What happens with people who physically can't do a "dance performance"?

@Frank Philippines

@JuliaHayward I haven't thought of that actually. But it is likely that he/she will be exempted from the performance.

Are new hires the only ones who do dance numbers? Or are you the only ones required to do so?

Make them regret the decision. gph.is/1aZhpxu

@さりげない告白 I'm not sure if we(new hires) are the only one to perform, but I believe we are the only ones who are required to do so.

To quote Nancy Reagan - "just say no"

If you are not up to it, just agree & pull a sickie. If they fire you, then 1) they can't prove it, so sue for wrongful dismissal (what grounds for firing could they even have?) 2) you don't want to work for them anyway

@donotexecuteorder66 I would propose in that case doing a traditional war-dance dedicated to the death and destruction of the company's competition,accompanied with a speech of such epic commitment to the firm and the crushing of its enemies,the figurative dismembering of any internal traitor or slacker, that not only will your colleagues be forever in awe, but even the management would be terrified and rather promote you than have to deal with you as a fearsome subordinate.You may be an introvert, but that does not mean you can't bring out the inner demon and have fun trolling them.

Please add a location tag. In many countries, this is ridiculously wrong and bordering illegal.

I would do the macarena (or some similar dance that everybody knows). It doesn't require any skill. Others can easily join in. And you can easily learn it from youtube.

@nvoigt Woah! Okay, will add a tag. I never thought that something like this could be illegal. I thought it's a common thing

Can we just stop saying "I am an introvert" as a universal excuse for "I don't want to do something"? Just stick to why this actually bothers you, not rely on vague definition of the unreliable term.

@Frank I like the suggestion, but be aware that something like this can easily be wrongly understood, even when executed by more theatrically talented people, and be a Career Limiting Move, even if it shouldn't be. One trick that can work better instead is to learn a very simple dance routine and ask the audience to imitate - they will be so busy trying to follow OP that they won't pay any attention to OP themselves. I have used that to success with obligatory Karaoke (which I detest performing in), choosing a piece where everybody started chiming in, so I would not be heard.

@JuliaHayward In a similar vein, what about those who will not be participating in the Christmas party at all, possibly for other (the first that comes to mind is religious, but I'm sure there are others) reasons?

Get yourself two sock puppets and let them have a romantic dance performance. Or if that is not allowed, you could could copy the "tape face, lady in red" dance. The idea is to let them laugh without embarassing yourself.

Just say no. I find it very unlikely that they will fire you over this. And if they do, well, that's good for you.

@CaptainEmacs You might be right. On the other hand if I was to go up on stage and do my usual Hokey-Cokey routine after 10 beers I could pretty much guarantee the end of my career, reputation, future and any right to take my place in the human race... but that's life. You just have to be yourself. Yeah...if it was me I would either get rat-arsed and throw a Bez-style rave fit, or tell em to stick it. We're employees, not lab rats.

@Frank One more reason not to drink in expectation of an unpleasant situation. And it's not lab rats - rather student society, which is worse. "Be yourself" - that's typically alright advice for reasonable people in normal situations, but is actually not so good advice in emotionally charged situations, and also can be seriously harmful to bystanders if the wrong person happens to "be themselves" (disclaimer: I am not talking of anyone present)

@donotexecuteorder66 "I thought it's a common thing" - whenever someone is trying to make you do something you do not want or that goes against your interest, they will make you think it's a common thing. Question everything.

@donotexecuteorder66 Can you be sure that your seniors actually did the dance? This sounds like a wind-up to me, a joke played on new hires, or possibly just on you. Maybe your boss fell for it once and hopes you will too. It would be a good idea to contact HR to ask, they should be able to tell you if it really is a company policy - unless your HR contact is in on it.

@ToonKrijthe doing a tape face act without embarassing yourself is actually really difficult. That guy is really good at what he does, it's unlikely someone unused to being on stage could copy it effectively

Personally I can (somewhat) dance in a ballroom especially folk muisc like contra dance, but dancing alone on stage it's a totally different thing.

With a partner maybe I could try a polka or Bourrée à deux temps but alone I'll have some difficulty to make something that has some sense.

I would avoid using the word introvert in your discussions about this unless you want people to start arguing semantics with you. (Introvert does not equal shy, there are introverts who are excellent at public performance and extroverts who are afraid of going on stage.)

I think the main gap in the question, as already pointed, is the fact that the mandatoriness of dancing (or even performing) isn't entirely clear. The possibility the dancing is a joke is great. The best advice to the OP is certainly to approach HR, it's a good thing the accepted answer goes into that direction. Any discussion with HR will clarify the expectations which might not be as dreadful as dancing alone in front of a crowd...

Then there are the musicians who feel the same way. They are Daft Punk and they wear helmets onstage.

Since this seems to come up all the time and pretty much always as an excuse why someone can't do something: Introversion is simply not the same as shyness. An introvert might not find being the center of attention very rewarding, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of doing so or distressed by it.

@TymoteuszPaul Aye. I am introvert and I do not like to do that are two seperate things. That does not mean that in this case it might be valid. As an introvert, control freak and someone whoi has dances less than 10 minutes in public in his hole life and only after significant alcohol (I am 48 years old now) I would be physically sick at just the thought of having to perform on stage