A recent video featuring Indian employees dancing in a decorated office lobby to welcome a foreign client has gone viral but not in a positive way. While some viewed it as a fun team gesture, many others found it cringeworthy and embarrassing. But the backlash wasn’t just about the dancing. It raised a deeper question: Why do such performances still happen in formal workplaces? To many, it felt like an attempt to impress a foreign guest, simply because they’re from the West.
This is not just a one-time thing. Many Indian offices try to “showcase culture” in ways that feel more like a show than real hospitality. From rehearsed welcomes to fancy decorations, these efforts often appear when foreign clients are around. That’s when regular team bonding starts to feel like a throwback to colonial-era behavior.
Historically, colonial India saw elites putting on elaborate displays for British officials, offering gifts, praise, and performances as markers of loyalty and submission. While today’s corporate dances aren’t direct replicas of that, the instinct to impress with smiles, spectacle, and unquestioned enthusiasm feels strangely familiar.
But are we judging too quickly?
Some argue that the dance in the viral video was just a light-hearted, voluntary moment among colleagues. After all, similar events have happened before. When Paul Chan, CEO of Australia-based media firm Pureprofile, visited their Mumbai office in 2016, he was greeted with a Bollywood-style welcome, and no one called it out as problematic then.
So, what changed between then and now? Perhaps it’s our shifting cultural awareness, or the way social media magnifies moments that once passed without comment. A simple office dance can now spark a national conversation.
That’s exactly what happened here.
The video made its way to X, where industrialist Harsh Goenka shared it with a question that summed up the debate: “When foreign clients are welcomed like this, is it a culture-rich icebreaker… or corporate cringe? You decide.”
Singer Adnan Sami didn’t hold back: “It’s too ‘Try Hard’ & ‘Wannabe’ Cringe!!” he replied, echoing what many were already thinking.
Team bonding or colonial hangover?
While many online viewers cringed at the viral office dance video, others were quick to defend it. Supporters argued that it was simply a light-hearted, morale-boosting gesture, a moment of team bonding designed to welcome a guest and break the ice. In high-pressure corporate environments, such activities can offer a rare chance to de-stress, build camaraderie, and boost employee engagement. I
There’s research to support this view. Studies show that dancing can elevate mood, reduce stress, combat depression, and improve social connection and brain function. It’s also known to promote psychological resilience and overall well-being. No wonder several major companies Accenture, Wipro, Infosys, Birla Life Insurance, Ernst & Young, IMS Health, and Hotel Grand Hyatt have used dance and flash mobs as part of their employee engagement strategies in the past.
So, what are we really performing?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with dancing to welcome a guest, it can be joyful, inclusive, and a reflection of team spirit. But when such performances feel forced or one-sided, especially in the presence of Western clients, they raise valid questions about intent and authenticity. India has a rich, diverse cultural heritage and there’s so much more to showcase than just surface-level spectacle.
If we choose to reflect our culture through dance or any other expression, let it be done with pride, context, and a sense of ownership, not as a performance for approval, but as a celebration of who we truly are. In a global workplace, authenticity is far more powerful than imitation.