The latest dance trend, the Harlem Shake, has been seen everywhere. From Sea World to Division I locker rooms to underwater editions, people all over the country have been creating their own unique versions of the Harlem Shake and on Feb. 21, Harding joined in too.
“I was so excited to do the Harlem Shake,” junior Ashley Heastie said. “I had watched a few of them online so I knew what it was. I thought it was really cool that Harding was getting to perform its own.”
Thursday night during halftime of the men’s basketball game against Southern Arkansas University, the Rhodes Field House watched as Dr. David Burks led the student section in the Harlem Shake. Burks started the dance with pom-poms in hand and after the solo, by cue of Logan Light, the student section joined in.
“Doing the Harlem Shake at a Bison basketball game with Dr. Burks was a great Harding experience,” senior Sean Rende said. “I will not forget Dr. Burks waving pink pom-poms and jumping around. It was hilarious.”
A dance called the “Harlem Shake” was created in 1981 in Harlem. However, in 2012 Bauuer, a DJ-producer, created a song titled the “Harlem Shake,” which had no correlation to the ‘80s dance. The Harlem Shake dance craze started earlier this year when a fan made a YouTube upload dancing to the “Harlem Shake” by Bauuer and immediately hundreds of copycats were made and posted online.
After the halftime fun, the Bisons went into the second half trailing Southern Arkansas 42-44. By the end of the second half the Bisons were up 81-78 and with only seconds left Southern Arkansas hit a three-pointer which sent the game into overtime.
“I think doing the Harlem Shake at half time really helped keep the crowd active in the game,” sophomore Lady Bison Montana Lewis said. “It brought them together and gave them something to keep their energy level up until the second half started.”
Harding defeated Southern Arkansas in overtime 93-87, moving them back into a tie for first place in the Great American Conference. The Lady Bisons also defeated Southern Arkansas 97-42. They are third place in the GAC standings. Both teams will travel to Arkansas-Monticello Saturday for their next games.
