This is Zola, a 14-year-old gorilla at the Dallas Zoo in Texas who arrived from the Calgary Zoo in 2013. Both zoos told BuzzFeed News they were struck by Zola's unique and inspiring dancing abilities.
Earlier this week, Zola showed zookeepers exactly what he's made of. Ashley Orr said she was doing a routine cleaning of the gorilla building when she heard splashing. She then witnessed Zola putting on this show and started recording:
View this video on YouTube
Look at that beautiful progression into a pirouette*.
Those lines. That coordination. "We ran over to see him in all his excitement," Orr told BuzzFeed News. "Our keepers have seen him dancing before, but we had no idea he’d show off his moves for us that day."
People who watched Zola's dancing are feeling his pure joy. Some have taken it to the next level by overlaying music. An homage to Flashdance.
@joelcifer I added some music to this.
And other iconic dance movies, aka simpler times.
When the small Midwestern town you moved to has outlawed dancing & rock & roll but you just have to show these upti… https://t.co/j4n739NpPv
Zola has brought out the best of the internet, and a lot of pure happiness to people.
Possibly the best of the day, right here... Happy Friday all, and bless you, Bob x https://t.co/Va1G3CchzH
I need to feel what this gorilla is feeling https://t.co/CI9cP9LBSD
This is a thing that you should watch. Again and again and again... https://t.co/Ogf5eEW8Lq
It's not the first time Zola has broke it down. Here he is in 2011 (when he was at the Calgary Zoo) "break dancing."
View this video on YouTube
"It’s always rewarding to see our animals really enjoy the enrichment items we put out for them to explore," Orr told BuzzFeed News.
