Did you join our challenge and do one of the Ryan Heffington dance parties this week? If not, here’s what you missed (and what we’re doing next).
Heffington is a choreographer and director. He did Sia’s “Chandelier” music video, to name one famous example, and if you’d like to dance along to that, you can see him break down the moves in this video. Anyway, while his dance studio is closed, he’s doing dance party workouts on Instagram Live. Find him on Insta at @ryan.heffington.
There were live workouts this week on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he repeats the schedule next week. Each live video stays up for 24 hours, so I was able to catch yesterday’s workout today.
First, Heffington leads us through a slow, yoga-esque warmup. (I made the mistake of choosing my garage as my dance space, so I had to run and grab a yoga mat to keep my hands off the cold, dirty ground. Consider yourself warned.) After that, the dances get started.
Unlike a lot of dance workout videos I’ve seen, this one is informal with just enough structure to help you feel like you’re doing something with other people. When Heffington calls out a grapevine or a square, you know what to do (he explains these moves at the beginning), but you won’t be lost if you miss a step. He improvises as he goes, and from time to time there’s a “dance party” break where you can do whatever you want until the next structured phrase comes along. It’s pretty fun, and would be even better if you can coax the people you live with into doing it with you.
So, join in next time if you can. And if you liked it, Heffington is taking donations to support the teachers at his studio.
What’s up next: let’s try out some vintage 1988 Jane Fonda. Give that video a try, and we’ll discuss next Friday.
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