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How to Learn the Chicken Dance

The Chicken Dance is a favorite at German festivals and Oktoberfests everywhere. When the infectious Chicken Dance song begins, it's difficult not to join in the fun. Easy to learn and fun to do, the only challenging part of doing the Chicken Dance is letting go and allowing yourself to be silly. So get those tail feathers ready to shake, grab a partner to swing around the dance floor, and let's do the Chicken Dance.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken Dance song
  • Five-foot-square dance space
  • Partner (optional)
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Instructions

  1. The Chicken Dance

    • 1

      Put your hands up in front of your chest with your fingers straight and your thumbs sticking down to make the shape of a beak. On the first four counts of the music, open and close your flat hands up and down. Make your hands look like a quacking duck.

    • 2

      Bend your arms with your hands close to your chest. Flap your arms up and down on the next four beats of music. Beware, the beat is fast. Keep the flaps small.

    • 3

      Bend your knees and wiggle your hips over the next four beats. Bend your knees a little with each beat and switch your weight from one leg to the other to create a wiggle. By wiggling, you are shaking your tail feathers. By the end of the fourth beat, your legs should be bent half way or more.

    • 4

      Stand up quickly and clap four times over the next four beats.

    • 5

      Repeat steps 1 through 4 three more times.

    • 6

      Hook arms with your partner while facing him and skip to the right for eight steps with the music. Switch arms and skip to the left for eight steps. Repeat to the right and left.

      If you don't have a partner, you can put your arms out like an airplane and slowly spin around alternating from right to left for eight counts each. Tip slightly in the direction you are turning. Repeat to the right and left.

      Start the dance again from Step 1, repeating until the music ends.

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