Dance is such a natural human instinct that babies often begin dancing before they start walking. Pretty much every culture in the world has some kind of traditional dance, and popular dance moves continue to change and evolve.
The mere act of moving our bodies to music has brought people together for millennia, and one man is on a mission to connect with people all over the world through dance. Edouard Jacqmin, known as Ed People on social media, travels the globe asking people to teach him their favorite dances. The result? Pure, wholesome joy.
Watch this and try not to smile:
Connecting with others through dance
The Belgian native is a former DJ and music producer, but not a professionally trained dancer. He just loves to dance.
“I was never a fan of dancing alone,” he told NPR in 2025. “It was always about learning from others and connecting through dance.”
He fell in love with salsa dancing just before the pandemic hit, and after things opened up again, he appreciated bonding with others through dance even more. One day, he saw some people dancing the Charleston in a park and asked them to teach him. He recorded the lesson for his own memory but posted it to TikTok at the urging of a friend. The video got 9,000 views in one day, and commenters said they wanted more.
Now, Ed is known for walking up to random people on the street and asking, “Can you show me your favorite dance moves?” He doesn’t always get a yes. In fact, most people say no. But he doesn’t let that deter him. The yeses are worth it.
Bringing joy and building bridges
Ed’s social media channels have grown so much that he now has a team of video editors to help him.
“We are here to try to really bring joy to people and to build bridges and to show different cultures around the world,” he told NPR. “Dance is a very powerful tool for everything, whether you’re dealing with emotions of joy or emotions of sadness, grief or anger or whatever.”
Ed has gone to parks to dance with perfect strangers. He’s gone to nursing homes to dance with elderly people. He’s danced with people on public transportation. Everywhere he goes, he finds people willing to share the joy of dance with him.
Of course, it’s fun and joyful. But he also clearly takes learning seriously, working hard to master the dance moves of anyone willing to teach him.
Check out this compilation of what Ed calls his “best of”:
Definitely the video we should show the aliens
People constantly comment that Ed’s videos give them faith in humanity:
“This man deserves a nobel peace prize. He does nothing but bring people together by asking,learning,trying and making people dance together with him. Godspeed to you kind sir!”
“A very needed reminder that there are good people out there, doing beautiful things, and we’re all human and we just want to sing and dance and be happy.”
“This video is one of the best YouTube videos for me. We can see joy, the cultures, the beauty of humanity, equality, friendships, humors and smiles. This is everything and I remember why we are living on this planet and we don’t have any borders there. I love all dancers and the way you learn. Thank you so much.”
“If aliens ever ask for a reason for not destroying Earth, show them this video.”
That really says it all, doesn’t it?
You can follow Ed People on his YouTube Channel, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
