Wrong SLYT. As you were.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:11 PM on June 4

And on non-preview, I see weezy beat me to my lame joke. Though was much less lame when he made it.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:14 PM on June 4

Wow - Japan's a lot dirtier than I expected.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:58 PM on June 4

Finally, the long lost film footage of "Ants in Your Pants of 1938."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:46 PM on June 4

Yeah, zaelic, the ighede drums were, alas, nowhere to be found on the Toobs. You might've noticed a preponderance of clips from Edo State Cultural songsters, and of course they're fine singers, but they had just a bit too much of that smiley, professional sheen to them, and they were wearing just a bit too much coral...

I gotta say, there's still surprisingly little on the web about Edo/Benin culture overall.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:53 PM on June 4

If you enjoyed the voodoo dancing there is a 1985 movie called Divine Horseman. It's all black and white footage of Haitian voodoo rituals from the 1950's.
posted by thylacine at 5:09 PM on June 4

that was totally amazing, despite the buildup that predisposed me to hate it.
posted by facetious at 5:58 PM on June 4

...despite the buildup that predisposed me to hate it.

Hey man, put a little love in your heart.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:34 PM on June 4

SLYT post

STOP THAT.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:51 PM on June 4

stav, buddy, you're on a noble crusade lately to stamp out the use of SLYT (as a term) here at MeFi. So much so that the ironic nature of the dreaded SLYT reference, as used in this post, seems to have passed you by. As it happens, you see, this would be the VERY FIRST TIME EVER for me to use the abbreviation SLYT, and I did so for a reason... to call attention to, um, its use here, and to call attention to the fact that this in fact wasn't a Single Link YouTube post, and... well, it's a kind of editorial, a statement... it's...

...oh, nevermind.

So anyway, funny thing is, you see, I'm basically in agreement with you. I don't especially see the need for people to point it out ("This is a SLYT!!") the way they sometimes do, BUT...people are gonna keep using it, I reckon. So, man, if I were you I'd just, you know, pop another Cass, Hite or OB (depending on your preference) and don't let those 4 little capital letters getcha all hot under the collar. Take a look at some links or something. Like these dancers, for example... didja check 'em out? They're smoking.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:00 AM on June 5

OK, that rocks hard. The dancing is killing, but the drumming does something very agreeable to my mind. That loose unison is twenty times (I quantized that figure!) funkier than practically anything.

I dig the sort of cloud effect the almost but not quite simultaneous hits generate.
posted by Wolof at 4:58 AM on June 5

SLYT of hand.
posted by bwg at 5:02 AM on June 5

Excellent post, but I'm pretty sure the video in the first link is sped up. Take a look at the people in the background...no one claps that fast or does a little "follow the beat jig" with such vigor.
posted by i less than three nsima at 5:38 AM on June 5

Take a look at the people in the background...no one claps that fast...

They look perfectly natural to me, nsima! It's odd, I don't see anyone clapping unnaturally fast at all, actually.

...or does a little "follow the beat jig" with such vigor.

I gotta tell you, I spent 6 months learning drumming in the very region of Nigeria that this was filmed in, and "following the beat" with a LOT more vigor than what we see the spectators doing in this clip is something I saw plenty of. Really.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:48 AM on June 5

Flapjax, i'd like to believe it was real, as I used to work in Malawi and have all kinds of respect for traditional dancers.

Nonetheless, at 0:31, look at the guy on the far left side in the crowd in a white shirt - he's definitely clapping too fast I believe. That "scene" of the video may be the only one that's sped up, but its also one of the more amazing parts because its so fast.
posted by i less than three nsima at 9:55 AM on June 5

Oh yeah? Tell that to this guy.
posted by miss lynnster at 10:45 AM on June 5

For some odd reason, it looks to me exactly like something Tigger would do, if he were able.
posted by JHarris at 8:06 AM on June 6

Jeezis H. Christ, the right here link is NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Damn.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:18 PM on June 6

i just clicked on it and it was there
posted by pyramid termite at 1:07 PM on June 7

i just clicked on it and it was there

Aha, so it is! That's good.

As an aside, to anyone interested in this kind of statistic, when I made this FPP the video had 11,496 views. It now stands at 18,561. I reckon MetaFilter got some mojo!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:49 PM on June 7

nah, i reposted it to my capoeira group.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:54 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

But seriously, Ubu, do you do capoeira? While actual berimbaus are being struck?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:59 PM on June 7

yep. and just for you, as soon as i post this, i'll belt out a Sao Bento Grande toque on my berimbau.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:45 PM on June 7

Aww hell yeah, that berimbau player is kickass! And that dog barking along ain't no rhythm slouch, neither... damn, even the dogs in Brazil can't help but put that bark right in the pocket. They're like James Brown or something!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:58 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

hm, i'm starting to wonder if 'that dog' isn't actually the famous Mestre Roverinho...?
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:06 PM on June 7

I dunno, Ubu, that's a stretch... I think you've had one too many caipirinhas.

Plus, last I heard, the great Roverinho was last seen down in Sao Paolo, hanging around with one of his bitches.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:12 PM on June 7