By now, we’ve all experienced it: You’re scrolling Instagram or TikTok, and suddenly you see a group of baseball players, clad in bright yellow uniforms, grooving in unison. For a second you might wonder if it’s AI-generated, because it looks like too much fun.
But it’s not AI. It is, in fact, the Savannah Bananas—the dancing baseball team that has become such a viral phenomenon it led to the creation of a whole new entertainment-forward baseball league, Banana Ball.
The choreographer turning America’s pastime into viral dance moments is Maceo Harrison. Since joining the team in 2018, Harrison has brought a bold choreographic vision to the sport, teaching the nondancer Bananas how to boogie, do-si-do, and more. His resumé lists a myriad of dance accomplishments, including appearing on “America’s Got Talent” and studying hip hop on scholarship at New York City’s Joffrey Ballet School. Now, the dancer-turned-choreographer is paving his own path to success in the world of TikTok dance content.
Dance Spirit caught up with Harrison to find out what it’s like to create some of the internet’s most eye-popping dance sequences for everyone’s favorite baseball team.
How did you start working with the Bananas?
I graduated high school, and for two years I went on the audition circuit. I did “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Got Talent,” then I traveled around the country teaching classes and doing conventions. One of my dance friends gave the managers of the Bananas my number, and they gave me a call and said, “Our dance coach is leaving for college. Would you like to be our new first-base dance coach?” As soon as I got to my first game, I fell in love with the atmosphere and the energy of it all.
How do you approach choreographing and working with the Bananas, since many of them haven’t had formal dance training?
When I choreograph for dancers, I put a lot of thought into it. But for the Bananas, I’m quick. I have to remind myself of the KISS [“Keep it simple, stupid”] method. If I make something up that may seem easy to me, I want to break it down a bit more to make sure everybody looks good. It’s really about the performance quality for the Bananas. My goal is to make sure the guys are comfortable doing the dance, that they know the dance, and that they are 100 percent for the performance.
Do you teach the Bananas about performance quality as well, or do they already have that down?
For the most part, they are natural performers—they have the energy and the passion to automatically go out there and give it their all. Some people on the team have dead faces [from nerves], and you just gotta remind them that if they mess up, who cares? They’re not professional dancers.
How often do the Bananas practice dancing versus baseball?
I would say 80 percent is baseball. Twenty percent would be dance. I’m here at the stadium right now, so I will be teaching them the TikToks they will do for tonight’s game. They practice it for a few hours, and then they perform it that night.
Usually, I teach player dances within 30 minutes to an hour. Sometimes, for some of the shorter ones, it’s a quick 15 or 20 minutes. And then we’re practicing while we’re in the dugout.
Have you noticed that as the Bananas’ exposure has grown, newer players tend to come in with more arts training?
Yes, this year we are seeing a lot of players that have a wide background of skills. We have guys that can play piano. We have Dalton Mauldin, who’s an actual singer, and we have Kyle Jackson (“KJ”), who has a musical theater background. We have a lot of athletes that have hidden talents—even dancing. So I think that’s definitely what we’re gravitating towards moving forward.
What are the challenges of choreographing for social media?
There are always going to be challenges with going viral on social media, because not everybody’s going to resonate with your creation. It’s always different generations, different genres, different eras. I love old-school music. And I think that’s mainly what the Bananas are based on. But now it’s going into an era where [we’re working with] new music and new artists, so applying that is the biggest hurdle.
Then there are the technical challenges. Sometimes when we’re trying to get a good shot, [phone] signals don’t work. Audio messes up. That’s a challenge. But I always tell the guys if something goes wrong, you do not stop. You keep going.
If we’re talking about challenges dance-wise, I would say formations. These guys gotta figure out their windows!
What have you learned as a choreographer from this experience?
I’ve learned not to overthink things. I used to say, “Is this cool enough?” “Is this big enough?” “Do you think is gonna resonate?” But I got to the point of embracing the KISS method. It might be just a wave, or a nod, or jumps to get the energy pumping and everybody clapping along. That’s enough.
Are there any goals you have for the Bananas going forward?
Maybe something on a grander scale with up-and-coming artists or dancers. We call the whole Banana Ballfield “one big stage,” and everybody should shine, so I’d love to bring that opportunity to fresh dancers and artists in the entertainment industry.
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