Dance Instructor from the VR Headset: When Mixed Reality Suddenly Makes Sense
Mixed reality can be more than just a gimmick. We tried out "Dance Guru" and danced with a virtual partner.
The mixed reality app Dance Guru, which is currently under development, offers dance classes for beginners and the shy.
(Image: HyperCreative)
Mixed reality is still suspected of being a gimmick. Although most games of this type show the real environment, they hardly use it in a meaningful way. Instead of a genuine fusion of game and reality, familiar effects dominate. One example is the numerous games in which zombies, soldiers or monsters break through walls into your own home.
To encourage more creative ideas, Meta has launched a funding program that specifically supports so-called "lifestyle apps". These are applications with everyday relevance and practical benefits that are designed to motivate VR users to learn new skills. Dance Guru is one of the apps that qualified for the funding program, having already won first place in Meta's mixed reality hackathon last year.
We tried out an early alpha version of the game, which is also in development for Pico headsets, with Meta Quest 3.
How to dance in mixed reality
Dancing needs space, even in mixed reality. After starting the game, you first define a dance floor by dragging a square grid across the living room floor and confirming its position. In our test, the area was around 2.5 by 2.5 meters.
The dance instructor then steps through a portal into the middle of the room and asks you to take her hands. Once the first contact has been made, the lesson begins with the basic steps of the couple's dance cha-cha-cha.
The virtual dance course is based on the tried and tested sequence of classic dance lessons: the dance teacher demonstrates the steps while you follow her movements. This already shows a clear advantage of mixed reality: the step sequences are projected onto the floor in time with the music so that you can follow in the virtual footsteps step by step as you dance. If you succeed, they light up and sound effectively: a small but motivating reward system that is reminiscent of classic rhythm games. With the difference that the floor becomes the playing surface and your own feet become the controller.
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As the game progresses, a dancing couple appears in the room and demonstrates how to perform the dance as a duo, including arm positions and body tension. The first of several cha-cha-cha lessons ends with the user repeating what they have learned with the dance teacher. This is where the app reaches its limits, as the partner is ultimately just air.
Meta Quest without foot tracking
We also noticed a few other weaknesses during our test: Gesture recognition did not always work reliably when gripping the hands and our own steps were also occasionally not recorded correctly. However, given the early stage of development, this is not surprising.
Meta Quest does not offer real foot tracking out of the box. As studio founder and CEO David Huang revealed to us in an interview, the movement of the feet is only derived from the head position. With pico headsets, the tracking of the feet should therefore work much more precisely. Provided you wear the separately available Pico Motion Tracker on your feet, which Dance Guru supports at launch.
Despite these limitations, Dance Guru already shows a lot of potential. The virtual dance class benefits from the spatiality of the medium and the presence of the virtual dance partner. The mixed reality overlays of the step sequence also complement the classic lessons in a meaningful way.
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No substitute for real dance classes
Do flesh-and-blood dance teachers now have to fear for their jobs? Not at all. Mixed reality headsets such as the Meta Quest only have a very limited understanding of posture and cannot recognize and correct incorrect posture or rhythmic deviations as well as a human dance teacher. In addition, couple dancing thrives on physical contact and interaction with a real partner: a haptic and human component that VR glasses cannot simulate. In this context, the question also arises as to how well it is possible to dance in the role of the lady, especially as the immaterial dance partner is hardly in a position to actively lead.
Even if it is still too early to make a final judgment, Dance Guru could be an interesting alternative to traditional dance classes for beginners who want to practice their first steps at home or for shy people who feel more comfortable with a virtual dance partner.
We are keeping an eye on the app, which will be released in early access for Meta Quest and Pico headsets at the end of 2025. A waltz class is also set to be added by then. Other dance styles are planned for the time after that.
(mma)
