What on earth is the rabbit turtle dance? The origins of the random dance video, explained

There’s a video circulating in one weird corner of the internet featuring kids dressed as animals, performing an oddly choreographed dance – and no one seems to know why.

The rabbit turtle dance video is this performance where children are dressed up as, you guessed it, rabbits and turtles. It’s a kind of interpretative dance and people are obsessed with it for no apparent reason.

Here’s where the rabbit turtle dance video is actually from

The dance is made up of students in China who recreated the old fable of the rabbit (or hare) racing a turtle and losing. Half of the kids are dressed in pink as rabbits and hop along the stage – quite impressively might I add – whilst the other half sort of drag themselves across, dressed in green and sporting a shell.

The dance is meant to echo the “slow and steady wins the race” moral we all know, in a reenactment of The Tortoise and the Hare (or rabbit and turtle as the internet has coined it.)

In the rabbit turtle dance video, the hares race past the tortoises as they drag themselves behind.

However, only a really short snippet of the video has gone viral. In the whole five minute clip, the turtles crank it up a notch and really go to town. It’s actually really impressive and it’s quite hard to believe these are all children performing.

TikTok is absolutely obsessing with it

@alan_does_musicals

Both groups are incredibly impressive dancers #bunnies #turtles #dance

♬ nhạc nền – Tròn – Tròn

The video has hit its target demographic, and loads of people are trying to recreate it, realising just how difficult it is to make a bunny hop look that realistic. It’s actually a bit insane. Most people are incredibly impressed by not only the children’s technique, but their stamina and strength to pull the moves off so smoothly and for so long.

The whole performance is cinema. And of course, like any trending video, people just had to try it for themselves.

@noellelyza__

did my strength and cardio for the day 🐢🐇 #dance #fyp #turtle #rabbit

♬ nhạc nền – Tròn – Tròn

And when I say people, I also mean the grown men who have to fluff their ego by rivalling the kids.

@little.pierogi

did he do a good job? Attempt #2 😌 who wants to see try 3? #turtles #bunnies #dance #beijing

♬ nhạc nền – Tròn – Tròn

The music is also really catchy, which definitely plays into the whole viral moment. It is a bit of a bop to be fair.

Featured image via YouTube