Chinese School Principal Goes Viral For Intricate Dance He Does Every Morning With His Students ๐ฎ
Did you ever wish your principal would engage with you more?
Zhang Pengfei, principal of Xi Guan Primary School in Northern China, has come up with a way to engage his students on a daily basis and get them moving to start their day.
The 40-year-old and his 700 students take 30 minutes at the start of every day to get their groove on.
Chinese school principal teaches students shuffle dance during breakyoutu.be
The dance is called the "guibu," which translates roughly to "ghost steps," for the lightness of foot it requires to retain its smooth quality across the student body.
The routine, while unusual, is in keeping with Chinese school exercise standards.
According to Insider:
"Since 1951, primary, middle, and high schools in China have been required to ensure pupils undertake a strict 'broadcast calisthenics' workout every day, which is based on exercises performed by soldiers during World War Two and inspired by routines used in the former Soviet Union."
Zhang's take on these "broadcast calisthenics" is bringing the world's attention to him.
Dancing school principal becomes viral sensation. This man started to teach pupils shuffle dance about two months aโฆ https://t.co/O5z3ZvwuDmโ China Xinhua News (@China Xinhua News) 1548255024.0
@XHNews Oh...wow.! Such a principal should be a role model for others.โ Mou Halder (@Mou Halder) 1548266330.0
@XHNews One way of getting the kids out nowadays to exercise instead of just holding on to their gadgets and sittinโฆ https://t.co/xyg9HSm4SQโ Lambing03 (@Lambing03) 1548215520.0
@XHNews Never seen a school principal do this ๐๐๐โ piq (@piq) 1548171723.0
Zhang decided to change it up "because the students and [teachers] had no interest at all in the broadcast callisthenics."
"I thought the dance would be great for kids. The music is full of energy and it really gets the happy feeling flowing."
@XHNews Nice & Good Exerciseโ BJP Sundar (@BJP Sundar) 1548168110.0
@XHNews Nice. You want the kids to get on their feet and do more exercises? This is one way to do it.โ ruohai xin (@ruohai xin) 1548163741.0
@XHNews Iโm really impressed by the Chinese ppls health, slim, smart and active.I hav seen old age parents in beijiโฆ https://t.co/atGv68lT2Dโ Hidayat ullah shah (@Hidayat ullah shah) 1548164778.0
@XHNews @djelrock Now I want to learn!โ Wanda Kalencki (@Wanda Kalencki) 1548350817.0
@XHNews I am in love with this video and want to learn the whole dance! Does someone have the full video?โ David Hal Chester (@David Hal Chester) 1548605943.0
@XHNews Very niceโ Asim Nisar (@Asim Nisar) 1548558546.0
The video has gotten over 250 million views and gone completely viral across the world, to Zhang's surprise.
Zhang said:
"This is just a small activity at our school โ I just wanted to offer a different way to exercise during the class break."
@XHNews Role model principal wowโ Justinien Twagirumug (@Justinien Twagirumug) 1548452678.0
@XHNews Awesome. I wanna take that class RIGHT NOW!!!โ djelrock (@djelrock) 1548350472.0
@XHNews Real sentinel of future generation....exemplaryโ Anjum Altaf Zamroodi (@Anjum Altaf Zamroodi) 1548330959.0
@XHNews Best way for students comes regularly in schoolโ Ovaid Khan (@Ovaid Khan) 1548319512.0
@XHNews Awesome! ๐โ Kuro Neko ้ป็ซ (@Kuro Neko ้ป็ซ) 1548273023.0
And the routine has had unexpected benefits.
"Now the students aren't constantly on their phones," Zhang shared. And when they are, he notes, "I sometimes catch them watching different dance routine videos and learning new moves."
@XHNews This would be a great way to start some days at school, in place of assembly ๐โ Yvonne (@Yvonne) 1548255967.0
With the video getting so much international attention, hopefully principals worldwide will be inspired to find new and interesting ways to engage their student body.