Musical statues

Musical statues is a game played at birthday parties. Originating from the United Kingdom,^[1] the game is similar to musical chairs and is part of the "Jerusalem games", of which elimination is an element. It is also known as freeze dance in the United States^[2] and statue dance in Philippines.

Musical statues

Children playing musical statues
Other names	Freeze dance (USA), statue dance/stop dance (Philippines)
Players	Variable
Setup time	1 minute
Playing time	Variable
Chance	Music stoppage may seem random to players, but is under the control of the leader
Age range	Usually children
Skills	Quick reaction time, ability to stand completely still

Rules

Players stand in an area, usually a dance hall, with one person controlling the music. When the music starts the players should dance along to it, and when it stops, they must freeze in position. Any player moving or laughing while the music has stopped is out of the game.^[3] Play continues until there is only one person left, who will be announced as the winner.^[4]

Variations

In the newspaper dance game, players must dance on a sheet of newspaper without stepping off of it. Whenever the music stops and players freeze, the pieces of newspaper are torn in half to a smaller size.^[5] For another version, pairs of players dance around the sheet, which they must step on as the music stops; the newspaper being folded to smaller sizes as the game progresses.

In the traffic light game, players run around pretending to be vehicles, and must freeze when the game runner shouts "red!"^[6]

World record

The world record for musical statues was set on 16 August 2013. Over 1,500 students at Mansfield State High School in Brisbane, Australia participated in the event.^[7]

In popular culture

In the opening credits to the Australian children's animated series Bluey, the characters play a game of musical statues.^[8]

The game is also mentioned in the Harry Potter series, where the titular character and his spoiled cousin Dudley Dursley played it at the latter's fifth birthday party in 1985, only for Harry to lose when Dudley's aunt, Marge, beat him in the shins with a cane.

References

1. Wise, Derba (10 November 2003). Great Big Book of Children's Games. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-07-142246-8.
2. Bany-Winters, Lisa (1 March 2000). Show Time!: Music, Dance, and Drama Activities for Kids. Chicago Review Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-61374-285-3.
3. Bruce, Tina; Hakkarainen, Pentti; Bredikyte, Milda (14 June 2017). The Routledge International Handbook of Early Childhood Play. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-56354-9. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
4. Gerngross, Gunter; Puchta, Herbert (27 April 2006). Join Us for English 1 Teacher's Book. Cambridge University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-521-67917-6. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
5. Lyschamaya, Ayleen (28 June 2019). Competition-free Birthday: Teamwork Games for Kids: Non-competitive Children ́s Party Games. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 35. ISBN 978-3-7448-8156-2. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
6. Heren, Louise; McMillan, Susan (2011). Nanny in a Book: The Common-Sense Guide to Childcare. Penguin Random House. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-09-193546-7.
7. Ranke, Angela (16 August 2013). "Mansfield State High School breaks Guinness world record for largest game of musical statues". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
8. Willett-Wei, Megan (24 April 2023). "People are just noticing that the 'Bluey' theme song is actually a secret game and it's blowing parents' minds". Insider. Retrieved 21 September 2023.