--- description: British prime minister Theresa May 'danced' onto stage Wednesday before delivering the keynote speech to her party's annual conference. title: British Prime Minister Theresa May Just Danced to ABBA and People Don't Know What Is Happening Anymore image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt365b11a03cbbb583/69893baf22fb85fd64e26cd7/gettyimages-1044999122.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # British Prime Minister Theresa May Just Danced to ABBA and People Don't Know What Is Happening Anymore  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 3, 2018 12:41 PM CUT  OCT 03: British Prime Minister Theresa May dances as she walks out onto the stage to deliver her leader's speech during the final day of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, England. OCT 03: British Prime Minister Theresa May dances as she walks out onto the stage to deliver her leader's speech during the final day of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 3, 2018 12:41 PM CUT British prime minister Theresa May ‘danced’ her way on stage — to the the tune of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” — before delivering the keynote speech to her party’s annual conference on Wednesday. May’s ABBA dancing moves quickly went viral, and the videos were shared on social media with added music — and commentary. > [](https://twitter.com/MonarchyUK/status/1047440972529979393) > [](https://twitter.com/SimonNRicketts/status/1047440494819770368) Fresh from dancing her way on stage, during her speech May warned EU leaders that Britain was not afraid to leave the bloc without a separation deal, and told the audience that internal party disunity risked the Brexit process being reversed. The annual Conservative Party conference was characterized this year by internal party disagreements over the May government’s plan for Brexit. On Tuesday, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, widely seen as May’s main rival for the party leadership, delivered a speech at a counter-programmed event that saw three-hour queues. There, Johnson criticized May’s Brexit plan. May later said his speech made her “cross.” In what some saw as an attempt to steal some of Johnson’s limelight, the government shifted an announcement on post-Brexit immigration policy, originally scheduled for May’s Wednesday speech, to just before Johnson’s. May dancing onto the stage was seen by some as another attempt to distract attention. > [](https://twitter.com/benlewismedia/status/1047440669059571712) For some, it was a reminder of May’s August trip to Africa, where the prime minister twice joined dancing schoolchildren. > [](https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1034397019664797696) > [](https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1038496341603901440) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5413691/theresa-may-dance-abba/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5413691/theresa-may-dance-abba/"},"headline":"British Prime Minister Theresa May Just Danced to ABBA and People Don't Know What Is Happening Anymore","datePublished":"2018-10-03T12:41:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:37:18.596Z","description":"British prime minister Theresa May 'danced' onto stage Wednesday before delivering the keynote speech to her party's annual conference.","url":"https://time.com/5413691/theresa-may-dance-abba/","keywords":["United Kingdom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt365b11a03cbbb583/69893baf22fb85fd64e26cd7/gettyimages-1044999122.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy Perrigo","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt365b11a03cbbb583/69893baf22fb85fd64e26cd7/gettyimages-1044999122.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Conservative Party Leader Speaks To Conference On Day Four","caption":"Conservative Party Leader Speaks To Conference On Day Four","creditText":"Christopher Furlong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5413691/theresa-may-dance-abba/","name":"British Prime Minister Theresa May Just Danced to ABBA and People Don't Know What Is Happening Anymore"}}]}] ```