Harlem

The other morning, while tourists were lining up for an early lunch at Sylvia's soul food restaurant in Harlem, Rodney Capel and Basil Smikle were finishing breakfast -- and dissecting the travails of the local political machine. Usually by now they'd be chewing over lists of Democrats eager to jump into primaries this fall and scoping out Republicans hinting at making a run. "But everything is in limbo, seized up," said Smikle, sipping his coffee. "It's just such a weird time."

The question lingered for nearly the entire set: When would Baauer drop "Harlem Shake," his syrupy instrumental dance track that spawned a viral craze? Would he do it early to get it out of the way, as Gotye did when he played "Somebody That I Used to Know" this time last year? Would he pull an MGMT, which memorably ignored its anthem "Time to Pretend" in 2008? Baauer's ubiquitous jam had to come -- didn't it? For 55 intense minutes the New York producer teased the audience, working to deliver proof that he's not a one-hit wonder, but a production force working to bring the hot subgenre of trap rap to the masses.

'Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts' Where: California African American Museum, Exposition Park, L.A. When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 4. Admission: Free Information: http://www.caamuseum.org or (213) 744-7432

The Miami Heat joined the recent "Harlem Shake" craze, making a team video that they released Thursday that showcases their dance skills and sense of humor. Their version features Chris "Birdman" Anderson dancing around the locker room while the other players stretch or sit by their lockers. Then the camera cuts to the whole team dancing in costume.  LeBron James is dressed up like a king, Mario Chalmers is dressed as Super Mario, Chris "Birdman" Andersen dons a bird ensemble, Dwyane Wade is wearing a bear head, and Ray Allen has a "Phantom of the Opera"-style mask As of Friday morning, the video had over 2 million views.  "In life u gotta figure out how to have fun and enjoy it. Hope y'all enjoy," Chalmers wrote on Twitter.

In his review of "Way Past Cool" (April 19), Robert Ward refers to "Warren Miller's great novel 'Harlem'--a book that should be in print permanently." I was gratified to read this appreciation of my late brother's work, but would like to note that the correct title of the novel Mr. Ward mentions is "The Siege of Harlem." Warren Miller, who died in 1966 at the age of 44, was also the author of another novel about Harlem, the much- acclaimed "The Cool World." GITA FLAUM BEVERLY HILLS

Lincoln Kirstein, the visionary and conscience of American ballet, was blunt about it back in 1970: "Fancy Free," he wrote, "remains the sturdiest characteristic national work" in our repertory. Not the most profound or the most subtle or the most demanding, mind you, but the sturdiest.

Domy Reiter-Soffer's "La Mer" is a very solemn ballet with just one idea but many, many failings. Created four years ago for the Eddy Toussaint Dance Company of Montreal, it was performed for the first time by Dance Theatre of Harlem on an otherwise familiar program Thursday in Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Against a luminous backdrop divided horizontally by a rippling line, Reiter-Soffer deploys four principals and a small corps in a simulation of liquid ebb and flow: ocean's motion, ballet style.

Dance Theatre of Harlem: In some copies of Thursday's Calendar section, a caption with an article about the Dance Theatre of Harlem misidentified its founder and artistic director, Arthur Mitchell, as Arthur Miller.

A dispute between two young men over who was better at a trendy dance called "voguing" ended Tuesday with one rival killing the other, police said. Escoban de Jesus, 19, was stabbed in the abdomen with a pair of scissors near a Hudson River pier that neighborhood residents said is used as an open-air dance club. Fitzgerald Billips, 24, of Brooklyn, was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

The Dance Theater of Harlem opened its 20th anniversary season Wednesday night in New York with a performance of "Giselle." "The fact that we have survived and gotten here in 20 years is a miracle," said Arthur Mitchell, executive director and co-founder of the company. Speaking before the performance, Mitchell thanked the audience for its support and the city of New York for a $2.5-million grant that will be used to renovate the Harlem facility and other properties.

You've seen the Harlem Shake on YouTube, but have you seen YouTube do the Harlem Shake? The popular online video service has added a fun Easter egg, which is a virtual hidden feature, to its website. Now, when users search for " Do the Harlem Shake " on YouTube, the site itself will do the viral dance. Much like the meme, which involves one person dancing alone until he or she is suddenly joined by everyone else on camera, the YouTube Easter egg starts with music suddenly playing on the website and the site's logo gyrating.

The sky might in fact be the limit for the Harlem Shake. The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it is investigating a video, titled "Harlem Shake Frontier Flight 157," that shows Colorado College's ultimate Frisbee team doing the meme with their fellow passengers. The Harlem Shake is a viral video craze that has exploded in the last month. Most videos show one person dancing alone, with others suddenly joining about 15 seconds into the song. Most videos contain people in costumes and masks.

Adapting to what editorial director Bill Werde called " new music experiences ," Billboard magazine announced Wednesday that it will begin incorporating YouTube streams into the data used to determine its Hot 100 singles chart. The change goes into effect with this week's tally, topped by Baauer's viral-video hit "Harlem Shake. " Last week, the song wasn't even on the chart, marking only the 21st time a song has debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, according to Billboard's Gary Trust . YouTube said "Harlem Shake" (in its various official incarnations)

While a lot of people say they're growing tired of the Harlem Shake, the meme isn't showing any signs of slowing down just yet. It seems more and more Harlem Shake videos are being uploaded every day and now it appears they are evolving. The funniest videos are showing up with a creative twist at the end: They're Harlem Shake fake-outs, if you will. Here are some of our favorites.  The Just Stop Harlem Shake In this version , popular YouTube video maker Freddie Wong encapsulates how many people are starting to feel about the Harlem Shake.

By now, you've likely seen hundreds if not thousands of people do the Harlem Shake -- popularized on YouTube and elsewhere online -- but have you ever seen a website do it? A new trick has been posted on the Web that makes it possible for users to make their favorite websites do their own version of the popular meme. All that's needed is the Google Chrome browser and a bit of Javascript code. From there, it's easy. VIDEOS: Eight things killing the Harlem Shake Users simply head to the website they want, right click anywhere on the screen and select "Inspect elements.

The Harlem Shake burst onto the scene last week, but already the poor meme is showing signs of looming death. We're not saying the Harlem Shake will surely die, but unless some things change, it'll soon fall out of public favor. Here are eight reasons: 8. Sports teams are doing it Seeing your favorite sports teams or athletes participate in a meme isn't terrible in and of itself. Some of our favorite memes involve athletes (see: Yao Ming face ). But if the meme is being driven by the team's marketing wing rather than the athletes, then please don't do it. The Dallas Mavericks' rendition is a great example of a terrible Harlem Shake: 7. They've become too extravagant One of the elements that made us fall in love with the Harlem Shake was that many of the early videos seemed organic.

Close your eyes and take a trip back in time. Hear the sound of tapping toes on a hardwood floor and see the perfectly synchronized flash of a dozen pairs of silver-tipped shoes. Feel the blues: "Ain't Nobody's Business." You've landed in the 1930s, when husky-voiced singers and long-legged tap dancers entertained audiences from the honky-tonk saloons of the American South to the smoke-filled night spots of Harlem, such as the Cotton Club.

Stanford "Stan" Clarke Seidel, 48, screenwriter whose first major motion picture, "One Night at McCool's," was recently completed. "McCool's," which has yet to be released, is set in Seidel's native St. Louis, and stars Michael Douglas, Matt Dillon, Andrew Dice Clay, John Goodman, Paul Reiser, Reba McEntire and Liv Tyler.

If you're like us, chances are you've been itching for a new dance craze, and maybe even woke up Wednesday morning looking to try out a few new maneuvers. Good news: In the last couple of weeks a classic has been revived for a new decade: the Harlem Shake. Born in the 1980s, the move has evolved into a few different forms since then, but reappeared when a video appeared of some young men going crazy for a song called "Harlem Shake" by Baauer.  It's a fun, funky dance track, somewhere between a house jam and an instrumental hip hop record, synthetic, freaky and featuring the roar of a lion.

Winter storm Nemo is keeping many New Yorkers indoors, but it can't stop the Harlem Shake. The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme that has spontaneously gone viral and might just be the perfect way for Northeasterners stuck indoors to pass the time. And to answer your first question: No, the Harlem Shake isn't just a dance move. We wish it were that simple. Instead, the meme involves a group of people recording themselves in a room while the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer, a New York DJ, plays.