Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” may have won over some new fans, and it’s certainly not a bad song, although many people would never give Bieber music a chance. What is decidedly good, however, is this routine from a five-man dance crew. This video as billed as “the world’s first premium conceptual Segway dance YouTube video.” This description is not an inaccurate one, although these guys aren’t really dancing on Segways but Hovertrax.
That’s where articulate explanation ends, and the rest of the video stupefies. Why did David Moore (a choreographer who has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber and Pharrell) gather up five young men to depict this song? We can assume the lead dancer is meant to embody Bieber, who is so torn up by a text he received that he must lead his own dance troupe in a warehouse. He leaves his communicative technology behind to work it out with a superior form, one that can only operate in conjunction with his own sorrowful mind and body. Since this is a “dance cover,” this work should be seen as an interpretive one.
None of this matters. The smooth moves of this crew will make you forget you’re even listening to a Justin Bieber song. We don’t know why we’re here, or why we’re watching, or why these guys rehearsed for several hours on end to master the art of dancing on “segways.” If you must, mute the sound, but watching won’t hurt ya.
