Algorithm March
The Algorithm March is a dance fad created in Japan, based on the children's television series PythagoraSwitch which was broadcast on the educational channel of NHK, a Japanese non-profit public broadcasting service. It is performed by the comedy group Itsumo Kokokara with variable groups (it differs at each air) such as firefighters, soccer players, Yasugi-bushi preservation society, Vienna Boys' Choir, Blue Man Group, ninja and so on.
The basic steps are as follows, repeating as necessary:
- Bend knees, reach out straight with hands
- Lean back hands on hips
- Turn around, bow
- Face right, right hand horizon sweep
- Bend knees, breast stroke
- Pick up from ground
- Shake arms downwards (like you are pumping a bicycle tire)
- Flap arms
The dance can be performed in lines, moving canon style one at a time. After each movement, the line takes a step forward. The concept of the Algorithm March can be traced back to experimental film maker Norman McLaren, who introduced the concept of the canon to the visual arts and, in 1965, received the Canadian Film Award for his movie "Canon". This visual canon has also been the inspiration for the Interactive Visual Canon Platform[1]. A demonstration video is available in English and Japanese.
Footnotes
- ^ Funk, M., & Bartneck, C. (2008). An Interactive Visual Canon Platform. In P. Ciancarini, R. Nakatsu, M. Rauterberg & M. Roccetti (Eds.), New Frontiers for Entertainment Computing (Vol. 279/2008, pp. 23-32). Berlin: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-09701-5_3