Compatible with iPhone
and iPod Touch
Dance Party Zoo
A fun and entertaining way to practice balance, coordination, and gross motor skills - That's Dance Party Zoo. If you're a parent you know kids with autism often need help in all those areas.
Being a serious competitive dancer myself, I can tell you this app is fantastic. OK, I'm not a competitive dancer. I'm more like a completely ridiculous dancer. Some have said that it appears I'm having seizures on the dance floor. But I wasn't lying when I said this app is fantastic.
The first thing you might want to know about Dance Party Zoo is, "How can a dance party help my little boy?" That's a valid question. Here's the answer; Your little boy (or girl) doesn't need to dance. This app only requires the dancer to hold the iPhone in front of your body OR slip it into your pocket, and then shake like there's no tomorrow. Specifically, the dancer(s) should swing their arms and hips in big, even swings from side to side. That's what the instructions in the app say. All that movement - coordinated movement - is good. It's working those muscles responsible for balance and gross motor skills. Put the brain into the mix and now you're talking about coordination as well, not to mention a nice little workout that will have your little one sleeping like a bear cub in hibernation.
You get 35 swings, so make 'em all count! Dance Party Zoo utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer to sense your movement. Swing your body and try to swing in rhythm. In rhythm with what? Just swing in rhythm! I'm not sure about the accuracy of Dance Party Zoo, but it really doesn't matter. Let's just say that I have the high score on my iPod Touch. That's right, I get down.
If you find that the swingin' aint registerin' with the device, you can adjust the sensitivity with a slider in Dance Party Zoo. It also features competitive and non-competitive modes as well as full instructions within the app itself.
The app will accommodate up to 2 dancers. When you select "Dance" from the opening screen the next prompt asks you if there's one or two dancers. Then you can type your name, or not, and move on to pick your animal from the 9 choices. This selection is used to show you a replay of your dance after you perform. Personally, I'm a big fan of the little pig. Haha!
You choose the music. It doesn't really matter. You can choose something from your iPhone or you can play some music on an external player or you can get down to the Zoo Boogie, which is provided by the app.
After you dance you get to watch the animal you selected as he replicates your rhythm on the dance floor. A colorful bar graph gives you an additional visual illustration of your rhythm and how you did throughout the dance. There's some cool extra features here too, but I'll let you discover them on your own.
Dance Party Zoo is a quality iPhone app that's probably most appropriate for children under 4 by my estimation. It doesn't serve a huge purpose that couldn't be served without it, but still it's fun and creative and entertaining. Parents, get involved!
