Thanksgiving Bend Dance Tutorial, Step by Step

0–3 seconds · Find the shoulder taps

Face the camera with your weight spread between your feet. Let your knees bounce with the food chant. Bring one hand across your chest to the far shoulder and drop the hand as you shift your weight. Keep the bounce going between taps.

3–7 seconds · Lift, bend and reset

Shift onto one leg so the other foot is free to lift. Bring your hands up toward your head as the knee comes up. Pause the example around four seconds to see the balance point. Lower the foot and let your arms drop before you tap across again.

7–13 seconds · Cross, reach and return

Watch the hands near the head at seven seconds, then the forearms crossing in front of the chest at eight. Open out of the cross and send both hands up on a diagonal. Look at the frame around ten seconds for the direction of the reach. Bring the hands back down and return to the shoulder tap.

Put the steps together

On your first pass, follow just the feet. On the second, add the taps and overhead reach. If you film yourself, leave headroom for your fingertips and keep both shoes in the frame so the knee lift reads clearly.

To try the same timing with a photo, open the Thanksgiving Bend video maker and choose the full 13-second cut. The five-second cut ends before the final reach.