Get ready to enter the world of DIGITAL DANCE

OLUTHANDO KETEYI

ONE thing about the pandemic is that it connected people, and viral challenges on platforms such as TikTok had many entertained. The viral challenges put a fun twist on the unprecedented times we were living in and no one seemed to be left behind.

As with most things during the pandemic, the digital dance world saw a dramatic shift that changed the culture and solidified many of the trends that had been shifting on the sidelines well before March 2020.

Seeing this, dance scholars Harmony Bench and Alexandra Harlig guest-edited a special issue of The Journal of Screendance that responded to the nuanced ways the pandemic has shifted the ways we engage with dance on digital media.

In the journal, This Is Where We Dance Now: Covid-19 and the New and Next in Dance Onscreen, Bench and Harlig note, “Activities once on the sidelines of the

dance field are the new normal: teaching technique on Zoom, holding online dance film festivals, DJing house parties on Instagram, streaming archival performance documentation, making TikToks.” Take a look at some of the TikTok dancer fitness challenges that went viral:

Ab Dance

The “dance” – which is really just the act of thrusting your hips back and forth, in a crunch-like motion, vigorously to the beat of the music – seems to have originated with TikTok user @ janny14906, who’s garnered over 3.8 million followers and more than 43.3 million likes from her videos. In some videos, she is alone in front of a camera, in others she’s leading a class of dancers behind her.

The user touts the benefits of her ab workout on-screen during the videos – primarily tagging them as “weight loss dance” and “thin belly”.

CIARA’S hit song, Level Up is behind the viral challenge done by millions of people around the world.

TikTok trainer’s ‘WAP’ workout:

With 17.8 million views on TikTok, Ginestra’s Cardi B-inspired workout routine – the crown jewel of her Naughty Girl Fitness series – is giving fitness a face-lift for 2021, one twerk at a time.

“I wanted to create a mix of badass workouts dripping with the element of fun,” Ginestra, 31, told The New York Post of her certifiably sexy classes, which are available in full on DanceTutorials.TV. “We’re doing squats, lunges, crunches, pushups, punches, and kicks. But instead of feeling like you’re doing a bunch of random workout moves, you feel like you’ve put on a whole dance performance to your favourite songs.”

Envolver challenge

Sparked by Brazilian singer Anitta, performance of her hit song Envolver, this challenges 731 million views on TikTok. These moves may be on the sexy side but they are totally a work out.

The challenge involves bending into a plank, with some push up movement involved and also gyrating your hip area.

Sadie Kurzban, founder and CEO of dance fitness studio 305 Fitness told Yahoo!Life about the challenge. “This move is working all of the muscles that you would typically work while doing a plank: core, lats, chest, and quads,” she said.

Level Up Challenge

Musician Ciara’s hit song Level Up may have different forms but whatever the form, this viral challenge got people dancing. With 1.5 billion views and millions of videos in the name of dance fitness created.

The fitness element of the “Level Up” challenge can’t be ignored.

The beat of the song is the perfect song to get your heartpumping as you bust those cardio movements.

TikTok dance fitness challenges have been saving graces for many especially during the gloomy times of lockdown where gyms and dance studios were closed. While the dance moves were infectious they allowed those who participated to shed a few kilos and get and get all the action of a Zumba class.

Having access to social media has allowed for people to do their favourite activities in the comfort of their homes. Now that’s a workout you can sign me up for.

BRAZILIAN singer Anitta sparked the Envolver challenge.