It Takes At Least Two or More to Tango
Tags: Friendship, Dance, Avatar, Social Connection, Imvu

Human beings probably danced even before there was a word for it. Music and dancing represent a cultural opportunity to capture the energetic spirit of celebrations and people coming together as a community. As individuals, dancing is an opportunity to express ourselves or display our talents (unless you’re Beyonce… then it’s an opportunity to reign as Queen of pop culture).

If you’ve listened to music from around the world, you’ll likely hear that all songs include a strong rhythm that triggers movement in social situations and boosts group bonding. Even the level of touch and intimacy in dancing with others contributes to the bond that results from a social experience. Recent cultural phenomena in flashmobs and mass dances show how music and dancing can be used to unite groups of people in a social setting.

Dancing on IMVU is a powerful way to connect with others.

Playing with Beyonce Dance Moves on IMVU

(To purchase these Beyonce moves, click here.)

There are three ways to experience dancing as a social experience in IMVU, the #1 avatar-based social network. First, you may have seen the thousands of IMVU music videos on YouTube that our users have created with their friends- dancing and singing to original music. Maybe you’ve had, or would like to have, a romantic evening with your boyfriend or girlfriend and be swept off your feet as you dance the night away. Last but not least, and the most popular way, is when you’ve landed in a room that has a group dance going on and you join in on the group fun. In all three scenarios, dancing is the activity that creates a shared experience from which our users bond.

When you dance with a group of people, you’re relying on them to work together in various ways: to dance on a specific node next to your avatar, to time the triggers of dance actions to be synchronized, to strive to dance to the same beat, to create something visual to share with your friends. What results is a social connection formed by the dancers relating to each other to accomplish one goal: to dance and have fun. Dancing is no different than an icebreaker to cut through our social anxiety and get to the heart of connecting with someone else. What starts with “Hi, My name is Zoey” in coffee talk, turns into, “Omg, you’re a really good dancer” or “Your moves are amazing!” or “You are THRIVING!” Boom. A deeper connection is formed.

Dancing on IMVU

It’s no wonder there are over thousands upon thousands of individual and group dance actions in the IMVU catalog.

Here are some of our favorite dances, in case you need some ideas.

IMVU Dance Off: Island Style

These are the dances that we use regularly because not only are they the hottest moves in pop culture, but we feel COOL using them. The best part is all we had to do was buy them, instead of signing up for a class to train our bodies to DO them. Check out the clips that show how two of our friends got their shuffle on together.

IMVU Dance Off: Shuffle Dance

To purchase this shuffle dance, click here.

On IMVU, the best dance rooms show up in the top 1000 visited rooms month after month. In addition to chatting, when we dance on IMVU, our users are able to experience nonverbal cues such as gestures, proximity, and expressions. Sometimes, it feels so real that we unconsciously begin projecting ourselves onto our avatars feeling a sense of hyper presence — the psychological joy and freedom of dancing as if in real-life. Even in IMVU, dancing with our friends creates a social connection and it comes from sharing an energized experience fueled by rhythm and dancing.

But here’s the best part about dancing on IMVU. Despite the natural inclinations to move to music, many of us suffer from social anxiety around dancing. Consider:

Are you afraid of dancing? Are you uncomfortable in situations where you have to dance or choose to dance? Do you feel tense and awkward in your body, and not really enjoy yourself when you’re dancing? Do you worry who’s judging you for not dancing very well?

The beauty of IMVU is that you have complete control over what you look like, what dance moves you buy, and how you move on the dance floor in the moment. If it feels awkward in real life to see your avatar dance, then close your eyes and know you are protected from any self judgement behind that beautiful avatar. Basically the perfect situation to overcome any social anxiety around dancing right?

The most rewarding part of dancing on IMVU comes in connecting with another user, the hyper presence that comes with moving to the same beat together creates a feeling you can enjoy, talk about, and share. We bet that as you watch your avatars dance, your toes start tapping…don’t they?

About IMVU

IMVU is a global community of millions of users who come together to celebrate the joy of a shared social experience. Far beyond traditional social media, IMVU users create a whole new experience at the intersection of digital connection and face to face relationships.

IMVU is where the real world comes to play. Today IMVU users enjoy the freedom to live the life they create through customizing highly-stylized avatars, connecting with friends in immersive 3D chat rooms, shopping & stylizing new looks, sharing their experiences, and starring in their own animated emoji. IMVU is a powerful and collaborative world, which also offers an opportunity to make real money using proprietary design tools to create looks and rooms to sell in the IMVU Shop.

The IMVU experience is available on the web, a desktop app, and as an iOS and Android app. In the real world, IMVU is located in Redwood City, California.