The Numa Numa Dance Meme

Many of the people on the internet have seen Gary Brolsma dancing to O-Zone even if they didn’t know it. Gary, also known as the “Numa Numa guy” received sudden internet fame when he posted a video of himself dancing to “Dragostea din tei”,” a Moldovian pop song, on a website known as Newgrounds.com back in 2004. This video quickly went “viral” as Newgrounds users began to pass it around between one another and post it in various forums. The video ultimately crested at over eighteen million views, making it one of the most widely viewed submissions on Newgrounds.

This sudden and undesired fame initially was hard on Gary, but he quickly adapted to it, and he has since posted additional videos on his own website, though they have failed to capture the fame and viral spread of the original work. Still, the “Numa Numa Dance” is an example of how a simple, funny video can quickly become powerful through the voice of public opinion, as demonstrated on the internet.