IN-SYNC’s Dancing Along to Belong!

What To Do

The person delivering the activity will go over the PowerPoint and associated activity details explaining the context behind the activity.

Activity Procedure (~ 35 minutes):

1. Play the introduction video (5 mins).
2. Make a poll asking the class about how they feel about COVID-19, the lockdown, and its impacts on their daily lives (2 mins).
   • Poll Question 1: How do you feel about COVID-19 and the ongoing lockdowns? Has it impacted your relationships with peers/others and how you interact with them?
3. Introduce TikTok as a method to alleviate social disconnect during the pandemic (2 min).
   • Poll Question 2: Do you have a TikTok account?
   • Explain that we will be doing an activity with something similar to TikTok to demonstrate how we can become socially connected virtually through dance and movement synchrony.
4. Play our pre-recorded dance choreography video to the class (30 sec).
5. Send the pre-recorded dance choreography video to the class through chat (via YouTube link and MP4 file) and ask them to open the video, so that they may play it on their screen (1 min).
6. Ask everyone to turn off their cameras and practice the dance a few times on their own (2 mins).
7. Make a poll asking them to reflect on their experience in completing the dance on their own, and to think of 3 emotions they felt while dancing (2 mins).
   • Poll Question 3: Think of 3 emotions that you felt while dancing just now.
8. Check the poll to see the students’ answers and discuss their thoughts on the experience (3 mins).
9. Ask the students to practice a few times with the whole class, with their cameras on this time (2 mins).
10. Once everyone feels ready, ask all the students to dance together one final time (1 min).
11. Make a poll asking them to reflect on their experience in completing the dance with the whole class, and think of 3 emotions they felt dancing with their peers. (2 mins).
    • Poll Question 4: Think of 3 emotions that you felt while dancing just now.
12. Check the poll to see the students’ answers and discuss their thoughts on the experience (3 mins).
13. Debrief and discuss (make polls for the questions below) (10 mins).
    • Poll Question 5: How did your experience/feelings change between your first attempt of doing the dance, compared to your final attempt when we danced together?
      • Possible answers: noticed increased synchronization, felt more in rhythm or connected to one another, increased social connectedness, felt fun to dance with classmates and see everyone doing something together, dancing alone was not as fun as dancing as a group, etc.
    • Poll Question 6: What other settings can movement synchrony be applied to?
      • Possible answers: therapeutic settings, group workouts, other social media trends, etc.
    • Poll Question 7: How do you think movement synchrony through mediums like TikTok has influenced your experiences in quarantine?
      • Possible answers: felt less isolated, was able to connect to others through shared experiences, felt less bored and alone, etc.
    • Poll Question 8: Before this activity, would you have thought that social media trends, like TikTok dances, would help you connect with others, and make a significant difference?
      • Possible answers: social media is frequently put in a negative light, but in moderation can have a positive impact, etc.
14. Encourage class to try the activity at home with household members or peers (while socially distanced) in order to further experience the effects of true movement synchrony on social connectedness (1 min).