Watch: Chinese school principal breaks into ‘shuffle dance’ to get students into exercise routine

Every morning, Zhang Pengfei, principal at the Xi Guan Primary School in North China’s Shanxi province would lead about 700 students on the playground in a synchronised ‘shuffle’ routine – a dance that incorporates contemporary jazz steps with heel, toe and arm movements. Screengrab

A school principal from North China stole the limelight after his cool moves during a morning exercise routine with his students went viral on social media. The 10-second video of the principal leading the shuffle dance routine has certainly brought a smile to many faces.

This video first went viral in 2019 and is currently being shared on social media again.

The principal identified as Zhang Pengfei works for Xiguan Primary School in Linyi County in North China’s Shanxi Province. Now that the pandemic has hit the world and most of the education sectors are shut, this shuffle dance routine was a regular feature at the school back then when things were normal in 2019.

Every morning, the principal would lead about 700 students on the playground in a synchronised routine. It was a dance that included contemporary jazz steps with heel, toe, and arm movements. Initially, Pengfei thought that this fun and energetic exercise routine would be better to encourage students than them being glued to their mobile phones.

Watch the video here:

However, the Ministry of Education in China directed students of middle and primary schools to have at least 25 to 30 minutes of exercise daily. Following this, Xiguan Primary School promoted the practice but students showed no interest. So, the principal came up with an idea to cut exercise and instead introduced shuffle dance into the students’ routine.

“I thought we needed a change because the students have been losing interest in doing the broadcast callisthenics routine. I thought the dance would be great for kids. The music is full of energy and it really gets the happy feeling flowing,” the principal had said.

Pengfei reportedly took less than two months to get the hang of the dance routine. He even conducted a survey at school where he also invited a professional shuffle dance group to perform and see the reaction of the students.

By the later part of the year in 2019, the whole school was practicing shuffle dance during their break. Moreover, the principal and teachers believed that the dance has also benefited students a lot.