On Monday, the rapper Drake released the video for his new song “Hotline Bling”—and in it, proved himself either the most supremely confident social dancer or possibly just the goofiest. As a dancer myself who spends the majority of her free time with other dancers in social situations, I have a theory that those who study dance seriously have serious trouble on the social dance floor. The rhythm’s there, of course, but the moves themselves—what we’ve grown up learning at the ballet barre and in contact improvisation—doesn’t really translate to wedding receptions and dance clubs.
But has Drake just changed that all for us? Have his unselfconscious groovy moves cleared a path for awkward social dancers everywhere? I’m saying yes.
Observe his dance steps set to a Wii tennis game:
To the “Frasier” theme song:
Drake dances to the Frasier theme quite nicely. pic.twitter.com/GK0X6iTlsz — Mark (@tole_cover) October 20, 2015
To the “Rugrats” theme song:
Rugrats Theme (credit: @zapriot) #DrakeAlwaysOnBeat pic.twitter.com/rBQDes5uhw
— drake dancing to (@DRAKEDANClNG) October 20, 2015
And, my personal favorite, as he tosses pepperonis on a pizza:
I think this is a win for awkward dancers everywhere.