CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — I’m in my little sister’s room, where I’ve grabbed her Bop It! toy from her desk. I will use this toy to structure the dance I’m choreographing. I have my little black notebook and favorite black pen nearby. My phone leans against my computer, ready to record. I pull the Bop It! lever to start the game.
I will twist the bright yellow knob in response to the command “twist it.” I’ll push the center button when I hear “bop it,” and pull the blue lever when I hear “pull it.”
The beat begins. “Bop it, twist it, twist it, pull it.” After a while, the movement starts to feel natural. But then my fingers slip. I’m instructed to “bop it,” but I “pull it” instead. “Ooohhooo helloooo,” my Bop It! yells at me. I take a quick breath and turn the volume up. I play three rounds, each varying in length.
I open my notebook and replay the video. As I listen to the games I played, I write down each instruction: “B” for bop, “T” for twist and “P” for pull. I'm left with a long string of letters trickling down the page. As I look at it, I feel the excitement and drive that I want to put into this work. These long strings of letters will become the skeleton of this piece, with each individual game serving as an instruction manual for how to create the phrases.
I have already developed movement motifs to go with each action. “Bop it” is an intense shrug of the right shoulder. “Twist it,” a twist of the wrist as the arm hangs by one’s side. “Pull it” is a pull initiated at the wrist going out in a downward diagonal direction. These motifs will be repeated in the pattern of my first Bop It! game.
Next, I develop new movements that expand the motifs. Instead of rotating the wrist, “twist it” might turn into a spiral movement of the ribs. “Pull it” can involve different things being pulled, such as the leg or torso – or even the air. I add other movements, including “shake it,” “flick it,” “spin it” and others arising from the many different versions of the game. As I develop the choreography, I let these rules loosen up a bit, so that the movements evolve. I play with elements of speed and failure, just as the game would.
Each element of Bop It! is incorporated into this piece – the shape, the music, the colors and even the catchphrases. I choreograph first and then, with the sound effects from the game, create sound to go along with the movements. To further the element of fun and nostalgia, I include other childhood games in my choreography, such as hand-clapping games and leapfrog.
When the dance is performed at Skeleton Dances, a late October dance show featuring student work, dancers in bright yellow, blue and white costumes bring my creation to life.