Myanmar aerobics instructor dances through military coup
A screen capture of aerobics instructor Khing Hnin Wai’s workout video.
Pumping her arms to an electronic ditty, aerobics instructor Khing Hnin Wai appeared oblivious as a convoy of armored vehicles drove by — accidentally capturing Myanmar’s military coup-in-progress in a surreal video that has now gone viral.
The PE teacher in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital, posted footage of her workout to Facebook on Monday morning, gyrating and waving her arms to the tune of a dance track. Unbeknownst to her, history was in the making right behind her as armored vehicles and black SUVs swept by on the Royal Lotus Roundabout near the country’s parliament.
The military seized control of the country in the early hours of Monday, detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials in her party. The post soon went viral with more than 630,000 views on Facebook thanks to the bizarre juxtaposition of a power grab taking place against a pulsating earworm.
“How harmonic with the background music and background scenery!” Khing Hnin Wai said in her post. “Before I heard the news (of the coup) in the morning, the video I made for the aerobic dance competition has become an unforgettable memory.”
The video was being scalped and spread across social media platforms — one tweet containing the video had been viewed more than 11.7 million times 24 hours after it was posted.
