A couple of classical dancers —he is Cuban and she is Japanese— went viral on TikTok by posting a video where they blend Cuban dancing with ballet technique, generating an enthusiastic response from internet users.
The clip was posted on April 4th from the account @monkeys_1122 and features the two dancers in a rehearsal studio with mirrors and a ballet bar, performing choreography to the beat of "Tienes (Remix)", the song by Ya Ice Dilan, Rey Tony, and Helabusador.
In just 32 seconds, the video captures the essence of two seemingly opposite worlds: he wears a black sweatshirt and gray pants with white sneakers; she showcases a short black top, a black tutu, and pink pointe shoes, the unmistakable attire of a classical ballerina.
The flags of Cuba and Japan are digitally overlaid on each of them to identify their nationalities, a detail that reinforces the cultural encounter aspect of the video.
The reaction from internet users was swift. Comments praised both the technical skill and versatility of the pair: "Anyone can dance reparto, but not everyone can dance classical!" wrote one user. Another summed up the general sentiment with a phrase that became the most repeated: "This is reparto with elegance". A third comment pointed directly to the quality of the dancers: "Those who know, know, and these two know a lot."
This video is not the first to explore the fusion between classical ballet and the Cuban cast. In January 2026, a group of Cuban ballet dancers had already surprised on TikTok with a performance set to the same song "Tienes Remix," recorded in the valley of Viñales, in Pinar del Río.
The song chosen by the couple is not a coincidence. "Tienes (Remix)", released on November 19, 2025, under the JipMusic Global label and produced by DJ Honda, has become one of the most used tracks in viral cultural fusion and dance videos on TikTok.
The phenomenon of foreigners dancing reparto cubano has been generating viral content on social media for over a year. In May 2025, young Ugandans went viral dancing reparto while waving the Cuban flag. In December of the same year, a Cuban got a Japanese man in Florida to dance to "Biónica" by Bebeshito, also with great success. Mexicans and Germans have also starred in similar clips, turning reparto into a kind of informal cultural diplomacy.
Reparto is an urban music genre that originated around 2007 in the Havana neighborhood of Arroyo Naranjo, initially driven by Elvis Manuel. It fuses reggaeton with elements of traditional Cuban music such as timba, rumba, and guaguancó, and is characterized by highly danceable rhythms and synchronized group choreographies.
Since 2025, the viral expansion of the genre through TikTok has brought it to corners of the world that its creators in the neighborhoods of Havana could hardly have imagined, and videos like the one featuring this couple demonstrate that the genre has enough strength to engage with any dance tradition, even the most demanding.
Filed under: