The Evolution of the Bar Mitzvah Dance Video
Introducing Sam Horowitz and his troupe of scantily-clad female dancers
August 08, 2013
We here at Tablet love a good/cringeworthy bar mitzvah video. Today we have the honor of ushering you—nay, booty-dancing you—into the holy of holies of the Temple of Kitsch.
Here’s a clip from Sam Horowitz’s simcha at the Omni Hotel in Dallas last November. Clearly, the South is where it’s at for outrageous, over-the-top bar mitzvah videos.
Keep watching to 2:00 for peak fabulousness—you won’t regret it. (Hat tip to the folks at Kveller for sending this our way.)
It’s interesting to note the evolution of bar mitzvah videos over the past couple of decades—check out this Madonna-inspired entrée filmed in Chicago in 1992. The energy and enthusiasm is infectious, but would Shaun Sperling’s DIY aesthetic cut it in 2013? We fear not.
What next, people of Israel, what next? Dedicated Youtube channels? Live streaming? Ticket sales? God of mercy, deliver us from this kitsch! Or, don’t. It’s pretty entertaining.
Here’s Sam’s prequel to the official dance number, filmed in Dallas and Laguna Beach.
And here’s Sam on Good Morning America today, talking about the hours of rehearsal that went into polishing the routine. “It was the best day of my entire life,” he says of his bar mitzvah.
Previous: Bar Mitzvah Videos Have Now Jumped the Shark
Bar Mitzvah Video Eclipses GDP of Small Nations
Elissa Goldstein is Tablet’s director of audience development. She also produces Unorthodox. Follow her on Twitter here.
