The Harlem Shake hits Spanish Point

WEST Clare has a long established link with set dancing and traditional music. However, tastes appear to have diversified somewhat in recent weeks, with St Joseph’s Secondary School in Spanish Point hosting an impromptu outbreak of the latest craze.
The dance originated in New York and has become an internet phenomenon, with various takes on the dance, which involves generally uncoordinated, sustained and rather hectic movement, attracting more than 700 million views within just one month.
However, not everybody was amused by the arrival of The Harlem Shake at the West Clare school.
The Department of Education has confirmed that a parent contacted them, with a complaint, following the display in a school classroom.
“Yes, the department was contacted by a parent and that parent was advised to use the complaints procedures that exist,” a spokesperson told The Clare Champion on Wednesday.
“The parent was advised to contact the school board of management and was advised that there is a complaints procedure in place,” the spokesperson added.
However, the spokesperson made it clear that the Department of Education is not investigating the incident.
“That’s not our remit. The board of management is the place to go in that regard. We’re not investigating,” the spokesperson stated.
St Joseph’s Spanish Point school principal, Mary Crawford, declined to comment on the matter, when contacted on Wednesday.
The Harlem Shake first came to prominence in New York about 30 years ago. At half-time during streetball games in Rucker Park, Albert Boyce, who was known locally as Al B, entertained the crowd with the dance.