# Dancing Theresa May Maybot Dancing Theresa May Maybot is a viral video meme from August 2018 showing UK Prime Minister Theresa May doing a stiff, robotic shuffle with schoolchildren in Cape Town. The awkward footage spawned nickname jokes, dubstep remixes, and image macros mocking her wooden movements. ## Overview Dancing Theresa May Maybot is the nickname for a short clip of the British Prime Minister doing a stilted, shuffling dance with South African schoolchildren during an August 2018 trade visit[1]. Viewers immediately compared the wooden hip movements to Elaine Benes from Seinfeld and to a broken robot[2]. The nickname "Maybot" is a portmanteau of May and Robot, riffing on a term the British press already used for her stiff public manner[3]. The clip became a template for remix jokes, with users setting the footage to dubstep, Fatman Scoop, and other tracks that made the awkward shuffle look intentional[1]. ## How It Spread Twitter users piled on with captions and remix edits. Account @OFalafel synced the clip to dubstep and racked up more than 360 retweets, while @ianbrannan set it to Fatman Scoop and cleared 130 retweets[3]. The "Maybot" tag stuck fast, picked up by News18, The Guardian, and Twitter Moments coverage of the joke[3]. May herself addressed the mockery, telling ITV News she suspected her moves would "not quite make it onto Strictly," the British version of Dancing with the Stars[2]. She then leaned into the joke on October 2nd, 2018, walking onto the Conservative Party Conference stage to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and reprising the shuffle, a moment Reuters posted to Twitter and which pulled over 1,600 likes in a day[3]. By late October 2018, the clip crossed over to Reddit as an image macro format on /r/TheresaMayMemes. On October 30th, user Behemothism paired a still of May with a caption about a haunted house representing "White People," a post that pulled more than 20,000 upvotes in 24 hours[3]. ## How to Use The template typically uses a freeze-frame of May mid-shuffle, arms stiff and knees slightly bent, as a reaction image for anything cringeworthy, forced, or oblivious. Remix versions commonly swap the audio track for a beat that makes the awkward timing look deliberate, from dubstep drops to hip-hop hype tracks. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Dancing Theresa May Maybot? It is a viral video of UK Prime Minister Theresa May doing a stiff, shuffling dance with schoolchildren in Cape Town in August 2018, nicknamed the Maybot for its robotic look[1]. ### Where did Dancing Theresa May Maybot come from? The clip was filmed at ID Mkhize High School in Cape Town on August 28th, 2018, during May's post-Brexit trade tour of Africa, and posted by the South African account @DIRCO_ZA[2]. ### What does Dancing Theresa May Maybot mean? "Maybot" is a portmanteau of May and Robot used by the British press for her stiff manner, applied to the dance because the movements looked mechanical[3]. ### How do you use Dancing Theresa May Maybot? People typically remix the footage with different music like dubstep or Fatman Scoop, or use a freeze-frame as a reaction image for anything awkward or forced[3]. ### Is Dancing Theresa May Maybot still popular? It is a classic 2018 political meme that peaked when May re-enacted the dance onstage to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" at the Conservative Party Conference on October 2nd, 2018[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2018/aug/28/theresa-may-dancing-incredible-cringeworthy-or-a-threat-to-international-diplomacy]() 2. [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/theresa-may-shows-off-her-dance-moves-in-south-africa/10176824]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dancing-theresa-may-maybot]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dancing-theresa-may-maybot Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library