Beyonce (FlyNet Pictures) There are quite a few references played out in the new music video for Beyonce Knowles' single "Countdown," some of them far more obvious than others. The video's director, Adria Petty, explained to MTV, "I brought Beyoncé a number of references and we picked some out together. Most were German modern-dance references, believe it or not. But it really evolved."
Most fans will be able to pick up on the visual allusions to icons Audrey Hepburn, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, but few would have noticed the shocking similarities between dance sequences in "Countdown" and the work of Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker were it not for the good old Internet.
This isn't the first time Beyonce's been accused of plagiarizing concepts: Earlier this year, eagle-eyed viewers noted that her Billboard Music Awards performance was strikingly similar to that of Italian pop star Lorella Cuccarini. It turned out that Knowles, inspired by Cuccarini's performance, had met with people on the other singer's creative team.
