On Feb. 2, a group of students will premiere their choreographed dance moves inspired by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and film a music video called “Do the Bernie Sanders.”
UT radio-television-film senior Kent Juliff and biology junior Caleb Fleischer, better-known as PRiNCE Gooseboy and Yumn Tuna in the music scene, wrote a rap song about the candidate and created an accompanying dance.
The duo performed their song at Chortle Portal, a stand-up comedy show, this past weekend. Radio-television-film junior Shannon Cloud, who hosted the stand-up show, offered to help film a music video for the rap.
“We want to shoot a big dance scene with as many people as possible,” Cloud said. “We don’t really have a shot list in mind; we want to get a feel for the crowd when we’re there.”
The group made a Facebook event to promote their video, which will be shot on the UT Main Mall around 4 p.m. Cloud said they will be teaching people on site how to do the dance before they film, but does not know how many people will show up. They hope to film from a multitude of angles and heights.
“My friend has a drone camera, so we will also be using that,” Cloud said.
The event is not affiliated with the Bernie Sanders campaign or the UT-Austin Students for Bernie Sanders organization but is influenced by the candidate, Juliff said.
“It’s about getting everyone together at the UT Mall,” Juliff said. “It’s not a day about politics and not a day about partisan issues. It’s just about getting down and enjoy being around the people doing the Bernie Sanders and love for America as an idea.”
Sanders’ demeanor and appearance during the campaign season influenced the dance moves, Fleischer said. One dance move involves rotating arms downward at a 30-degree angle, Fleischer said.
“We shopped [for] a few different ideas,” Fleischer said. “One just stuck and was kind of a natural thing. After watching enough Bernie Sanders videos and clips, we just let his aura resonate.”
Juliff said he and Fleischer aren’t targeting students specifically, but anyone who wants to can participate.
"We want all Americans but also people who are visiting America and trying to be a part of the community,” Juliff said.
