Daddy.Dance (dancing app)

As a genuine IT nerd, I must admit that my coordination and motor skills don't always meet my expectations. It's no secret that I can be a bit stiff at times, which is precisely why I decided to take on the exhilarating challenge of salsa classes. I thought it would be a fun and enlightening challenge. To my great surprise, my presumed lack of flexibility didn't prevent me from keeping up with the class. In fact, I found myself improving significantly, discovering a newfound fluidity and smoothness in my movements. The salsa bug bit me hard, and before I knew it, I was signing up for Bachata classes as well. As it turns out, hacking and dancing are not mutually exclusive talents!

After each class, students have the opportunity to capture videos of the teachers demonstrating the dance routines covered during the lesson. These videos are then shared in the class's Whatsapp group, allowing everyone to review and practice at their convenience. While this approach is beneficial, I have noticed a few issues worth addressing:

• Video player limitations
  The Whatsapp video player is not ideal for watching dance videos. It lacks essential features like speed adjustment or the ability to skip a few seconds forward or backward. Additionally, if you pause a video and your screen locks, unlocking it restarts the video from the beginning, losing your position.
• Difficulties in finding older videos
  Finding older videos can be challenging due to the nature of a Whatsapp group, which accommodates messages and various media types. Locating specific videos becomes particularly cumbersome, especially if you're searching for something in particular. Furthermore, accessing older videos can become difficult when switching to a new phone.
• No description or titles
  One notable drawback is the lack of descriptions or titles for the videos. Without proper labeling, you must scroll through and watch each video to identify the one you're seeking. Many individuals are unfamiliar with the specific names of the dance moves as they haven't come across them in written form.
• Poor video quality
  The quality of the videos tends to be subpar. Some participants record in landscape mode (horizontally), while others prefer portrait mode (vertically), resulting in inconsistent formats. Additionally, the video quality depends on the recording device used, and the compression applied by Whatsapp further diminishes the overall visual experience. Furthermore, videos recorded from unfavorable angles can make them even more challenging to watch.

I have been dancing at multiple dancing schools and I noticed that these problems occur at all of them. Despite my intention to engage in something completely different than IT, I realized that I had the power to do something about these problems. So, I made the decision to invest my time in creating an app that addresses all of these problems and significantly enhances the video-watching experience.

The app looks as follows. Once students log in, they will be prompted to accept the terms before proceeding:

Next, they can choose one of their classes. In the screenshot below, you can see the salsa classes. If the user scrolls down, they can also see the bachata and kizomba classes.

Once a class is opened, the user will be presented with a well-organized list of previous videos. Each video is appropriately labeled, allowing the user to simply tap on a label to watch the corresponding video.

While watching a video, users have the option to turn their screens to enlarge the video. In this mode, the list of videos appears on the right side and can still be scrolled through while the video continues to play.

The video list can also be collapsed, allowing the video to occupy the entire screen. By tapping once on the screen, convenient video controls are revealed, providing options to adjust the playback speed and skip backward or forward. This functionality proves particularly useful for watching the video in slow motion.

In general

The app was presented to both students and teachers at a specific dance school, and the feedback received was overwhelmingly positive. Some expressed relief that an app with such functionalities finally exists, while others were surprised that such an app hadn't been launched earlier. Even the teachers responded enthusiastically to the app's capabilities.

Improvements

Some users provided suggestions for improvements, although some of these suggestions appeared contradictory. This discrepancy can be attributed to individual user preferences, where students may struggle to envision that others have different preferences. For instance, certain students advocated for exclusively using horizontal videos going forward, while others expressed dissatisfaction with the limited number of vertical videos already available in the app. Similarly, the number of buttons during video playback sparked contrasting opinions. Some students felt overwhelmed and suggested reducing the number of buttons, while others strongly opposed sacrificing any functionality. To enhance the app further, I will explore options to cater to different user types, such as introducing a settings menu that allows users to adjust the layout according to their preferences. However, it is crucial to strike a careful balance to avoid overcomplicating the app, as it contradicts the initial goal of improving the user experience. Therefore, a thoughtful equilibrium must be maintained between user needs and the desire to keep the app user-friendly, to make the already highly appreciated app even better.

Interests

Several dance schools have already expressed their interests in buying the app. However, before doing so, I wish to first make it more mature.