Toss Pan Dance

Li Jiabao

With the COVID-19 outbreak, many sociopolitical issues are becoming even more apparent. One of them is the dodging of responsibilities and shifting blame to government officials. It reflects the problem of our current sociopolitical mechanism and has been one of the causes of this pandemic’s out-of-control spread. The action of dodging responsibilities is called “甩锅” in Chinese, which literally means “tossing a pan.”   

This whole toss-pan comedy has been played between the central government and local government, in China, the United States, and many other countries.

To inform, criticize, and warn fellow citizens, I made this Toss Pan Dance.   

Since we are social distancing and in self-quarantine at the moment, Toss Pan Dance is also a very good exercise. You can easily do it at home without a gym. The equipment is right in the palm of your hand!  

The music is made by typing on the computer: “abcdefg” on a Mac keyboard is mapped to notes on the piano keyboard. 

This dance went viral on the Chinese internet. #tosspandance #甩锅舞

Huang Hung, “the Oprah of China,” used this dance to explain “Toss Pan” in her TED Talk on “how American and Chinese values shaped the coronavirus response.”

Additional Details

Working at the intersection of emerging technology, art, and design, Li Jiabao creates new ways for humans to perceive the world. She works across nature, humans’ designed environment, and belief structures and creates works addressing climate change, humane technology, and a just, sustainable future. Her mediums include wearable, robot, AR/VR, projection, performance, software, and installation.

In Li’s TED Talk, she uncovered how technology mediates the way we perceive reality. At Apple, she invents and explores new technologies for future products. She graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Design with a master of design in technology with a distinction and best thesis award.

Li is the recipient of numerous awards, including iF Design Award, NEA, STARTS Prize, Fast Company, Core77, IDSA, AACYF 30 Under 30. Her work has been exhibited internationally, at Ars Electronica, SIGGRAPH, Milan and Dubai Design Week, ISEA, Anchorage Museum, Codame, Primer, OCAT Contemporary Art Terminal, CHI, Donghu Shan Art Museum. Her work has been featured on Yahoo, TechCrunch, Domus, CCTV, Yanko Design, Fast Company, Harvard Political Review, The National, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Leonardo, and South China Morning Post.