ReCoDanse: the app to practise dancing from your dance class videos

Artificial intelligence is getting very good at repetitive work: office paperwork, spreadsheets, even writing software. You can worry about that. You can also see it as time given back.

I believe that time is worth spending with your body. A very human body, one that learns slowly, that senses where it is in space (this is called proprioception), and that no model will ever improve on our behalf. The time we get back can go there: learning, enjoying our progress, and enjoying, a little more each time, the socials and festivals where people dance.

That is the idea behind ReCoDanse, a dance practice app I am building under the Arcodange brand.

Why dance

I am a software engineer. I write less and less code myself: AI agents do it, and my job is mostly to decide and to check (I describe the method in Building software with AI agents). I also dance, and that is where I want the time I save to go.

Dance is more than a pastime. Research associates it with real benefits:

• among people over 75, dancing is associated with less dementia (cohort of 469 people, New England Journal of Medicine, 2003);
• across 41 controlled studies, dance has a medium effect on psychological well-being (meta-analysis, Frontiers in Psychology, 2019);
• for mood, structured dance is as effective as other sports, sometimes more (27 studies, Sports Medicine, 2024);
• moving in rhythm, together, brings people closer (Biology Letters, 2015).

These are correlations or effects measured on groups, not promises. But they say something every dancer already knows: you come out better than you went in.

The problem: class videos nobody watches again

When you take dance classes, you often film the teacher at the end of the lesson. Those videos then pile up in your phone's camera roll, and you never watch them again. Between classes, almost nobody practises: you need a partner, a place, a time slot. The move learnt on Tuesday is forgotten by the next Tuesday.

A class's life is scattered too: a messaging group recreated every year, where everyone's phone number is visible and videos get lost; socials and workshops announced in passing posts.

What the app does today

ReCoDanse turns those class videos into practice:

• find a passage: sort your videos by class, by teacher, by dance;
• practise at your own pace: set the tempo and the “1” of the music, cut the choreography into sequences, loop them, slow them down;
• track your progress: every day, the app suggests the passages to review, and you say yourself whether you've “got it”;
• keep a copy of your work in your account;
• meet other dancers: share a video in a class space, suggest a practice session.

The app is in public beta at recodanse.fr. It is an installable web app (PWA). You can try it without an account, with a demo video. A native iPhone app is in the works; it mirrors the same screens. Project news is on Instagram: @recodanse. The app itself is in French for now.

Three clips, taken from the automated walkthroughs that check the app:

The dancers you see are our mascots: the tiger and the bird from the demo video.

The vision: an ecosystem around dance

ReCoDanse is not only about finding a practice partner because you do social dances. That is part of it, but the ambition is wider: to connect everything that keeps dance alive, around the person who dances. Here is what exists today and what is planned.

Practising alone — today

This is the heart of the beta: the class video becomes a programme. You work on a passage, review it at the right time, and move forward at your own pace. A companion, played by our mascots, answers requests (“show me my salsa videos”) and guides you through the app.

Getting together — in progress

• Practice partners: suggest a session from a video, and find dancers of the same level near you. Announcements already exist in the beta.
• Choreography workshops: a teacher builds a show over several weeks, and the dancers rehearse together between classes. Coming.
• Going out together: a social, a festival, as a group. Coming.

Classes and teachers — in beta

A space per class replaces the yearly messaging group. The teacher shares recaps there, reserved for the class members, and nobody needs to give out their phone number. The know-how of the teachers who make a living from it is at the centre: ReCoDanse helps people practise between classes, it does not replace them.

Venues and events — coming

Knowing where to dance and where to practise: studios and their off-peak slots, public places where you can rehearse. And the calendar of socials, workshops and festivals, scattered today across several networks, in one place.

An open ecosystem — in beta

Other apps can plug into ReCoDanse: a studio's software, a festival's website, an assistant. The person stays in control: they authorise an app, and can revoke it whenever they want. The developer documentation is public: dev.recodanse.fr.

The principle behind all this: every dancer, every teacher and every app that joins ReCoDanse should make it better for everyone else. Through their feedback, their reports, and what they choose to share.

The potential, in public figures

• 7% of French people aged 15 and over danced as amateurs during the year, about 3.7 million people; 71% of them are women, and 71% take or have taken classes (INSEE, France, portrait social, 2022 edition, 2018 data).
• 17% of Europeans danced during the year, which makes dance the first artistic activity in Europe (Special Eurobarometer 562, 2025).
• The French dance federation (FFDanse) has 99,771 members and 2,027 clubs (2024), and its memberships doubled between 2008 and 2022.
• Only 33% of amateur dancers use digital tools for their practice, the lowest rate of all amateur arts (INSEE, 2018 data). The field is almost untouched.

Where the project stands

As of 2 November 2026:

• the public beta is open at recodanse.fr, at version v0.47;
• the project started in July 2026;
• 189 features, called batches, are described in the plan; each one is tried before it is declared ready;
• the native iPhone app moves forward alongside the web version, with the same screens in the same places.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to try ReCoDanse?

No. You can try the app at recodanse.fr without an account, with a demo video. An account lets you keep your work and meet other dancers.

Which phones does ReCoDanse work on?

Any recent phone, in the browser: it is a web app you can install on your home screen. A native iPhone app is in the works.

Which dances?

Social and partner dances: bachata, salsa, kizomba, West Coast Swing, tango, rock'n'roll… The app is designed for dancers aged 20 to 70, with text at least 16 pixels tall, large touch targets and a “comfort” mode that makes everything bigger.

Does ReCoDanse replace dance classes?

No. It helps you practise between classes, from what the teacher has shown.

Who publishes ReCoDanse

ReCoDanse is published by Arcodange, a French limited company (SARL) registered in Évry (RCS 999 657 455), managed by Gabriel Radureau, the author of this site. The app is hosted by OVH, in France.

• Terms of use, which also state what the app keeps and sends (in French): recodanse.fr/conditions.
• Anyone can delete their account and everything in it, at any time, from their profile.
• For any question: kadans@arcodange.fr.