TikTok Takes on the Dance Industry

Oct 21

During this very strange year of 2020, and with a powerful pandemic that has left us to face a new social distance lifestyle, TikTok has emerged to become the world’s most popular social platform. Everyone from teenage tweens, corporate brands, and influential moguls of our generation have hopped on to share and interact with their audiences. And one of the most fitting industries to take a dip into the world of TikTok... none other than the professional dance industry.

“Never before has there been a social media avenue that lends itself so directly to the world of dance.”

Never before has there been a social media avenue that lends itself so directly to the world of dance. Of course, viral dance videos have existed for years on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and even Musical.ly (the app that later morphed into what we now know as TikTok). But the way this platform has been designed creates an immediate culture of this “anyone can do it” approach. Of course you can create your own dances, but posting the trending, viral TikTok dances can get all the views. And therefore a fast-growing audience. And therefore an immediate connection between the dance pros and people everywhere.

Some of the dance industry’s biggest names have been at it for a while, and are making a big impact on TikTok! Let’s start with Twitch and Allison, both renowned choreographers and master teachers, post videos daily and are literally inviting the general public to dance with them in their house. Nappytabs gets innovative at home and on set with super creative dance videos, and even involves their son from time to time. Phil Wright is posting high energy videos daily, and is starting to collaborate with big name TikTok stars and reach even a bigger audience. The list goes on to include pros JLo, Derek Hough, Parris Goebel, and many more.

One of the biggest collaborations of the year so far was when Break the Floor Productions teamed up with 2 of the biggest names in TikTok... Charli D'amelio and Addison Rae. Both former dancers themselves, they’ve jumped into the collab game with some of the dance industry’s hottest choreographers. Brian Friedman, Travis Wall, Blake McGrath, Misha Gabriel, and Dexter Carr all created new videos with Charli just this last month of September. Addison Rae teamed up with both Twitch and Allison, as well as Phil Wright, to film a few viral videos, some filmed at the Break the Floor studios in LA. The audience cross-over is huge, and everyone is benefitting from it. Professional choreographers are now even getting hired to privately train bigtime TikTok personalities and literally “coach” them on their next upcoming viral video!

If you know any dancer, it’s likely they’re on TikTok. It’s exciting to think about what’s next and the anticipation of so many emerging professional dancers on the platform. While we’ve all been stuck at home for so much of this year, it’s provided a huge opportunity to do something with your time. Share with the world what we do dancers! Never has it been so easy to reach so many.