One of the most wonderful things about music and dance is how it can be enjoyed in so many different forms and ways. From lively salsa dances to elegant ballroom routines, there’s no end to the ways in which we move our bodies to the beat and dance along when a great song starts to play.
Even something as simple as a cup can become an integral part of a song and dance routine, as anyone who has seen the classic romantic comedy, Pitch Perfect, will know.
The film famously features the ‘Cup Song’, a version of ‘When I’m Gone’ performed by Anna Kendrick using a simple plastic cup as a percussion instrument.
The history of the song goes all the way back to the 1931 Carter Family original, but it was Lulu and the Lampshades who introduced the cup in the routine and then Pitch Perfect that helped make the Cup Song so famous.
In recent years, we’ve seen countless people all over the world try out the Cup Song for themselves, and some dancers were in for a special treat when Dance Moms stars Mackenzie and Maddie Ziegler came along for a ‘Meet and Greet’ session and decided to perform the song for the assembled audience.
Unfortunately, Mackenzie’s foot was in a protective boot at the time due to a bone issue, so she wasn’t able to dance along but was still able to provide the vocal track for the song while her sister, Maddie, handled the cup.
Together, the two sisters put on one heck of a performance, with Mackenzie singing beautifully and Maddie tapping and spinning the cup to perfection, all leading up to a well-deserved roar of applause at the end.
As anyone who has ever tried to learn it for themselves will know, the Cup Song routine isn’t easy. It’s quite simple when you slow it down and break each movement into smaller steps, but when you need to perform the whole thing at speed, in time with someone singing, and with dozens of people watching you, it takes a special level of skill to pull it off!
Fortunately, Maddie has an amazing ability when it comes to music and dance, as she and her sister are blessed with a natural kind of rhythm that lets them adapt to almost any musical situation!
So even with all those eyes on her and all that pressure to perform, she did an incredible job.
By the end of the performance, Maddie didn’t even need to keep her eyes on the cup, simply looking off towards the side of the dancefloor as her hands completed each tap, turn, and movement with ease.
And then, when the song finally comes to a close, she taps the cup down one last time and stands to her feet as the dancers all cheer and clap. Those cheers have now been heard all over the globe, as the video of the routine went viral, being viewed over 9 million times! See it for yourself down below.
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