The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos

There are two ways to shoot a dance-heavy video. You can build an elaborate set, design multiple costumes and hire a cavalcade of dancers to serve as backup bodies. Or you can just slap a leotard and high heels on Beyoncé Knowles and call it a day. That’s exactly what director Jake Nava did in the video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” Beyoncé and her two choreographers, Frank Gatson and JaQuel Knight, came up with the dance routine by combining elements of an old Bob Fosse dance with something called J-setting (a call-and-response type of cheerleading dance that originated at Jackson State University in Mississippi). The three-minute video was shot in three separate takes, with the lighting and angles changed live as Beyonceé and two other dancers swished, bounced and popped in front of a blank backdrop. It has been watched more than 128 million times on YouTube and has inspired dozens of fan videos. Sometimes the best creations are also the simplest.