Dance Like Everyone Is Watching

In case you missed it, British Prime Minister Theresa May showed off some dance moves during a recent visit to Cape Town. She’s hardly the first world leader to bust some awkward moves as cameras rolled. What do their jives and shimmies tell us about them? Click the links and judge for yourself.

Theresa May–No, she won’t take home prizes, and she may have frightened a few schoolchildren. But give her credit for giving it a real go. She knows she’ll be mocked back home. And everywhere else. And that these dance moves will live forever in cyberworld. But she’s going for it. During a stop in Kenya, she did it again. Give her points for genuine courage.

Islam Karimov – Compare May’s moves with this five-year-old footage of the late Islam Karimov, former president of Uzbekistan. Yes, he’s going for it too, but this isn’t courage. This is a captive audience. These moves say “No, I can’t dance. But you must pretend that I can, because I’m the man in charge.” No points.

Donald Trump–Now here’s a man who’s really not enjoying himself—and not even really trying. He has a sword, the greatest of all dance props, but he looks royally uncomfortable. This is a person with no sense of humor about himself. No points.

George W. Bush–Contrast that with this guy who used to have Trump’s current job. Here’s a man who is not afraid to look foolish. Like May, he’s giving it his best go, and he’s not afraid of the mockery he knows will follow. Give Bush some points.

Boris Yeltsin – Finally, there’s this guy. The former Russian president (pictured above) demonstrated his formidable courage in many ways, most famously by climbing atop a tank during an aborted coup. But the outrageous (and endlessly watchable) dance moves here earn him no points. They don’t say Boris is courageous. They say Boris is drunk again. Theresa May didn’t need a vodka warm-up.

Whose dance moves have we missed? Send us some clips you think we should see.