Judson Laipply (/ˈlaɪpli/ⓘLYPE-lee; born March 22, 1976) is an American internet celebrity from Bucyrus, Ohio.[6] He served as the state president of The Ohio Association of Student Councils from 1993 to 1994. He is best known for his performance in the "Evolution of Dance" viral video clip, which became one of the most famous YouTube videos ever and was the most-viewed YouTube video over three time periods from May 2006 to October 2009.[7] He has worked as a public speaker since 2000.[8] For a brief 29 day period from June 4, 2006 to July 3, 2006, his YouTube channel was the most subscribed YouTube channel, which made him the first male individual channel to officially hold the honor.[9]
"Evolution of Dance"
In 2003, Laipply originally performed "Evolution of Dance", at which time it consisted of 12 popular dance songs of the late 20th century. In the video which was later uploaded to YouTube on April 6, 2006, he is seen performing various dance moves on stage with a spot light pointing at him in under 8 minutes.[10] At that time, it was rated on YouTube as:
The "Evolution of Dance 2" video, the sequel to the video sensation "Evolution of Dance" was released on December 17, 2008, as part of a national viral marketing campaign.[3]
This was announced by Judson on June 16, 2010;[14] he stated that it was in its early stages and that it was too early to give any details. In a YouTube comment he claimed he was trying to incorporate much older music and possibly include a second dancer. It was uploaded in April 2016, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of "Evolution of Dance".[15]
In December 2007, Judson appeared in an advert on the BBC for the 'dance season' during the Christmas Holidays.[16] "Evolution of Dance" was #1 on the show Rude Tube hosted by Alex Zane and Laipply was interviewed on the show.[citation needed] Judson was also featured in the music video for Weezer's song "Pork and Beans" along with several other Internet celebrities.
In February 2010, the video was used as a question reference on the game show Jeopardy! in the 2010 college championships. In "The Delivery" episode of The Office, Andy Bernard does the dance sans music as a way to distract Pam from her contractions. In 2011, Judson also appeared on Tosh.0, hosted by Daniel Tosh. The video has been parodied numerous times on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon through variations such as "Evolution of Mom Dancing" (guest-starring Michelle Obama)[17] or "Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing" (guest-starring Will Smith)[18] among others.
He did another video, called "The Evolution of the Touchdown Dance", which included memorable NFL touchdown dances, like "The Ickey Shuffle", Joe Horn's cell phone celebration, and famous celebrations from Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.[19]