OT - Inquiring Minds Want To Know......

[Allyn]

What is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h09vudUFB2E" target="_blank

The clip is from Belgium's Got Talent 2016. The character(s) looks like it's supposed to be a doll or maybe an action figure from a movie or TV show. I Googled Baba Yega and found Baba Yaga -- a witch in Russian folklore -- but I don't think that's what this is. The judges and the audience seem to be well acquainted with it; they all reacted when the box was unveiled and the music started and they already knew the gestures. What is this?

[rcperryls]

I hope someone has an answer. Rosheen is from Belgium and hopefully she will check in and see this post and have the answer. I also did a google search and none of the answers make any sense to me. Especially the significance of that last gesture. I didn't watch the last minutes of the video but the act was good.

Carole

[Allyn]

I spent a few hours combing through the comments on the video and translating the ones that aren't English. I haven't found any more information (but found a lot of people arguing about what language most people in Belgium speak -- French, Dutch or Flemish). I'm just curious. The character is probably from a kid's cartoon or something equally as innocuous. The audience knew what it was when the box was opened and if you look at the child in the striped shirt at 2:18 in the video, he/she is doing the hand gesture of the thumb on the temple and pinkie in the air while the group is still dancing. Since we have a global community here, I thought someone might know.

[richardandtracy]

Saw the clip, or part of it at least. It reminded me of the catastrophically mis-named 'Britain's Got Talent'. No Britain hasn't. Well, not on any evidence they show.

But back on topic: I have no idea, it's bizarre.

Regards

Richard.

[Rosheen]

I think that there is little or no meaning in their gestures and acts, although they claim their gestures are so universal that everybody understands them (well, apparently I'm not everybody ) . They pretend to be dancing aliens visiting the earth, they can't speak and only interact with mime.
I saw them during the first selection episodes of the Got Talent show and they were constantly performing and interacting with other candidates and everybody was having fun with them. So that is probably why so many people knew the hand gesture. Oh, and did I mention they won?

I found something on their FB page (December 28.) that might explain some of the mystery (not! ):

Dear Earth People,

1 month ago Baba landed on Earth. Everything was new to us, but Baba is very touched by the love and support you gave us. No one shut us out, no one laughed at us and no one judged us... even though Baba looks a bit strange.

Our mission was not to be in the finales of Belgium's Got Talent. Our mission was to make Earth a happy place again and Baba wants to go on doing that forever. ❤️

The photos you send to Baba make us smile. De messages you send us make us super happy and best of all is that you accept us for who we are. Baba is honest... we might act funny, but your love left us in tears. Not sad but happy tears.

Baba says: Thank you, lovely Earth People ❤️ Thank you Belgium ❤️

Lots of love,

Baba

If I find more news on Baba Yega, I will post it here.

As for the languages in Belgium... the south part of Belgium, Wallonia, is French speaking. The north part, Flanders, is Flemish (dialect Dutch). A little part in the east, the East Canton, is German. These are the 3 official languages in Belgium. Most people speak Flemish, simply because more people live in Flanders.
It's really not that difficult, once you understand this explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlwHotpl9DA.
And once you understand, can you please explain it to me?

[CuriousKitty]

Just a quirky dance troupe of pop-lockers it appears. Quirky I'm assuming is the underlying word. xD

[Allyn]

I guess it isn't a big deal. It looks like more than just a random dance troupe since at the first audition the audience and the judges knew who the character was and were making the gestures before the dance was even finished (before the dancers started making the gestures). If no one knows of a movie or TV show where the characters came from, then I'll close the book on this inquiry. Thanks.