  Group dance, a sub-genre characterized by intricate motions made by a cohort
of performers in tight synchronization, has a longstanding and culturally
significant history and, in modern forms such as cheerleading, a broad base of
current adherents. However, despite its popularity, learning group dance
routines remains challenging. Based on the prior success of interactive systems
to support individual dance learning, this paper argues that group dance
settings are fertile ground for augmentation by interactive aids. To better
understand these design opportunities, this paper presents a sequence of
user-centered studies of and with amateur cheerleading troupes, spanning from
the formative (interviews, observations) through the generative (an ideation
workshop) to concept validation (technology probes and speed dating). The
outcomes are a nuanced understanding of the lived practice of group dance
learning, a set of interactive concepts to support those practices, and design
directions derived from validating the proposed concepts. Through this
empirical work, we expand the design space of interactive dance practice
systems from the established context of single-user practice (primarily focused
on gesture recognition) to a multi-user, group-based scenario focused on
feedback and communication.
