Have you ever been told your dancing looks bad? Or perhaps you filmed yourself dancing and it looked worse than you imagined? Or maybe you feel great dancing but people cringe when you hit the dance floor?
Most of us have been there at some point. The good news is, that this is a problem that can at least be understood. In this article, we take you through exactly what could be the reason why your dancing looks bad. We leave no stone unturned.
Common factors of why your dancing looks bad can include poor quality filming or incomplete use of mirrors. However, there can be a variety of less well-known factors at play such as creativity or psychology.
Our principal author Jake has over 20 years of dancing experience across the majority of dance genres. He has both large quantities of first-hand experience whilst also learning from others’ experiences. He is well placed to share with you the key 5 themes of why your dancing looks bad.
Keep reading to gain a holistic understanding of bad dancing. By the time you finish reading this article, you should know exactly what to do to make your dancing look better.
Physical skill level:
Physical skill is a good starting point to uncover why your dancing looks bad. Think of it as the foundation of your dancing pyramid.
As such, it is often the key culprit in our topic. So let’s discuss this topic before we move on to some less easily identifiable items.
In this section, we cover areas such as:
- Identify if you have good rhythm
- Be aware of your coordination
- Understand your relaxation
- How creative are you
- Your emotional connection to music
- Alignment of dance moves with the music
- Identifying the dance environment
- Note your athleticism
Identify if you have good rhythm:
Rhythm is the ability to match your dance movements to a beat.
This is the most likely culprit of why your dancing looks bad. You may not know you have poor rhythm. Or you may know you don’t have good rhythm but don’t know how to fix it.
We actually have a full article on this topic that discusses rhythm in depth. This article can be found here: How To Dance Naturally: A method to the madness.
Be aware of your coordination level:
Perhaps the second most likely culprit of why your dancing looks bad is coordination.
Collin’s dictionary defines coordination as the ability to use the different parts of your body together efficiently.
So think of coordination as being able to do multiple movements simultaneously in an intentional manner. And in the dance world doing this with a combination of rhythm, speed, strength, flexibility, and control.
So try doing multiple movements together to see what your coordination level is like.
Understand your relaxation:
Another culprit of why your dancing looks bad is how relaxed you are. Now, relaxation is a by-product of confidence. It is not a product in of itself.
So don’t just try and relax and hope your dancing looks better. You will need to focus on WHY you’re not relaxed.
This will usually be because you don’t have confidence in your dance movements. And you don’t have confidence because of two potential reasons.
One reason is that you are not comfortably familiar with such movements.
Another reason is that you have not received any positive feedback from a mirror. This feedback will tell you what movements look good, and what don’t.
When you become confident in your dance moves, you will naturally be more relaxed.
How creative are you:
A factor that might be contributing to why your dancing looks bad, is your creativity. What we mean by this is that it doesn’t look good if you are only ever doing one dance move.
Even if you are nailing that dance move, after a while it becomes clear that that is all you know. Disappointment from viewers ensues.
So ask yourself how free you feel on a dancefloor. Do you feel confident trying new moves or even creating new moves?
Dancing well shouldn’t be constrained to a few moves. Dancing well means having a certain level of total body control.
It’s like a gym junky that only ever trains biceps. You wouldn’t call him a good athlete. The same principle applies to dancing.
Your emotional connection to music:
Another culprit of why your dancing looks bad is your emotional connection.
What we mean by emotional connection is if you’re really moved by the music. Do you feel inspired by the music? Do you feel something for this music you’re dancing to?
The emotion you feel doesn’t have to be happy all the time either. You can feel sad, angry, chilled, ecstatic, in awe, joyful, etc.
Now emotional connection can go two ways.
One way is you have good moves but little emotional connection= bad dancing.
The second way is you have good emotional connection but bad dance moves=bad dancing.
So whilst emotional connection isn’t everything, it is mandatory for good dancing.
So the next time you’re dancing, ask yourself if you’re feeling the music. If you’re not, that could be why your dancing looks bad.
Alignment of dance moves with the music:
You might have great dance moves. But, if your movement choice doesn’t match the music, you will look like a bad dancer.
But what movement goes with what music?
Well, your movements should reflect the music. That’s what dancing is all about.
So, if the music is an upbeat happy trance song, doing slow and sad movements won’t look good. But if the music is slow and sad, then slow and sad movements will look good.
Similarly, if the music is slow and sad, then doing crazy fast ecstatic dance moves won’t look good.
So try and be aware of what EMOTION the song is trying to convey. That emotion tells you what sort of dance moves to do.
Identifying the dance environment:
What is a dance environment? Well, there are different types of environments where people generally dance.
So, for example, there are weddings, clubs, house parties, after-parties, social Latin dancing, etc.
Being aware of what dance environment you find yourself in is useful. The reason is that you want to use dance moves that match the environment.
If you whip out wild messy moshpit-style dance moves at a classy wedding, you generally won’t look good. And if you use reserved and subtle movements in a mosh pit you will also look out of place.
So, using the right dance style for your environment is key. If not, this could be why your dancing looks bad.
Note your athleticism:
Athleticism. It’s a somewhat vague term in the dance world.
Oxford dictionary defines it as ‘the physical qualities that are characteristic of athletes, such as strength, fitness, and agility’.
Your athleticism can play a part in why your dancing looks bad. Not always, but it can play a part.
If you aren’t somewhat agile, strong, or fit, your chance of dancing well is reduced.
Why is this?
It’s because dancing is a physical pursuit. Think of agility, strength, and fitness being tools that help this pursuit. Much like a carpenter having good quality tools to work with.
So take an honest look at yourself. Don’t be overly critical. Note if you feel exhausted or weak after dancing to one song. If so, your athleticism could be to blame.
Your internal dialogue:
Your internal dialogue can play a big role in why your dancing looks bad.
There is a balancing act between how we see ourselves and how we actually are. Often it can be up to you as to which one you allow to define you.
In this section, we take you through internal dialogue factors such as:
- Micro-managing
- Memory
- Commitment
- And others.
Don’t micro-manage yourself!
This is so common in the dance world! Micro-managing yourself.
So what do we mean by this?
We mean that there is no shortage of detailed instructions on dance moves in the world.
Let’s say someone wants to learn how to be a better dancer. He/she is often met with a barrage of detailed instructions as to how to do a certain move.
It goes something like:
- Pick your left foot up
- Place it back down
- Now move your right knee inward
- Rotate your neck 45 degrees to the left
- Etc.
Indeed, some would say some dance teachers make dancing particularly complicated so you keep paying them money to learn!
The point here is to remember that dancing doesn’t need to be super complicated. The evidence to support this is in children.
Have you seen a baby or toddler groove to some music? This goes to show that dancing at its core is not about complicated choreography.
Another analogy is micro-management at work. Few people operate at their optimal when they have a boss breathing down their neck, watching their every move.
The same principle applies to dancing.
So, observe if you are making your body and mind tense by micro-managing your dance moves.
This could be why your dancing looks bad.
Be aware of choreography versus freestyling:
There are different skills that help depending on if you are following choreography or freestyling.
A note here is that freestyling is dancing without pre-planned steps. It’s what people do on a casual dancefloor.
Choreography factors:
Let’s say you are learning choreography in a class. A big factor in dancing well using choreography is memory.
Being able to quickly memorize steps goes a long way in making your dancing look better.
There are some great tips out there as to how you can improve your memory.
Freestyling factors:
Now, freestyling is a different story from choreography.
In freestyling the tip that goes a long way is committing to movements.
So what does this mean? As an example, if you go to straighten your arm during a dance, straighten it fully. Or if you sway to one side, sway with intention.
Committing is about looking like you meant to do something.
It’s better to commit to one movement wholeheartedly than to do 5 movements half-done.
So observe yourself when dancing. Are you nailing the movements? Or just doing a bunch of half-done movements? If the latter, then try simplifying your dancing and focus on quality rather than quantity.
This could be why your dancing looks bad.
Release the emotion:
A big part of dancing is communicating how you’re generally feeling. Or perhaps a small yet very important feeling.
However, sometimes bad dancers just go through the motion.
So have a think of how you feel when you’re on a dancefloor?
Are you sad? Are you happy? Perhaps you’re frustrated with life in general.
Whatever it is, are your dance moves matching the way you’re feeling?
If not, this could be why your dancing looks bad. As a general rule, it’s easy to spot when a dancer is faking it. And why dance happy if you’re not actually happy?
It’s better to be a ‘genuine’ dancer. If you’re sad, show your sadness through dance. If you’re happy, show your happiness through dance.
A key benefit of dancing is emotional release. In the end, who wants to bury how they are really feeling?
Comparing yourself with others:
Comparing yourself with others in a social setting:
Because dancing is so visual, comparison with others is fairly easy.
We see other dancers moving in cool and interesting ways and it’s easy to lose focus on our dancing.
I get it.
If you add some insecurities the comparison can make you lose confidence.
And when you lose confidence, your dancing will have a greater chance of looking bad.
A useful tip here is to first observe if you are indeed comparing yourself to others.
If so, try not to do this.
It’s like comparing apples and oranges. You don’t know how long the other person has been dancing. Or what they are going through. If they are really as happy as they appear whilst dancing. Or If dancing is the only thing they are good at.
So try and remember this before you lose heart, and just focus on yourself and the music.
Also, remember that everyone has to start somewhere. So the pro dancer you see in the club? They would have struggled with dancing at one point too. Remember that.
Comparing yourself with others in a digital setting:
Another way we compare ourselves with others is via video and pictures.
Let’s say you take a video of yourself dancing. It may look average, dark, perhaps lonely, or at the best a bit grainy.
Then you might watch a professionally edited dance video in a studio full of people.
The difference is significant. This might make you feel inadequate as above.
However, before you judge yourself, there is good news.
The good news is that even with professionals, homemade footage is not as good as studio-produced footage. We have an example of this below.
Jade Chynoweth is an amazing professional dancer dancing out of Los Angeles. Take a look at her YouTube to see what I mean.
However, compare the two videos of Chynoweth below. In the first video, we have a homemade dance video. In the second video, we have a studio-produced video.
Either way, Chynoweth is an incredible dancer. But as you can see studio produced footage has many tricks up its sleeve to make a video stand out. Key ones are camera movement, slick video editing, good lighting, a vocal audience, and a cool studio. Generally, none of which a homemade video has access to.
So remember that before you compare your homemade footage with professional footage.
Your dance equipment:
The equipment you use for anything can play a big role in the activity’s effectiveness.
Dancing is no different.
In this section we cover how the following topics affect how your dancing looks:
- Body shape
- Clothing/footwear choice
Know your body shape:
Body shape can greatly impact if your dancing looks bad or not.
However, certain body shapes have more suitable dance moves than others.
For example, let’s say a skinny and tall person is dancing. If they try and do squat hip thrusts or groundwork they will likely look awkward. But, if they focus on long extension lines it will create a powerful image.
Similarly, let’s say a short and stout person is dancing. If they try and do squat hip thrusts or groundwork they will look dynamic and powerful. But, if they try and do long extension lines it will not look as good as when a lean person does them.
Other examples can be your arm and length, shoulder width, hip width, etc.
So, take a look at your own body. Are your dance moves flattering your body type? Or are they highlighting your awkward points?
Be aware of clothing choice:
Another factor that can impact why your dancing looks bad is your clothing.
What you want to do is wear clothes which flatter your body but also are comfortable.
For example, if I wear low crotch tight jeans, they are hard to move in. Or if I wear a tight tank singlet, it tends to highlight the length of my arms. Both of these can make my dancing look bad.
So give some thought to how your clothing might be impacting how your dancing looks.
Good questions to ask are:
- Can you move freely in your clothes?
- Do your clothes highlight a specific part of your body (e.g. arms)?
- Do your clothes flatter your body type (e.g. narrow shoulders)?
Feedback factors:
Feedback factors can either be very useful or make you lose confidence as a dancer.
What we mean by feedback factors is items that give you feedback. This could be a mirror, a video recording, or a teacher.
In this section we cover the ins and outs of the following feedback factors:
- The right lighting
- Camera quality
- Mirror feedback
- Getting the right amount of feedback
Getting the right lighting:
Having the wrong lighting can make your dancing look bad.
Have you ever been in a location or place where everything looks super harsh? A place where you notice every little imperfection or detail?
Other times you might find yourself in a very forgiving complimentary space. A space where you look yourself in the mirror and you are flattered at the reflection?
The lighting is usually to blame.
The same principle applies to our dancing.
Good lighting generally faces onto the object (aka yourself).
However, if the color is too ‘cold’ then you can look harsh. A cold color is like the bulbs used in a clinical setting.
‘Warm’ lighting tends to be more forgiving. It tends to contain more yellow than cold light. But too much warmth and you risk looking washed out.
The other lighting aspect to note is the lighting angle. Is the light source directly above you? Is it shining up from the ground? Does it hit you at a 45-degree front angle on your bad side?
You can play around with lighting to see what suits you best.
However, as a general rule, soft warm mood lighting either above or facing you is great for dancing. This type of lighting accentuates our body angles whilst being forgiving at the same time.
Note your camera quality:
If your dancing looks bad on camera, then camera quality is good to investigate.
Whilst it might not be the sole reason your dancing looks bad, it can play a part.
Cameras can be notoriously complicated, with a host of mechanisms and confusing terms. Additionally, camera technology is constantly improving.
As of 2022 professional studios will generally use a dedicated SLR or mirror-less camera. An example that is used by one of the larger online dance studios is the Panasonix Lumix GH4.
However, most of us don’t want to spend $1600 (Aus) on such a camera.
A more accessible option is our smartphone. A good tip is not to be swayed by the megapixel (MP) size of the camera. The reason is often it is the quality and size of the camera sensor which brings out the image quality.
As an example, a 12MP camera can be ranked higher than a 50MP camera.
So shop around, do your research. Find out what your own phone’s camera is rated as.
And also note the film recording quality. As of 2022 8k is considered excellent video quality.
A final note here, pay attention to where your camera is filming from. Is it on the floor and propped up against a mirror? Is someone holding it for you at chest height?
Ideally, you want the camera to be at eye level with a flat angle. If it’s on the floor then it will be filming your chin, which is not a great angle.
These camera factors could play a part in why your dancing looks bad.
Check your mirror angle/quality/dimensions:
If you feel your dancing looks bad in the mirror, the mirror could be playing a part.
The first thing to check is the mirror angle. You want the mirror to hang flat, not at an angle.
If the mirror is angled upwards or downwards your image will be skewed.
Another factor is mirror quality. This is particularly important with larger mirrors where quality can be reduced to offset the cost. In such cases, try and use mirrors that have a normal glass surface.
You can also inspect the mirror to see if any buckling or warping is occurring.
Finally, there is mirror dimensions. Bigger is better for dancing. Try and avoid small or narrow mirrors, as your movement won’t be fully captured. With small mirrors a real possibility is you constrain your movements to fit the mirror= bad dancing.
Not seeking mirror feedback:
A common problem we see with people whose dancing looks bad is that they don’t use a mirror.
This means that they are essentially flying blind.
They DO NOT KNOW what they look like when they dance. Read that again.
You would be surprised at how many improvements can be made by using a mirror. And automatic improvements.
What we mean by this is that the body and mind will automatically start to change movements to look better. This is fairly normal as we all want to look good.
By using a mirror, you start to build habits of how to look good when dancing. Read that again as well.
Let’s say you get disheartened after someone says your dancing looks bad. Before you get defensive or sad, check your dancing in a mirror.
The best teacher is a mirror.
Which is real, the camera or the human eye?
This can be a bit confusing at times. Which gives more accurate feedback, a camera or a human eye?
With a high-quality camera, the feedback can be relatively objective.
The usefulness of such a camera is that all your attention is focused on the image. Whereas when we use a mirror, our attention is split between movements and looking at the mirror. There are also gaps where we might look away from the mirror.
However, in low-mid quality cameras, there can be distortion and depth issues. In which case a human eye will prove more accurate.
Also be aware of how as humans, we rarely look at something with the stillness that a camera does. Our eyes are moving around, looking at different things. We might be shifting weight as we stand. We may be nodding our heads to the music.
To see the truth in the above, video a friend dancing, then watch them in real life.
So, don’t despair when you look quite different on film compared to how you feel you look in real life. Take it with a grain of salt.
The problem of seeking too much feedback:
Confidence can be a subtle creature.
Whilst feedback is very useful for improving dancing. You can overwhelm your mind and confidence with too much feedback.
Oftentimes, improving is more of a marathon than a sprint. It tends to be a slow growth, built on solid habits.
So, let’s say you find yourself feeling like there are a million things that you could improve on. You can acknowledge that there are many things you could do better.
But, put most of them to the side. Instead, focus on one or two things that may give you the biggest bang for your buck. This might be focussing on your rhythm.
So there is a balance between seeking feedback, but not seeking too much feedback.
This could be why your dancing looks bad.
Understanding any cycles in place:
Sometimes, the reason why your dancing looks bad, is you are stuck in a cycle. These cycles can take numerous forms.
In this section, we cover what cycles you might find yourself in, which include:
- Opportunities for dance are low
- Being demoralized with initial practice
- Substance abuse (alcohol/drugs)
- Knowing the difference between looking bad and feeling bad
Opportunities for dancing are low:
Dancing as you become an adult can be difficult.
The reason is that dancing opportunities become scarcer.
In your late teens and early/mid-twenties, your single friends will go out to clubs and dance regularly. Generally to meet people of the opposite gender.
However, as you approach your thirties and beyond something happens. Many of your friends will find a partner and begin to focus on family life/home life.
As a result, they will also focus on an increasingly stressful/important work life.
They do this to pay for their nice home/nice holidays for the family. I also believe that there is a certain amount of ‘keeping up with the neighbor’s mentality. When we become adults we want to have a good answer to the age-old question of ‘what do you do for a living’.
We also want to keep up with our peers and their jobs. And the fear of not measuring up to our age is very real.
The sad reality is that, at least in western culture, is that many adults only dance on rare occasions.
So, this makes it hard for those that want to improve their dancing. For how can you practice when the opportunities to practice in public are low?
So, have an honest look at how often you and your friends go dancing.
This can be a factor in why your dancing looks bad.
Realize a dance floor doesn’t need to be glamorous:
Sometimes when we don’t dance often, we place dancing on a pedestal.
What we mean by this is that we think that to dance, we need a special occasion. Or at least a glamorous club or an audience cheering us on.
But this is incorrect.
You can dance in your kitchen, lounge room, bedroom, or even bathroom. You could dance in your garage.
Now, of course, it’s much nicer to have a glamorous club and so forth to dance in. But, we shouldn’t let the absence of such circumstances stop us from dancing.
So whilst you could think cyclically: my dancing looks bad because I don’t get any invites to glamorous events.
A better way of thinking is to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Next time you’re in the kitchen, play a song you love. Have a little bounce and get some swag into your step.
Or set your bedroom up to be a mini dance floor.
Dancing comes from within, not from without.
Accept that dance takes practice, like anything:
Another type of cycle is being disheartened when you first start practicing dance.
Now, of course, you will likely not be good initially. But that’s the case with everything.
The key is CONSISTENCY. With some effort, focus and consistency, it is inevitable that you will get better.
How many people have you heard say ‘I can’t dance’. It’s such a common statement, isn’t it!
What they really should say is ‘I lack the discipline, effort, and priority to consistently practice dancing’. Whilst harsh, most of the time this is true.
Noticed we used the word ‘discipline’ as opposed to ‘motivation’. This was done on purpose. For motivation comes and goes, discipline is much more reliable.
Also, note we used the word ‘priority’. Many people will say ‘I don’t have time to practice dancing’.
This is incorrect. We make time for things that are important to us. Simple as that.
So, having no consistency in your dance practice could be why your dancing looks bad.
Do you binge drink in order to dance?:
Let’s say you find yourself drinking to excess to find the courage to get on a dance floor. This could be why your dancing looks bad.
For whilst you found the courage to be on a dance floor, your body and mind are no longer capable. Even though you feel capable.
So you may think you are dancing well and oozing confidence. But to onlookers, all they see is a messy individual who has no control over themselves. Harsh, but relatively true.
So, the next time you feel like ordering your third drink, stop yourself. You shouldn’t need to be drunk to dance.
Instead of putting your effort into drinking, put your effort into practicing dance in private.
Drinking to dance is a short-term, expensive, harmful habit. Practicing dance is a long-term, benefit-inducing, good habit.
Note the difference between looking bad at dance and being actually bad at dance:
It is a good idea to identify if it is just how you LOOK dancing which is the issue. Or if it is actually your SKILL in dancing that is the issue.
If you don’t fully identify the cause of the problem, you will only ever deal with the symptoms of the problem. Not the problem itself.
So when you ask yourself, why does my dancing look bad, is it just the look which is the issue?
Or is it perhaps your dancing more broadly which is the culprit?
This calls for some honesty, and it can be painful to look at one’s weaknesses. However, in such cases don’t be overzealous in your critique of yourself, nor be ignorant. Balance and a rational mind are key.
But, if there are deeper issues such as poor coordination etc, then it’s no shame to admit it.
Alternatively, it might just be a small tweak in your camera setup which makes your dancing look as it should.
Either way, there is good news. Once you have identified the cause of why your dancing looks bad, you can work on fixing it.