Swans get all the credit as far as birds and dancing go. Can’t say I don’t see why. Swans are graceful and lend themselves really well to the idea. Though swans aren’t the only birds with stand-out movements. Matter of fact, most birds have really uncanny and unconventional ways of moving about.
The flightless ones are at the top of our radar here. In particular, penguins. Their iconic waddling is part of the quintessential image of a penguin, along with their tubby stature and black and white feathers. These kids had to do their best impression of one, so you be the judge of how well they did.
In particular, one girl named Ellen showcased her composure and commitment to performing. She’s the tallest penguin, on the furthest right.
First step is, of course, to waddle onto the stage.
The song’s first line is “The penguin is a funny bird”, and I can’t really argue with that. “He cannot sing, he cannot fly. It’s really quite absurd, to think a friendly penguin is even called a bird”. Hey, that’s a bit harsh and unfair to the penguin, don’t you think?
It’s pretty hard to get 10 kids to dance in sync on a stage. But in their defense, I’ve never seen penguins waddling in sync either. Though Ellen is doing her best, and it sure looks like it.
So for the intents and purposes of being as penguin-y as possible, I’d say they did a fine job.
Ring around the rosy was part of the dance, but it seems like they didn’t have the hats on when they rehearsed this part. More than a couple hats fall off some heads while their holding hands and dancing in a circle. “Hats off” to them, right?
Oh well, penguins don’t wear hats anyway.
While they waddle back into formation, a bunch of the…ahem, “penguins” run back and quickly pick up the hats they dropped. Let’s be thankful none of them had to balance an egg between their feet or slide on their belly. That would have been a recipe for disaster.
With that said, penguins are quite a bit more graceful than we give them credit for. They’re just not on the right stage to perform. Put those tubby, tuxedo birds in the water and they’ll make you rethink what “Grace” is. Beneath that chubby, black and white exterior is a very capable swimming hunter.
Of course, mimicking the waddling is a whole lot easier than mimicking the swimming and catching fish at incredible speed.
But these kids didn’t do a bad job at all. They all seem fresh out of kindergarten and don’t exactly have that much experience under their belt yet. Plus, being asked to do your best penguin dance is quite the request. I don’t think you or I could really do much better.
But Ellen? This may well have been her first recital. If that’s the case, then she did a fantastic job.
So despite the fallen hats and the adorable lack of synchronization, this performance was still great and fun entertainment. Though it’s from over a decade ago, the joy of watching little kids on their first recital is timeless on its own. Watch the clip in full, and find someone to share this article with!
Watch the adorable performance below.
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