While last summer was riddled with a flurry of dance trends, this year’s TikTok craze encountered a bit of a moral reckoning. Black TikTok creators, one of the platform’s largest vehicles for trendsetting entertainment, have been abstaining from innovating any new dance moves to highlight how their work is commodified without comparable credit. Luckily, #SavageChallenge originator Keara Wilson, alongside other content creatives, has obtained official copyright for her viral choreography.
@keke.janajah NEW DANCE ALERT! 🚨 if u use my dance tag me so i can see🤗 @theestallion #writethelyrics #PlayWithLife #foyou #fyp #foryoupage #newdance #savage
In an effort to amplify BIPOC creators, renowned choreographer JaQuel Knight (re: Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”) partnered with Logitech to assist creators in receiving the copyrights for their choreography. The process was able to approved via labanotation, a method that documents dance steps with symbols in patterns. Alongside Wilson, the following innovators were granted the monumental honor: Young Deji, creator of “The Woah” dance; Fullout Cortland, the choreography of Doja Cat’s “Say So” performance at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards; Nae Nae Twins, creator of the dance to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” remix featuring Beyoncé; Chloe Arnold, “Salute A Legend” choreography for Syncopated Ladies; Mya Johnson and Chris Cotter, creator of the “Up” dance to Cardi B’s song of the same name.
Whether rhythmically inclined or not, the dreary isolation of 2020 cooped us all indoors and quite literally left to our own devices. When Megan Thee Stallion’s smash hit “Savage” released in March, Wilson took to the app and release her own gyrating combo to the track. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Wilson revealed that it took her just one hour to create the choreo and from there, she became an overnight success. A-list celebs from Keke Palmer to Jennifer Lopez to Thee Stallion herself posted their own renditions.
@theestallion @savagexfenty #savagextheestallion #savagechallenge
The call for creators to obtain copyright arose as dance trends catapulted the streams of newly-released at breakneck speed while the creators themselves received little to no credit and of course, no financial compensation. Moreover, BIPOC creators specifically have been decrying the popularity of other creators — like Charlie D’Amelio and Addison Rae — who have amassed millions of followers from performing dances choreographed by Black creators.
