In this classic tale, the tortoise and the hare race each other to the finish line. The hare, thinking he has the advantage because he is fast, decides to take a nap mid-race. Meanwhile, the tortoise continues to keep moving at a steady pace. When the hare wakes up, he realizes that he has been passed by the tortoise and races towards the finish, only to find out that the tortoise had won after all.

In this viral dance competition number, the tortoises and hares represent students in the education system and the pressures they are under. The bunnies represent "gifted" students whose academic success comes easily, and the turtles represent hardworking and diligent students for whom academic success requires extra effort, with both teams being placed under the same pressure to perform in a system that only rewards testing and numbers.

The bunnies feel pressured in the race because they are told that they were born with the advantage to be fast. So they have to be the fastest all the time. The tortoises feel pressured in the race because they see their distance from the bunny and they work extra hard to close the gap in the dance.

At the very end of the performance, it appears that one tortoise wins the race, in line with the popular children’s story, but “At what cost? Look at all the dancers on the floor. They represent kids who don’t make it to the finish line. They were once gifted. They were once really hardworking, but regardless they were burnt out. The last part of the dance witnesses, the tortoises and the hairs take off their defining characteristics. Within the education system, the tortoises and the hairs are labeled by adults, not by the kids themselves. Only when the labels come off, when the rabbit ears and the tortoise shells are gone, can kids see each other - not as academic rivals, but as peers."