When people go viral or famous on TikTok, the default assumption tends to be that they must be good at something. The range of skills that people showcase on TikTok ranges from singing and dancing to comedy skits. TikTok itself has become synonymous with these people.
Lately, another person has amassed some viral attention on the platform. Although rather than going viral for dancing, she’s actually gone viral for not dancing. Does that make sense?
Some important context : She’s 4.
@chubbybeagleWent to my niece’s outdoor dance recital and witnessed this legend. ##dancrecital ##legend♬ original sound – chubbybeagle
4-year old Charlie isn’t one to enjoy stages. Who can blame her? I never asked to be put on a raised platform for dozens of people to see. A dance recital is pretty much exactly that, and we know recitals and preschoolers go together about as well as donuts and really bitter coffee.
The recital goes on, the people watch. But Charlie? Yeah, no. She has better things to do, and places she’d rather be. She has no concept of embarrassment, only disdain. And boy is she not happy to be here.
For six long minutes, Charlie just stands there with her tutu and mask. And she does absolutely nothing. At least she’s wearing a mask.
The dance tracks cycle through the multiple songs, and each time she does nothing. Her companions and, an older girl down below, all carry onward despite her lack of enthusiasm.
Her performance, or rather lack thereof, was captured by one person in the audience and uploaded to TikTok. Caleb Collier, the TikTok user, captioned it “Went to my niece’s outdoor recital and witnessed this legend.”
And a legend indeed she would become!
As is typical with TikTok, the video made the rounds and got shared a whole load of times. So much so that Charlie’s own mom, Tiffany, found out when her coworker told her about it. There was more than one TikTok that captured it too, the other one being none other than Tiffany’s!
Tiffany’s video shows the same scene playing out, from a different perspective. Charlie is just as uninterested as in the first video, obviously.
@chubbybeagleWith permission from this icon’s mother, @cosbyt8 , here is the only movement recorded during her 6 minute performance ##dancrecital ##legend♬ original sound – chubbybeagle
Strangely, Charlie had actually done the dance for their practice rehearsals before. Something about the day that the real show took place just didn’t resonate with her. Honestly, I feel that.
Tiffany spoke to the folks at Buzzfeed about her daughter’s viral disinterest.
“We were actually shocked she did dance in the finale. I honestly think it was because she was in the back row. She is really animated and outgoing if it’s in a small group of people she knows.”
Caleb Collier’s original TikTok has already amassed 4 million views. The folks over at TikTok felt the same vibes as Charlie, which her mom described as just “Very 2020”.
Charlie did participate, albeit a teeny bit, in the same performance. Something about the 6 minutes in particular that were captured on video just felt “nope” to her. She did say that the large number of people was a major factor in her just not feeling it.
“I think the thing that surprises me the most is when things are posted on the internet you’re going to expect negative comments. I was talking to family about how great it was that a majority of the comments were uplifting.”
To be completely fair to Charlie, she’s had to endure a pandemic, economic slumps and climate change before she even finished preschool.
Honestly, hasn’t 2020 turned all of us into Charlies ourselves?
Normally, I’d tell you to play the video and “enjoy the performance”, but as you can see, there isn’t much of one. I’d still play the video and share, though. Maybe it’ll let Charlie know that she’s not the only one feeling out of it.
@chubbybeagleWent to my niece’s outdoor dance recital and witnessed this legend. ##dancrecital ##legend♬ original sound – chubbybeagle
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