Beyonce - Homage

 Beyonce's "Countdown" video pays homage to many well-known women throughout recent history, including Audrey Hepburn and model Peggy Moffitt. However, most of the choreography and some of the cinematography, costumes and make-up used in the video are derivative of the work of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, a Belgian choreographer and dancer who was not as well-known by many young Americans until her work, uncredited, was pointed out in the video and others accused the video-makers of plagiarism. De Keersmaeker was not asked if her dance moves and overall style could be used and or mimicked for the video and was unaware of their appearance until she saw the video after its release. 

This is not the first time Beyonce and her music videos have been called out for plagiarism or baring too much similarity to other work. Her last video, '1+1,' reproduces scenes from the unfinished French film, 'L'Enfer' (1964), starring Romy Schneider, while her upcoming video, 'Love on Top,' is a modern version of the music video 'If it isn't Love' by 80s R&B group New Edition. The singer also used dance routines from African dance group, Tofo Tofo for the video 'Run the World (Girls),' but included the dancers in the production. The singer has also been inspired by American choreographer Bob Fosse. The famous 'Single Ladies' dance bares striking resemblance to Fosse's 'Mexican Breakfast' and 'Something Better than This' (Sweet Charity), while Beyonce's video for 'Get me Bodied' is a modern update of the 'Rich Man's Frug,' another scene from Fosse's Sweet Charity. Most recently, the singer's live Billboard Music Awards performance was shown to be a near replica of Italian singer Lorella Cuccarini's live performance--it was later revealed that Beyonce contacted some of the same creators of Cuccarini's performance for her own performance. The original videos, as well as countless others that make comparisons between Beyonce's work and other work, can be found on Youtube. Beyonce has admitted to AOL Music and other sources that Youtube videos have inspired her work.