Beyonce accused of copying Belgian dancer's moves "Ballet"

R&B diva Beyonce is being accused of stealing dance moves for her new video “Countdown” from a famous choreographer. The pop star admitted that a 22-second sequence was inspired by Belgian dancer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, who created the ballet “Rosas Danst Rosa”. However, De Keersmaeker said she had never been contacted for permission and called the pop video “pure plagiarism”. Beyonce said the ballet was “one of many references” for the video, which also pays homage to Andy Warhol. A comparative clip on YouTube, entitled “Beyonce vs Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker”, shows the similarities in the dance.

A spokeswoman for the dance troupe said they discovered the Beyonce video last week: “We noticed more than a few resemblances to the film. We have passed the details to our lawyer to see about our rights,” she said. Claiming legal ownership over a single dance move is difficult, although a sequence of moves could be protected if they were unique and the choreographer could prove they created them. They would also have to show a substantial portion of the moves had been used without permission.