The Electric Slide is a four wall line dance. A line dance is a formation dance in which a group of people dance in a line formation or in lines, and they all execute the same dance moves individually. ...

A dancer, Ric Silver created it and states that originally it was The Electric, created in 1976 by him for the re-opening of Vamps Disco in New York at 71st and Broadway. It was choreographed to the international hit song Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths written for her by Bunny Wailer who did not copyright the song until 1982. The song was originally released in 1976 and re-released in 1989, when it became a dance craze. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the state. ... A view of Broadway in 1909 Broadway, as the name implies, is a wide avenue in New York City. ... Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born on November 23, 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica) also called Queen of Reggae is Jamaicas most famous female singer. ... Bunny Wailer, also known as Bunny Livingston (born April 10, 1947), was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ... Fad dances are dances which are characterized by a short burst of popularity, while Novelty dances typically have a longer-lasting popularity based on their being characteristically humourous or humour-invoking, as well as the sense of uniqueness which they have. ...

Steps (a variant)

• 1-4 Grapevine right (tap and clap on 4)
• 5-8 Grapevine left (tap and clap on 8)
• 9-12 Walks back (tap and clap on 12)
• 13-16 Rock forward & back:
  • 13: Left forward
  • 14: Tap right toe at the left heel, snap
  • 15: Right backward
  • 16: Tap left toe at the right heel, clap
• 17-20 Repeat 13-16
• 21 Left forward with 1/4 turn left
• 22 Hop onto left foot with right leg in the air to start again

It takes 44 steps to return to the downbeat (1) and 88 steps to return to your original position. Grapevine is the name of a dance figure, which may look different in different ballroom, club, and folk dances, but shares a common appearance: it includes side steps and steps across the support foot. ... Snap as a dance move is a brisk, abrupt body/head/arm/hand action varying in style in different dances. ...

The Electric Slide is actually a variation step — in place of the grapevine — you step right and slide your left foot over to it.

Many people felt that the dance was called the Electric Slide because in the song the lyrics state "I'll teach you the electric slide," but the dance is called "The Electric" and was copyrighted in 1976. Silver registered his video of the dance in 2003 with the Library of Congress.^[1] It was published to the web (Tripod.com) in 1994 and copyright was submitted in 2006.

Variations involve turns during the grapevine and walks back, a spin on 22, various ways of clapping, and type of steps.

Some dance venues teach variations with extra or removed steps to make the dance fit the 4/4 phrasing (with 16 (The Freeze), 18 (the way most have learned the Electric Slide) or 24 (cowboy motion, cowboy boogie) steps. This is soon to change. In fact, according to the author, the "broken" phrasing was a conscious decision. It introduces a certain diversity of accents which makes the pattern less repetitive.

The Electric Slide is visually similar to the traditional folk 'brassle' step but has the addition of front and back movement to the traditional lateral line.

Lawsuits

On February 3, 2007, CNET reported that the creator of the Electric Slide had started filing DMCA-based takedown notices to YouTube users who were posting videos of people performing the dance incorrectly.^[2] CNET Networks, Inc. ... The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States copyright law which criminalizes production and dissemination of technology that can circumvent measures taken to protect copyright, not merely infringement of copyright itself, and heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...

On March 01, 2007, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against the man who claims to have created the popular line dance The Electric Slide, asking the court to protect the free speech rights of a videographer who captured a few steps of the dance in a documentary video posted to the Internet.^[3] EFF Logo The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit advocacy and legal organization based in the United States with the stated purpose of being dedicated to preserving free speech rights such as those protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in the context of... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ... Strictly speaking, a videographer is a person who works in the video medium — recording moving images on tape, disk, or other electro-mechanical device, or even broadcasting live. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ...

On May 22, 2007, the EFF came to an agreement to settle the lawsuit filed on March 01, 2007 against Ric Silver. The agreed settlement states that Mr. Silver will license the Electric Slide under a Creative Commons license ^[4] and to also post the new license on any of his current or future websites that mention the Electric Slide. EFF agreed to see that all uses of The Electric Slide reference Mr. Silver's name as Choreographer. The Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others legally to build upon and share. ...

References

1. ^ see http://the-electricslidedance.com or Mr. Silvers homepage at http://the-electricslide.com/id6.html
2. ^ Daniel Terdiman. "'Electric Slide' on slippery DMCA slope", CNET, 2007-02-03. Retrieved on 2007-02-03. 
3. ^ Corynne McSherry. "'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use", EFF, 2007-03-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-01. 
4. ^ "Electric Slide' Creator Calls Off Online Takedown Campaign", EFF, 2007-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-05-22. 

CNET Networks, Inc. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The term EFF may refer to: The Election Fighting Fund, a fund which the NUWSS set up to raise money for the early Labour Party during the early 1910s. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The term EFF may refer to: The Election Fighting Fund, a fund which the NUWSS set up to raise money for the early Labour Party during the early 1910s. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Ric Silver's "The Electric"
• The Official Homepage of The Electric Slide