A dance to a song created for a Lafayette videographer popular for his videos capturing Acadiana’s Mardi Gras festivities is gaining steam as the newest trend on TikTok.
In January 2023, New Iberia rap group Young Hub City released their song “Mr. Weatherall,” a high energy jam celebrating John Weatherall III, who has built an online following around his videos of people dancing and enjoying the moment at local parades and festivals.
The sibling duo Jonathan “Jrok” Joseph and Brianesha “Beezy” Walters created the song alongside their manager and father, Johann “Yogi” Joseph; producer, Sully “DJ Sal” Gondron; and guest artist Big Zoe.
When the song was complete, Weatherall called longtime friend and fellow Northside High alum Chantell Zenon to choreograph a dance to accompany it, he said.
The dance was shown some love online when the song was initially released but it's exploded as a trend since Weatherall posted a video of girls performing the line dance at Vautrot’s Mini Mart in Church Point during Mardi Gras. Over the past week, TikTok users have posted hundreds of videos doing the dance daily.
@mr.weatherall So Many Stanley’s 😅 #MrWeatherall #ChurchPoint #Louisiana #Stanley #StanleyCup #JohnEWeatherall ♬ Mr. Weatherall - Young Hub City
As of Monday morning, there were over 9,100 videos posted using snippets of the “Mr. Weatherall” song.
Weatherall said it’s exciting to see the response and he and Young Hub City have a group text where they exchange their favorite videos of folks performing the dance. The 33-year-old videographer said while his name is embedded in the song, he’s most excited for the exposure his friends are getting and the new audience this is bringing to their music.
Each time he sees a new video using the song, Weatherall said he’s blown away to think people are taking the time to learn and perform the dance. It’s fun seeing how joyful people are in the videos, he said.
“I love to make people happy...When I see other people having fun, that’s my idea of having fun for myself. That brings joy to me,” said Weatherall, a self-described introvert. “There’s so much negativity going on in the world right now and I want to showcase people in their happy state.”
Weatherall grew up watching the Travel Channel and remembered seeing Mardi Gras typically depicted as New Orleans parades, with some focus on traditional courirs in the Acadiana area. Nothing quite reflected the festivities he attended, like watching parades with his family at Pontiac Point in Lafayette, and he loves capturing those moments on camera and sharing them with his audience.
The local videographer and Zenon released a tutorial video teaching people how to do the dance on Sunday. The video was posted on Weatherall's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts.
Zenon -- a 33-year-old mother, self-help and children’s book author, and podcaster -- said her goal was to choreograph a dance that’s gender-neutral and accessible for all ages and dance abilities to enjoy. Zenon wanted the “Mr. Weatherall” dance to be something any and everybody could do at cookouts and festivals.
“I was going for something that wasn’t too complicated and was easy going. I was thinking in my mind this song is already enough and it speaks volumes to John. I didn’t want to do a bunch of moves. I wanted it to be smooth,” she said.
Zenon has been dancing since she was a kid, from ministering with her church’s liturgical dance troupe to performing with Northside High School’s dance and step teams, where she learned to express her emotions through dance and be unafraid to try new things and push herself outside her comfort zone, she said.
Zenon said she’s excited each time she scrolls through the videos and sees the smiles on people’s faces and how each person brings their own flavor to the dance. The 33-year-old said she hopes to see people do the dance in person soon.
As seen in the videos, dance has the power to unite people, she said.
“I am so ecstatic. I feel like this is what I live for. I live to ignite people, to unite people and to see that makes me feel like I’m really living in my purpose and following my dreams,” she said.