Learning the dance moves and showing off on YouTube.


A video that involves Lady Gaga and Beyonce is bound to draw a lot of eyeballs, and sure enough, this particular YouTube sensation has been viewed more than 800,000 times. But it’s not the clip for their recent collaboration, the single “Telephone.” No, this viral hit features a 14-yearold boy and other students at the International Dance Academy in Hollywood whipping through a fastpaced combination - with hip swivels, head snaps and shimmies - created by their teacher, Dejan Tubic, and inspired in part by Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s music and moves.

This interpretation of “Telephone,” one of more than a dozen that can be found online, is the latest example of how dance-focused music videos and their offshoots - tributes, step-by-step lessons, parodies - have put a viral-media spin on the old concept of hit songs with their own dances, like the twist.

The updated trend can be traced to “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” When it was released in 2007 the song and its accompanying dance spread like wildfire across the Web. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” released in 2008, continues to spawn dozens of imitations, demonstrations and mash-ups, like a recent tribute that mixed the video with 1960s-era clips of Motown girl groups.

As with other viral phenomena, the professional productions inspire others who learn the choreography and share videos of their performances online. Then the tributes lead to tributes.

“Usually on a daily basis I get an e-mail with a new video from somebody from around the world being like, ‘Hey will you watch this, I’ve learned your moves?’ ” said Mr. Tubic, 20 . “There are kids with no dance training at all who are able to pick up my dance style and my choreography and make it look good.”

With the success of “Single Ladies” and “Telephone” have come more big production videos: Usher’s new “OMG,” featuring will.i.am; Ciara’s steamy “Ride,” released in late April, which also features Ludacris; and Christina Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight” (the first single from her “Bionic” album, out in June) all have strong dance components.

“People are realizing if you put a video online with dance in it, you’ll get millions of people to watch it,” Mr. Tubic said.

The popularity of dance-focused videos also reflects a shift in how we experience music. “Dance has come in and given people a way and motivation to experience the records, to feel that music and that joy,” said Laurieann Gibson, the creative director and choreographer for “Telephone” and other Lady Gaga projects. “If you don’t have dance as part of your visual, there’s no way these kids are gravitating to the songs.”

Record companies are also aware of the power of dance to attract music consumers. “We’ve picked up a number of records recently that have dances already attached to them,” said Jeff Dodes, executive vice president for marketing and digital media at the Jive Label Group.

Mr. Tubic said his main goal was to help viewers learn to dance at home. “One thing I saw online was a lot of people were putting up tutorials of, you know, how to play piano, how to play this song on a keyboard, so I wanted people to have this page where people can watch and learn these moves.”


By JULIE BLOOM


Lady Gaga, left, with Beyoncé in ‘‘Telephone,’’ which has motivated viewers to videotape their own dance moves.