In April of 2013, 35-year-old Ellie Cole let the rhythm get her while waiting for a bus in the English town of Eastleigh – and it would change her life forever.
Cole had no idea someone was taking a video of her – one that would go viral and be viewed by millions.
A private moment?
If you’re going to dance in public, you might dance like no one’s watching, but you can’t really have any expectation of privacy. And as it turns out, the surreptitiously filmed 3-minute clip of Cole busting a move at the bus stop brought her some interesting new opportunities.
“I’m just a normal everyday person who happens to like dancing at bus stops,” Cole told The Daily Telegraph back in 2013. “Still to this day I find it hard to believe what happened with the video.”
Jane Rowland, the woman who filmed Cole from a cafe across the street, not only took the footage but added some background music – ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” It got millions of views on her YouTube channel (though after some copyright infringement issues, she had to take it down and re-upload it to the tune of over 200k more views).
Can’t knock her down
It turns out the song Cole was listening to on her headphones was Alesha Dixon’s “Knock Down.” And it sure did rev her up as she shimmied, disco-pointed, and punched along.
Cole once studied performing arts in college, though she was forced to drop out for financial reasons. But it’s clear she still loves music. She told the Telegraph that she has her headphones in every day and can’t help but to dance to the music on the way home from work.
Rowland told the paper that Cole “is an inspiration to us all and has cheered everyone up.”
Going viral
The two women have met and presumably, Rowland has Cole’s blessing to keep up the video.
Back in late 2013, both women appeared together on The Today Show, where Cole said her reaction to the video at first was, “Oh, dear.”
When asked whether she thought it was a violation of privacy to put up the video, Rowland said she didn’t think so.
“I’ve been watching her for months and everybody had seen her going along the streets,” she replied. “I videoed her because my friends asked, they wanted to see it, so I popped it on my Facebook page and the rest is history basically.”
Al Roker asked Cole if she enjoyed dancing in public, to which she replied, “I do, unfortunately, but as my mum always said, I have more rhythm than sense.”
The Daily Telegraph reported that the video led to an invitation from writer/director Lynne Paris for Cole to take part in a performance of “AH Men” at The Point Theatre in Eastleigh.
The response
It’s hard not to love the video – especially if you love music and have been known to do a little head bop or hip check to your favorite tune.
Commenters delighted in watching the clip over and over again.
“Loved this cheered me up no end,” said one viewer.
Others seemed keen to get up and do some grooving themselves, though maybe not at the bus stop.
“She is in the groove and she makes me wanna hustle.”
And we agree! Tune in to the video below to see the charming dance for yourself.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
