What makes the TERP® experience unique?

Everyone hears their commands in their own headset, so instead of feeling like an army drill team, you have a very individual, immersive experience. There are 3 major things that make TERP® unique:

• There’s no judgement. You’re not being directed by someone making you feel as if there is a right or wrong. There’s this feeling of freedom, by having a non-visible voice in your ear, telling you what to do. Because the commands are often very interpretive, it encourages creativity and makes you less likely to compare. You can’t really pretend to walk like a robot incorrectly.
• A sense of surprise: except for the pilot, no-one knows what commands will be sent next. You won’t know if the other participants are getting the same command or a different command. You also won’t know what happens next. Only the pilot gets to know.
• Everything is in sync which helps with the sense of surprise, and adds to the overall experience. There isn’t a feeling of disappointment as people get commands before you. There is also an amazing sense community you get when everyone around does the same motion at once. It’s an experience only highly trained individuals used to get, that we’re bringing to the masses.

When can I get this on my phone?

While we have already funded and built a prototype system that you can test out if you’re in the tri-state area (check out our meetup group for more), we are currently in the initial funding stages for the app. Sign up for our newsletter and/or follow us on facebook and twitter, and we’ll let you know as soon as we start beta testing.

Who would use the app?

Our initial market will be teachers and educators who want to innovate in their classrooms, using screenless, invisible technology that encourages interaction amongst their students. We’ve already done a test program with a local NY city school with special needs kids. We could see a biology teacher using the app to show students the makeup of cells. Why make a jello mold with candy, when you can have the students be the cell wall, and be the mitochondria? Perhaps a school will want to use the app to create an anti-bullying campaign, using the unique dual pilot/participant aspect of the app, letting students play “against” each other to dissolve tricky social situations. A special needs teacher might use the app while working through emotional stages with student that have difficulty expressing or even recognizing feelings. With the TERP® app, students could be told to take on the stance of someone angry or imitate the face of someone that is sad.

So is this for exercise? This is just for dancers though right?

There already exists a plethora of exercise companies/dance training programs. This is not an technology meant to replace those existing systems, but rather a technology that can be used to organize movement and initiate social interactions. Our tech is an ideal icebreaker: it creates a shared, bonding group experience, as well as breaks the initial touch barrier. After all there is a reason most introductions begin with a handshake, and comforting ends with a hug. Movement was how we first communicated, and likely will be the future of how we communicate with our tech.

Can I create my own commands?

We do have plans in the future that will allow users to create their own commands, as well as pre-set experiences with a more advanced composer app. We will not have the option to record your own commands in our first release, but we will have a bank of 5,000 unique audio commands crafted by experienced movers and choreographers. If you feel you have a really great idea and want to see it in action, tweet @terptribe using the #myTERP, and we’ll see if we can make it work.