Musical statues
Musical statues is a children's game played at children's birthday parties in the UK; in the United States it is often called "Freeze Dance" while the Philippine name is "Statue Dance". It is similar to musical chairs.
| Players | Variable |
|---|---|
| Setup time | 1 minute |
| Playing time | Variable |
| Random chance | Music stoppage may seem random to players, but is under the control of the leader |
| Age range | Usually children |
| Skill(s) required | Quick reaction time, ability to stand completely still |
Rules
Players stand in an area, usually a dance hall and wait for the lights to turn off (controlled by the game master / judge). When the music starts the players should dance to the music, the more spirited the better. The game master will then stop the music at a random point. When the music has stopped all players should freeze. The judge then walks among the players and watches to see who is still moving or doesn't stop fast enough, those people are called out of the game. Play continues until there is only one person left, who will be announced as the winner.
If the game starts to get difficult to call people out, the players should be encouraged to get more enthusiastic so that it is more difficult to stop on time.
Sometimes the game master can also call a theme for the statues, so that the players must impersonate something such as an animal or activity.
In the Philippines, the game is one of many party games played in parties. Lights remain on or may be turned off for the music, depending on the game master. The rules remain the same wherein a player is eliminated if he/she fails to freeze once the music stops playing. Another variation of the musical statues in the Philippines is the "newspaper dance" wherein players are grouped into pairs and given a page of a newspaper. The players dance around the paper until the music stops wherein they have to stand on the paper and remain so until the music starts again. As the game progresses, the paper is folded in half for each round and each pair must make ways to pass each round. A pair which steps out of the paper is eliminated and the last team standing wins.
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.