A physical education teacher, Khing Hnin Wai, shot to fame after she posted a video capturing the initial moments of the Myanmar coup while she was performing her aerobics routine in front of the country's parliament, in Naypyidaw. The video, which was uploaded a day after the military coup, has garnered millions of views on social media.
As reported earlier, Myanmar's military took control of the country in a coup in the early hours on Monday after detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The country's military TV announced a state of emergency for one year and the transfer of power. The military also announced that it was dismissing the present government and transferring power to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing because of "election fraud."
Khing Dances on 'Ampun Bang Jago' As Coup Begins
Oblivious to the happenings taking behind her, Khing is seen dancing to the beat of Indonesian hit song "Ampun Bang Jago" in the nearly one- and half-minute-long viral video. Dressed in lime green and black colored workout gear, Khing dances on the same spot as fleet of black military vehicles with sirens is seen speeding behind her towards the barricading on the road. Among the vehicles, two armored vehicles are also seen speeding on the road.
At one point during the video small figures can be seen rushing to open the barricade and let the vehicles through. Mothership reported that the video was taken from the Facebook page of a woman named Khing Hnin Wai who had uploaded it on Feb. 1 at 4:30pm. It was also reported that the aerobics video was shot on a roundabout near Myanmar's parliament.
Khing's FB page also shows multiple other videos shot on the same spot some days ago. The Guardian reported that around 3am on Tuesday, the physical education instructor posted that the video was real and that she had been filming dance videos outside the assembly for 11 months.
Social Media Goes Wild on Aerobics Video
The video shared on Twitter by a user named Von Koutli has been viewed over 13 million times. It became a rage on multiple social media platforms too.
"Just floored by how when you start thinking about how the world will remember this coup with the aerobics lady immortalised as a meme, you just can unravel layers and layers of surrealness about Myanmar, about Naypyitaw, about social media... and on and on #becauseMyanmar," wrote a user.
"yes, of course i got up and followed along with the myanmar coup aerobics routine," wrote another.
"Me pretending I'm fine with everything when my life is a mess (This woman filming her aerobics video while Myanmar military coup takes place in background is truly high art...)" tweeted a user while sharing the video.
