Sparkler Spotlight: Dan "The Body Percussionist" Allen

‍

Thinking 'outside-the-box' has been a way of life for remote teams over the past 12 months. Transforming old processes into new ways of doing things has ultimately led to some amazing results, which is no more obvious than Dan's Spark - Get in rhythm with a body percussionist. Learn how Dan has taken his love for music and flipped it on its head to help make your body become its own instrument. Now that is out of the box thinking!

‍

Tell us about yourself and your Spark - “Get in rhythm with a body percussionist”.

Music has always been a big part of my life, as has teaching. So my Spark brings my two passions together. For me, teaching is not about getting people to remember a set of instructions, but opening people up to discovering their own unique capabilities and having fun along the way. Why body percussion? It’s easy, anyone can do it, it brings people together, and you can’t do it and not smile!

‍

How did you discover body percussion in the first place, and why did you choose this to be the subject of your Spark?

Well, I grew up playing drums in Mexican wedding bands, and later when I started dancing to salsa, I found I was trying to make the soundsI heard as a drummer with my hands while I was dancing. I quickly learnt that’s not what you’re supposed to do (thankfully, all my friends still danced with me!)but I discovered that there was a name for my strange behavior – ‘body percussion’.

‍

How have you adjusted your experiences to the online world?

It has certainly been a challenge at times, but I've also had fun overcoming those challenges. You see the internet ‘time-lag’ can be a real hurdle to teaching music online. I can literately tell how far away someone is in the world by how long a delay there is on the video! Luckily, body percussion is also a very visual thing, so we can also see what each other is doing too, which means I notice some of my guests just copying what others are doing, which is perfect!

‍

What has been your most memorable online experience moment?

I actually love teaching kids online - they just have no inhibitions and jump up to dance and make music without have to even ask them!I try and bring out the ‘inner musical kid’ in most people and get them up and dancing (and singing) too!

‍

We’ve left the most important question for last: If you could choose to have 1 superpower, what would it be?

This is going to sound a little different than what you might expect – my superpower would be to chew gum & play drums at the same time! You’d be surprised how hard it can be.

‍

Get your team back into rythm with Dan by booking his Spark for your next meeting!