Dance Battle

What is this technique about

The Dance Battle method is an ice breaker where teams compete with each other in imitating famous dance moves. The more group members do the moves correctly, the higher chance to get a point. This process can be repeated as many times as wanted but must be an uneven number of rounds to find a winner (5 or 7 rounds are recommended).

Where does it come from 

Using icebreaker activities and re-energizers in the classroom effectively helps to “break the ice” in various ways: Adult learners get acquainted, start conversations, build trust, and relieve tensions. They encourage participation and help create a sense of connection and shared common understanding. They help to clear the mind, vitalize, and create enthusiasm (Chlup & Collins, 2010).

During the ’80s and ’90s, hip hop dance was at its highest and it became increasingly popular as a street performance where the dancers competed against each other in “battles”, which could take place in the streets as well as on the dance floors (Place, 2022)

For which purposes it is used (why in your engineering teaching)

Icebreakers like the Dance battle method bring humor into the class, establish relationships, and create a learning environment where students can feel safe, and overall assist with content learning because they re-energize. Therefore, their implementation in engineering teaching is known to contribute to improved student participation and enhanced learning (Chlup & Collins, 2010).

When facilitating a workshop where students are deeply concentrated on solving a problem or developing a future scenario or solution, it is ideal to have an ice breaker or “mind freer” midway. The purpose of the ice breaker is to get the students to stop thinking of the topic for a moment and do a completely different activity so the brain can process all the information obtained so far. Here, The Dance Battle can be used as an ice breaker because it is a fun game that includes everyone and takes the students’ minds off the topic for a moment. Ice breakers are often an underrated session but can affect the outcome of the workshop positively.

How to use it

Divide the students into two or more groups with an equal number of members. Tell the students to turn their cameras on and to make sure that they have enough space in their room to execute the dance moves. Show the video with the first dance move which the groups should imitate as well and precisely as possible. When the teacher has decided which group did best and gets a point, the next dance move will be presented. This process is repeated as many times as wanted. Make sure to do an uneven number of rounds to find the winner in the end.