So, as mentioned in the article How To Become A Good Dancer: The complete guide people need if you have started to feel some confidence growing in your dancing ability, that’s great! However, how do you transition from private dance practice to the sometimes intimidating world of public dancing whether it be at a club, wedding, party or housewarming, etc? This is a common area where potentially great dancing and dancers can come unstuck and lose that dancing confidence that is so coveted. This article will explain some real observations gained from hard-won experiences.
Transitioning from dancing in private to dancing in public will require the right environment and some courage. The right environment includes correct people, time of day, lead-in time, clothing and shoe factors, and warming up with correct song choices.
This is something no one ever really talks about, but it should be talked about because it is a real factor in dancing well and dancing with authenticity, and those two are linked.
Read on for detailed explanations of what is meant by the above.
Correct people:
This area covers two aspects of people:
- One is the immediate people you might be with on a night out.
- Two is the size and type of crowd on a dancefloor.
The immediate people in your group play a decent role in contributing to a good dance environment. Have you ever been in a group that feels very judge-y or mean? Or perhaps you may not know the group very well and as a result, sometimes there’s a possibility of the group not including one another or looking out for one another?
These aspects are important to take into account ideally before committing to dancing, or at the very least being aware of them whilst dancing, that way you won’t be surprised if they play a part in how motivated you feel to dance. The worst thing that I have noticed is when people lack this awareness and commit to dancing even when they are with people who are highly unsupportive and as a result, the dancer might feel negative and perhaps even blame dancing for their negative feeling. When in fact it is the people they are with who have played a part in their negative feeling.
The size and type of crowd on a dance floor are important to take into account when dancing in public. Is the dancefloor heavily crowded? Is there even room to move on the dancefloor? Is there a number of heavily drunk people on the dancefloor who are more than likely going to bump into you and disturb your dance flow? Being aware of these factors will again mean you won’t be unprepared mentally for some of these difficulties when dancing in public.
The one point here, which many people avoid, is that they will only feel comfortable dancing in public when the dance floor is packed. DON’T BE ONE OF THESE PEOPLE! Sure you might not want to be the first person on the dance floor for obvious reasons, but look at it this way, the fewer people on the dancefloor will mean more room for you to dance without restrictions. See it as an opportunity to show the world your dance skills. This is your time to shine but do it humbly and with a genuine love of the music that is on.
Correct time of day:
The time of day plays a role in when good dancers feel like dancing. Some people don’t mind this, but others do. So what is the best time for dancing? It’s a great question. Generally, the best time is usually at night. Whilst you can dance during the day, the dance ‘feeling’ comes more naturally when the sun has fallen. The reason for this is that dancing is best when feelings/emotions/thoughts have had time to mature or grow, after they have matured/grown they are released through dance. Early on in the day these feelings/emotions/thoughts are still in their infant stages.
The amount of natural light also plays a role in how self-conscious we feel. This is one of the reasons that mood lighting usually has a relaxation effect. At night time, mood lighting is more prevalent. And, when people are relaxed they are often better dancers!
However, that being said, good dancers have also been inspired to dance first thing in the morning when they have just been excited for the day ahead. So sometimes dance inspiration strikes at odd times, but generally speaking, most good dancers dance in the evening.
Correct lead in time:
Remember that dance is best when it is releasing matured feelings or thoughts, aka when you’ve had thought or a feeling, it has grown, you then release it through dance. Whilst the time of day plays a part in this, as mentioned above, what also plays a part is a bit of ‘lead in time’ when you are in a dance environment.
What is meant by this? When you get to a club, or housewarming or wedding, good dancers usually like to just soak up the scene and get used to the environment they find themselves in. They don’t need to spend hours soaking up the scene, but 15-30min can help them suss out what kind of music is being played, do they like said music, and become somewhat familiar with the club/wedding venue/house. Generally, when people are familiar with environments it is easier to relax in them. And, as per above, when people are relaxed, the possibility of good dancing increases.
Clothes and shoe factors:
The clothes and shoes you will be wearing when you are having a night out on the town are quite possibly different from the clothes and shoes you will have worn whilst practicing in private. This can have an effect on how you feel when dancing in public. Good dancers may be affected based on the clothes and shoes they wear. For example:
When dancers dance in private, they might be wearing:
- Lightweight sport shorts which have great flexibility built into them.
- Lightweight, flexible, well-fitting comfortable running shoes.
- No shirt.
When dancers dance in public, they might be wearing:
- Low riding, inflexible denim jeans with a dropped crotch.
- Loose-fitting, heavy, vans.
- A tight-fitting t-shrit.
As you can see, in private they might be wearing very athletically optimized clothing and footwear which means their dancing will be less restricted. In a public setting, they are usually wearing clothes and shoes which are not generally athletically focussed and so their dancing may be more restricted in public.
The key here is to be aware of this factor when dancing in public and to not be surprised when it might be more difficult to dance or feel more awkward when dancing in public due to clothing and footwear factors.
Warming up with slow songs:
Usually, when good dancers feel like dancing in public, they don’t want to jump straight into an upbeat fast song, usually, they will want to start off with a bit more of a chilled song and then work their way up to a faster intense song.
The reason for this is that dancing is an athletic pursuit, and what do athletic pursuits usually require? A WARMUP. Many people forget this when dancing in public, and they just jump straight into an intense song and as a result, their muscles aren’t warmed up, their joints stiff, and as a result, their dancing is awkward and they end up feeling bad about dancing in general.
You shouldn’t go to a corner and start doing star-jumps and push-ups of course. However, what you should do is to use a slower beat song to ease into dancing and get your body primed for good athletic dancing.
So next time you’re about to hit a dancefloor in public, just be aware of what kind of song is playing. If it’s a slower song with easy-to-hit beats then chances are you will have an easier time of looking and feeling good when you first get on the dancefloor.