Top five 'Harlem Shake' YouTube videos from the Hudson Valley

Saturday February 23, 2013 3:46 PM By Luke Hammill

Photo credit: News12 | A screen grab of a racy locker room version of the "Harlem Shake," an Internet dance sensation, has cost a Rockland County high school hockey team a playoff berth.

It seems the "Harlem Shake" has migrated north into the Hudson Valley.

From Australia, that is.

It turns out that the Harlem Shake meme that has taken over your computer screen in the past weeks actually has nothing to do with Harlem, or with the original dance called the Harlem Shake. It went viral after teens in Australia posted a goofy video in which a helmeted man dances to Brooklyn producer Baauer's dance track "Harlem Shake," his roommates not appearing to notice. When the bass drops, the video cuts to a scene in which all the roommates are crazily dancing.

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It busted out in a "Gangnam Style" way, and more than 12,000 videos have been posted on YouTube, with imitators all around the world soon making their own versions.

Locally, it's even spun a little controversy: A racy locker room version of the "Harlem Shake," an Internet dance sensation, has cost a Rockland County high school hockey team a playoff berth, prematurely ending its season.

Here are five of the best from the Hudson Valley:

1. West Point

Clad in their fatigues, cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point were trying to study in the library when one of their peers dances in a space helmet. When the beat drops, mayhem ensues, with students wrapped around pillars and on top of tables. West Point cadets are no stranger to viral videos: Their version of "Gangnam Style" is approaching 1.5 million views on YouTube.

2. Katonah

A romantic night doesn't seem to be going well, as a woman looks bored and uninterested as her date dances to the Harlem Shake. But the evening gets more interesting when she joins in -- the lights are brighter, there are camera close-ups, and a cow costume complete with udders makes an appearance.

3. Yonkers

This video involves a creepy mask, a guy dancing with a laundry basket on his head, a Grim Reaper-like hooded figure in the foreground, and a Giants fan in a masquerade mask. Enough said.

4. New Rochelle

It's always the guy in the banana suit who gets the party started. Poughkeepsie is no exception to this rule, and once everybody joins in, the guy on the left is strangely dancing with a bottle of detergent and a Super Soaker.

5. Clarkstown

Girls at Clarkstown High School South in Rockland County joined the "Harlem Shake" craze, opting to wear tutus and pink pajamas. The video's main character appears to fall right out of the ceiling at the beginning of the clip.