Dance Team Bonding Ideas

If you are a coach or parent volunteer of a youth dance team, you likely focus on the job the members of the team do during performances. Don't forget, however, the team's camaraderie away from competition. If the team is competitive, it may travel to many different events throughout the year, so it's imperative that your team members feel a strong bond with each other.

  1. 2-by-4 Walk

    • An effective tool to work on bonding, cooperation and teamwork is the 2-by-4 walk, as recommended by the American Dance/Drill Team (ADTS) website. Place a 2-by-4 foot piece of wood on the ground and get an even number of the members of the dance team to balance on it, with each member facing toward one end so everyone is in a row. Ask the team members to reverse their order on the beam. That is, the girl who is last must make her way to the front, and vice versa. The catch, however, is that no one can step off the piece of wood. This exercise should give the team lots of laughs and help bond them in the process.

    Toilet Paper Pass

    • A creative way to get your team members to bond is through the toilet paper pass game, also recommended by ADTS. Have the team sit in a circle, and give a roll of toilet paper to one girl. Ask her to take as many sheets of paper as she would like, then pass the roll to her neighbor who will do the same. Don't tell the girls why they're taking toilet paper until everyone has a section. Then, reveal that for every square of paper a girl has, she has to share one thing about herself. The girls who took more than one square, of course, will have to share multiple details about themselves. Sharing personal details breaks the ice and helps the team members get to know each other better.

    Trust Walk

    • Trust is vitally important for a dance team, as the members put their safety in jeopardy through jumps and lifts and rely on each other to keep them safe. To help establish trust right away, pair your entire team up for a trust walk. Give one partner a blindfold, then set up an obstacle course packed with chairs, benches and other objects. The partner without the blindfold is responsible for guiding her partner through the course, which will help the girls develop trust. After the exercise, have the girls switch roles.

    Social Bonding

    • Your dance team spends many hours together throughout the competitive dance schedule. Yet, early on, when the team is formed, it's important to hold a variety of team activities to give the members a chance to bond away from practice and competition. These events include team meals, movie nights and backyard barbecues and pool parties. When the members bond socially, they form a stronger team.