Subject Three - Global Dance Craze
A dance called “Subject Three,” originating from a wedding in Guangxi, China, has recently gained global popularity, sweeping across the world within the last month and becoming a global dance sensation. Initially created by locals at a wedding around 2021, it gained widespread popularity as a customary celebration dance for newlyweds in the region.
Due to its popularity, locals humorously coined the phrase “Guangxi people experience three exams in their lifetime: Subject One, singing folk songs; Subject Two, making rice noodles; and Subject Three, dancing.” The dance, lacking an official name, became universally known as “Subject Three” among Guangxi residents.
Although “Subject Three” first appeared online in April 2022, it initially gained only modest attention with a soundtrack featuring a somewhat subdued romantic song titled “Really Miss Someone,” leading to its eventual disappearance.
In general, individuals with a slightly more conventional aesthetic sense may find “Subject Three” less visually appealing, although it doesn’t necessarily fall into the category of vulgarity. However, its distinctively local and somewhat outdated style has not hindered its global reach. Surprisingly, the dance has successfully become a cultural export from China, achieving widespread recognition globally – a phenomenon that many wouldn’t have anticipated.
The success of “Subject Three” can be attributed to its ability to fill a void in the realm of dance for the masses. While there are undoubtedly more aesthetically pleasing dances, the significant advantage of “Subject Three” lies in its simplicity and ease of learning. Unlike other dances, such as square dancing, which requires days of practice, “Subject Three” can be imitated by individuals with no dance background after watching a video for just a few minutes.
Most dances demand years of dedicated practice to master, creating a high barrier for the majority of dance enthusiasts who can only watch but not participate. Ballet and Latin dances, while visually superior, are often inaccessible to the general public due to their high skill requirements. In contrast, “Subject Three” allows anyone, even those with no prior dance experience, to follow along without the need for formal training.
Comparisons can be drawn with globally successful dance forms like street dance in the West and the iconic “Gangnam Style” horse dance and girl group dances like “Nobody” from South Korea. These dances, while considered somewhat tacky compared to traditional dances, share the common characteristic of having a low entry barrier. Street dance, for example, is less technically demanding than ballet, contributing to its higher popularity.
The success of dances like the “Gangnam Style” horse dance and “Nobody” girl group dance from South Korea, which even featured prominently in Chinese corporate events a decade ago, can be attributed to their ease of learning. Companies would routinely incorporate these dances into their events because they were accessible to employees with minimal training. Similarly, “Subject Three” has taken this concept to an extreme, requiring little to no formal instruction, making it even simpler than square dancing.
While “Subject Three” may not be considered elegant or visually pleasing by traditional standards, its success lies in meeting the genuine cultural demand of the masses – the desire to dance without a steep learning curve. As it fills a cultural void for many, “Subject Three” has spread rapidly, with numerous individuals eager to imitate the dance, ultimately leading to its global popularity.
In essence, the unexpected success of “Subject Three” globally highlights the importance of catering to the widespread desire for accessible dance forms. Its ease of learning has propelled it to a level of popularity and cultural dissemination that surpasses even Western street dances and South Korean pop dance sensations. As a result, “Subject Three” has not only become a global phenomenon but also has the potential to evolve into a distinct dance genre with various adaptations and variations.
The global success of dances like street dance in the West and South Korean hits demonstrates that low entry barriers are key to cultural dissemination. In this context, “Subject Three” has managed to reduce the threshold for dance to an unprecedented level, even surpassing the simplicity of square dancing. Despite potential criticisms of its aesthetics, the dance has successfully addressed the genuine cultural demand for an easily accessible dance form, showcasing that China’s cultural exports can achieve global recognition without the need for elaborate promotional campaigns.
In conclusion, while “Subject Three” may be considered somewhat rustic, its success in becoming a globally recognized dance form serves as a valuable lesson in the simplicity of cultural exports. This unexpected phenomenon reveals that achieving success in international cultural outreach for China doesn’t necessarily require extensive investments in initiatives like Confucius Institutes, calligraphy, or traditional instruments. Instead, cultural products like “Subject Three” and viral phenomena such as “Snowflake Drift” demonstrate that zero-cost cultural exports can establish a connection between people worldwide and Chinese culture. While it may be unconventional, the method and results are, in essence, effective.
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