Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Bringing a game to life through dance

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.

Photo of hands holding a Bop It! game.

Before starting its dance practice, the trio plays rounds of Bop It! to get into the right mindset.

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.”

Photo of a dancer swinging her leg over another dancer kneeling before her with her hands up to support the leg of the first dancer, while a third woman watches in the background.

Nawal Assougdam, left, watches as Yuno Kimura swings her leg over Sophie Philbrick.

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.

Photo of a dancer with a blue baseball shirt knotted mid-torso kicking her leg up in front of her.

Yuno Kimura moves based on the Bop It! commands.

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.

Photo of a Bop It! game sitting on top of notebook pages full of notes.

Nawal Assougdam’s notebook diagrams the flow of the dance.

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.

Photo of a dancer lying on the floor with her arms to the sides of her head and her hair from her ponytail spread out above her head.

After the final run-through, Yuno Kimura laughs and collapses on the floor after the very physical performance.

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.

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