Evolution of Dance
You might remember it as Judson Laipply evolution of dance
2006·Early YouTube·skill
The most-viewed video on YouTube for three and a half years, and a stage routine that predates the site.
At a glanceThe facts
- Remembered as
- Judson Laipply evolution of dance
- First known
- 2006
- Began as
- A video upload
- Made by
- Judson Laipply
- Uploaded by
- judsonlaipply
- Format
- Video
- Performed by
- Judson Laipply, a public speaker and comedian from Ohio
- Record
- Most-viewed video on YouTube across three periods between May 2006 and October 2009
- Origin
- Likely original upload
- Available
- Playable from the source
What this wasThe story
Judson Laipply performs six minutes of dance styles in sequence, under a spotlight, to a medley running from the 1950s to the 2000s, changing move and era every few bars.
It has been a Jeopardy! clue and a Tonight Show parody, and Laipply has continued to speak and perform.
Why it matteredWhat changed
It was the first video to sit at the top of YouTube’s most-viewed list for years rather than days, and it was a motivational speaker’s stage act filmed from the audience. Before music videos took the chart over, this was what the biggest thing on the site looked like.
TimelineIn order
- Made
Judson Laipply first performs the routine, then built from twelve dance songs of the late twentieth century, as the close of his speaking act.1
- Posted
He uploads a recording of it to YouTube.1
- Record
It becomes the most-viewed video on the site, a position it holds on and off until October 2009.1
- Record
Laipply’s channel becomes the most subscribed on YouTube, taking over from Smosh. It holds the place for twenty-one days.1 What else happened on 12 June
- Later
Evolution of Dance 2 is released as part of a marketing campaign.1
- Came back
Evolution of Dance 3 is uploaded for the original’s tenth anniversary, six years after it was announced.1
What people misrememberSet straight
Commonly remembered asA 2006 routine made for YouTube.
ActuallyLaipply had been performing it on stage since 2003. 2006 is when a recording of it was uploaded.1
LegacyWhat it left behind
- The Office has Andy Bernard perform the whole routine without music in the episode The Delivery, and The Tonight Show built a series of parodies on its title, beginning with Evolution of Mom Dancing.1
More from hereIn this collection
RelatedMore like this
Records this one is explicitly related to — a copy, a remake, a parody, the same meme or the same maker.
Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later
Where it came fromWhat we know
High-confidence original source.
Earliest known source: YouTube
Created by Judson Laipply. Originally uploaded by judsonlaipply. Established by research, not by who posted the copy shown here.
- When
- Originally published April 2006.
- Where
- Known on YouTube.
More from 2006You were there
More from early YouTubeMore of the archive
ConnectedFollow it further
- Its place was taken by Charlie bit my fingerVideo · 2007
At the end of October 2009 it passed Evolution of Dance to become the most-viewed video on YouTube.
SourcesWhat was read
Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things