Flashes of blue, white and orange lights beamed from sophomore Chandler Nienstedt’s fingers as he gloved on Tuesday, Dec. 6. On his face a look of concentration as he improvised finger rolls, figure eights, circles and liquids in time with the dub step song. While Nienstedt practiced, his friends, sophomores Jacob Markham and Landon Scott, discussed his performance and gave him feedback and practiced their own moves as well.

Gloving, a term used to describe the action of attaching lights to gloves and creating a light show by moving the fingers and hands, resonated with Nienstedt after his cousin from California introduced it to him. Nienstedt informed Scott and Markham and they continued to learn from YouTube videos and each other. Learning online presented a few challenges for the boys.

“It’s hard to learn from YouTube sometimes because you’re not actually there to see it,” Nienstedt said. “It goes really fast and it’s hard to do everything they do. You just have to keep trying.”

The glovers practiced six to seven hours each day and stretched their fingers without music or gloves to improve dexterity.

“Your fingers naturally aren’t made to do those kinds of things, you have to train them,” Nienstedt said. “You have to pop your fingers a lot.”

They practiced anywhere dark, according to Markham, but also moved their hands during school hours whenever a teacher lectured or friend talked. Eventually, practicing became subconscious.

“Sometimes we do it without even realizing it,” Markham said. “I’ll look down sometimes, and I’m just moving my fingers.”

Their passion for the hobby motivated them to improve their skills.

“It’s just something to do to have fun,” Nienstedt said. “It’s something different, more of an expression. It’s entertaining.”

The room darkened after Nienstedt finished gloving, but the streaks of colored light lingered momentarily where his hands previously danced. He intended for their hobby, however, to not fade out like the lights on the gloves.

“[I will glove] as long as I can,” Nienstedt said. “Or until I get arthritis.”