There is this dude I usually see on my social media feeds. His name is ED People, but his real name is Edouard Jacqmin. He is popular for asking the simple question, “Can you teach me your favourite dance move?”
Jacqmin is a Belgian former DJ and passionate dancer who has turned an ordinary question into a remarkable global movement.
He approaches strangers in public places, asks them to show him their favourite dance, and then joins them.
There are no elaborate stages. No expensive production or complicated choreography.
Just two people, music, movement and a willingness to connect.
What began as a personal response to loneliness eventually became a way of connecting people from different cultures around the world.
When the Music Stopped
Before becoming known online as Ed People, Jacqmin was already deeply connected to dance.
As a DJ and salsa enthusiast, dancing was more than entertainment for him. It was a way of connecting with people.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Lockdowns closed clubs and brought social gatherings to a halt.
The places where Jacqmin had found connection suddenly became empty. His beloved salsa classes disappeared.
The music stopped, and the dancing stopped.
And with the loss of that community came a painful sense of emptiness.
Like many people during the pandemic, Jacqmin experienced a period of uncertainty and emotional difficulty.
But eventually, something unexpected emerged from that difficult season.
The Dance That Started It All
In 2021, as public spaces began reopening, Jacqmin noticed people dancing the Charleston in a park.
Instead of simply watching them, he approached.
He asked if they could teach him the dance. They agreed.
Jacqmin began learning from them, and the encounter was recorded on his phone.
The setup was anything but sophisticated.
His phone was positioned against a water bottle. There was no professional camera crew.
No carefully planned production. Just an ordinary encounter between strangers.
But something about the video resonated with people. Viewers saw genuine happiness.
They saw strangers laughing together, something that had been missing during the pandemic: human connection.
And people wanted more.
From One Video to a Global Journey
What began as a spontaneous interaction became a much bigger idea. Jacqmin realised that the question could be asked anywhere.
Edouard JacqminDifferent countries had different cultures. But almost everyone could move to music.
So he took the idea beyond Belgium. He began travelling and approaching strangers with the same question.
“Can you teach me your favourite dance move?” The answer was sometimes yes.
Sometimes it was no, and many people ignored him.
But Jacquim continued. He understood that not everyone would welcome a stranger approaching them.
He did not allow rejection to destroy the purpose of his journey. Jacquim simply smiled, moved on and searched for the next person willing to share a dance.
Turning Pain Into Purpose
There is something particularly inspiring about Jacquim’s journey because it began during a difficult period in his life.
The pandemic had taken away something he loved. The isolation and loss of connection left him feeling emotionally lost.
But instead of allowing that pain to define him, he eventually found a way to transform it.
He took something he loved, dance, and turned it into something that could bring joy to others.
This is an important lesson about difficult seasons.
Sometimes pain closes one door while quietly pushing us toward another.
The thing that breaks your heart today may eventually become the thing that helps you understand other people’s hearts.
The loneliness you experience may eventually teach you how to create connection.
The disappointment you face may become the foundation of something meaningful.
Everyone Has a Dance to Teach
One of the most profound ideas behind Jacqmin’s work is that everyone has something worth sharing.
It may not be a dance. It could be a story, recipe, song or language.
We often assume that we have to become experts before we can contribute something meaningful.
But Jacqmin approaches people from the opposite direction. He says, in effect: “Teach me.”
Those two words create an entirely different relationship.
Instead of presenting himself as the expert, he becomes the student.
And when people are allowed to teach something they love, they often become more open, confident and joyful.
Keep Dancing
Ed People’s story is ultimately not just about dance. It is about what we do with our pain.
He could have allowed the loneliness of the pandemic to become the end of his story.
Instead, it became the beginning of another one. The clubs closed, but he found another dance floor.
The crowds disappeared, but he found strangers. The music stopped in one place, so he went looking for it somewhere else.
And in doing so, he discovered something bigger than dance.
He discovered connection.
His story reminds us that we may not always be able to control what happens to us, but we can decide what we do with what happens to us.
Heartbreak can become compassion. Loneliness can become connection.
Rejection can become resilience. Pain can become purpose.
And an ordinary idea can become something that touches thousands, or even millions, of lives.
Perhaps that is the lesson we should take from Ed People. Do not wait for life to become perfect before you start sharing your joy.
Dance with the people around you, listen to their stories and learn something new because sometimes, the greatest impact we make on the world is not through the extraordinary things we accomplish, but through the small moments of happiness we create for other people.
And when life breaks the rhythm you once knew, don’t stop dancing. Find a new rhythm and meet new people; seek a new purpose and keep dancing.
