Bringing the art of movement to the world
Rosa Mei is a professional dancer and martial artist who creates apps to teach movement: 7 Minute Chi, Meditation Moves, Taichi Temple, Gymnast Fit and Super Funky. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.
What types of apps do you make?
I make apps that teach busy people how to move and meditate. Even if you only have five minutes a day to train, you can progress. People can do moving meditation in seven minutes, learn a new dance in one minute, learn all the fundamentals of tai chi in two hours, or train like a gymnast in a rigorous 10-minute set. These short, yet high-impact training sets let people fit them into their hectic lives. They can also customize their training to what they enjoy most.
How did you get into dance and martial arts?
I always had too much energy and was gumby levels of flexible. My parents were engineers and really didn’t understand why I wanted to dance. I got full scholarships to study electrical engineering and Russian linguistics, but I chose dance because it fascinated me more than anything else in the universe. My mom was an IBM engineer and was so embarrassed by my career choice, she told her colleagues her daughter studied “dance law.” I said, “What’s that, ma? Gravity?”
What eventually interested you in technology and making apps?
Before I made apps, I worked in multimedia design for about 15 years; I’m a compulsive creator. I’m really great at making site-specific dance operas and in a sense, apps are the ultimate site-specific tool. You can train in your kitchen while making coffee, or on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
How do you balance your dance and martial arts passions and your app business?
I practice my dance and martial arts training really early in the morning and teach classes and workshops in the evenings and on weekends. I design my apps during the day and work with additional software engineers pretty much around the clock.
What has it been like using Android and Google Play to create and distribute your apps?
Google Play is an amazing platform for developers because it really gives you complete freedom to create—and then your product gets put in front of a worldwide community. And Android devices are affordable and state-of-the-art, giving developers a wider reach and impact.
