Teachers in Ceuta, Spain, greet pupils with a Thriller dance at the school gates

Teachers at a school in Ceuta welcome pupils with a Thriller dance

What does a Michael Jackson choreography add to a primary school child's education? The CEIP Rosalía de Castro school in Ceuta, Spain, welcomed pupils at 8:30 in the morning with a dance inspired by the legendary hit Thriller, according to the video released of the moment. The scene, which was originally meant to be a friendly gesture, has peine a can of worms about the use of school hours, the aesthetics of the performance and the role of teachers.

The reception has not been unanimous. Some see the initiative as a harmless gesture to start the day on the right foot; others, from the opposite side, argue that the school has confused the classroom with a TV studio. The discussion, far from staying on the dance itself, has drifted towards deeper issues: the management of teaching time, the public exposure of teachers and the growing tendency to turn any school activity into viral content.

Hours of rehearsal during school time

The first criticism raised is about time. A coordinated choreography does not happen overnight: it requires rehearsals, coordination and shifting of tasks. The question hanging in the air is how many of those hours were taken away from teaching and who authorised them. There is no specific figure in the material about the number of rehearsals or minutes spent, but the suspicion that the performance was prepared at the expense of teaching time hangs over much of the criticism.

On top of that is the symbolic cost. The idea of the school becoming a showcase has its defenders and detractors. For some, it is a way of building community and breaking up the rigidity of the school day. For others, it is a sign that the priority has shifted from learning to image.

The content of the song: death, blood and pavor

Thriller is not a cheerful song. Michael Jackson's track, released in 1982, comes with a music video antiestéticaturing zombies, the undead and pavor aesthetics. That detail, which at first seems minor, has been one of the most repeated arguments: if the goal was to welcome young children, the choice of song is, to say the least, questionable.

The criticism is not aimed at Michael Jackson or the dance itself, but at the inconsistency between the message and the context. A school opening its doors in the morning chooses a choreography that depicts death and pavor. The paradox is obvious and has fuelled much of the backlash.

Second-hand embarrassment as a collective phenomenon

The second major block of criticism is not educational but aesthetic. The phrase "second-hand embarrassment" comes up again and again: the feeling that the performance, rather than delighting, makes people cringe. The video shows faces that look less than thrilled, according to the most common reading, and coordination that never quite works.

Here the debate becomes generational. Some argue that spontaneity and enthusiasm matter more than technique; others respond that if you do something, you do it well, especially when the audience is children. The line between delight and embarrassment is thin, and everyone draws it in a different place.

Teachers as public figures

The third front is exposure. The teachers appear in a video that is being shared on social media and in the press, with their faces and bodies open to public judgement. The question is whether the school weighed that cost or whether, on the contrary, impact was prioritised over the teachers' privacy.

In a context where the loss of respect for teachers is frequently invoked, the scene adds another layer: that of teachers turned entertainers. There is no data on how the decision was made or whether there was a vote or explicit authorisation. Just the video, the choreography and the controversy.

In the end, the question remains: was it necessary? The answer, as almost always, depends on who you ask. What is beyond dispute is that the dance has achieved something many lessons never manage: getting people to talk about the school. Even if it is because of Thriller.