Have you ever struggled with dance? Have you wanted to be just a little bit better at dancing? Do you tire of people making fun of you when you get on a dancefloor? Do you feel defeated at not knowing how to get better at dance?
If the answer is yes, you are not alone.
However, you don’t want to know that you’re not alone, you want to improve.
This article contains the answer to your question. In 12 pragmatic steps, our principal author Jake takes you through how exactly to be better at dance.
Jake’s experience covers 20 years of dancing in the majority of scenarios and styles. Furthermore, he has experienced what it’s like to feel nervous or awkward when dancing. A good teacher must know what his students are experiencing, and also know what it takes to be better. Jake possesses both.
As a general rule, getting better at dance requires:
- An understanding of how dance works
- Identifying your dance weaknesses
- Knowledge of how to improve
- Having the discipline and inspiration to consistently practice
Now, a short answer will give you a summary, but a long answer will make you fully understand. This is why we encourage you to keep reading and start the process of getting better at dance.
How dance should work:
To first know how to get better at dance, it is useful to understand how dance works.
The reason we say this is that sometimes we dancers get a bit ahead of ourselves.
We start thinking of choreography, or who we want to impress, or perhaps what could go wrong. None of which is the best thing to think of when dancing.
Understanding natural dancing can be done as follows:
- LISTEN to the music. Really listen. Not in a critical thinking way, but in a let it seep into your soul way. Become STILL, so you can be more receptive to it.
- What kind of story is the music telling you? Is it a sad, happy, angry, ecstatic, bitter, or melancholy story?
- Can you relate to this story? Does it make you feel something?
- Use THAT feeling and story to INFORM your dance moves.
When you do this, you need no teacher or steps, for the music is instructing you.
What part of dance do you struggle with?
Identifying what you struggle with in dancing is very useful. The reason for this is that there are many different aspects to dancing.
There is choreography vs freestyle, hands vs hips, rhythm vs emotional connection. There’s a lot going on!
So, have a think to see if you can identify what it is that you especially struggle with. Is there something obvious that you just can’t seem to master?
Identifying the problem is a great place to start when trying to fix something. This principle applies to getting better at dance as well.
How to practice dance consistently:
Many people will know that they need to practice or study something to get better.
They know this.
However, many people also struggle with being disciplined enough to actually study or practice something CONSISTENTLY.
And, you guessed it, consistency is key. Consume any number of books, articles, or videos on any type of success and they will all mention consistency. This is often what separates those that succeed, and those that don’t. For it’s hard to fake consistency over months or years.
As they say, the fun is in the conception, but the rearing is the hard part.
The same principle applies to dancing.
We discuss two ways to go about this: Habits and visual persuasion.
Habits: Applying them to dancing:
What you need is a system in place which doesn’t rely on you being motivated. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline and habits are constant.
“Habits are greater than motivation, for motivation comes and goes.”
‘The Brave Athlete’ by Simon Marshall
This is discussed in the book ‘The Brave Athlete’ by Simon Marshall. Marshall is an elite sports psychologist who regularly trains athletes to be their best psychologically.
What he recommends to actually do the repetitive work required is to set up a habit-based system.
A habit-based system is reliant on triggers to get you started on a task. For example, this could be a bag at the door which will trigger you to get to a gym workout. Or running shoes next to your bed to trigger you to go for that run.
The key is to force yourself to do this for at least 2 months so the habit can be ingrained in your psyche.
Another key tip in habit formation is to reward yourself after completing the task. This reinforces the habit and makes the trigger more appealing.
Remember habits>motivation.
Visual Persuasion: What is it?
Visual persuasion is a fancy word for using a calendar to build momentum.
Jerry Seinfeld has said that to rehearse, he would use a calendar to check off days that he practiced his lines.
Pretty soon he would have a line of days that formed a chain. This meant in his mind, he didn’t want to miss a day because he would break his chain of discipline. Then he would have to start the chain all over again.
This principle is very useful for consistency.
The key is to put the calendar somewhere visible. In this way, you are regularly reminded of how you are going.
Pretty soon the momentum and pride you create outweigh any laziness you might feel.
How to get better at rhythm:
Rhythm is a nemesis for many people trying to get better at dance. What is this concept and how do you gain it?
Whilst rhythm can be complex, it can also be simple. Let’s focus on the simple approach.
Some key steps in dancing with rhythm are as follows:
- Identify an instrument in the song which is regular/constant. This can be your beat.
- Now move a body part to that instrument. This could be as simple as nodding your head, or a sway of your hips, or shrug of your shoulders.
“Think of rhythm as having a certain amount of time to complete a movement. The movement can be anything that has a start and a finish. The time allowed is the amount of time between your chosen regular instrument sound in a song.”
NTOC 2022
Get your body used to completing movements in a rhythmic way. This is the key and the essence of rhythm!
Inspiration: A key to dancing:
Inspiration is very key to dancing well and with enjoyment. Think of inspiration as a precursor to emotion. And emotion is what dancing is.
Even for myself, despite having years of experience, if I am not feeling it, I will dance half as well as I can.
Now, I did mention before that discipline is greater than motivation, and it’s true. But once you start your dance session, that is where you need to feel inspired by something.
Sometimes we need a bit of help to into our dance zone. Have no fear, we outline several useful tips below.
Emotional highs and lows:
This is a key one. Capture your emotional highs and lows.
Observe yourself and notice how some days there will be events that make you feel great. Other times there are events that make you feel not so great.
Either way, use these emotional highs and lows to generate some emotion in your dancing.
We discuss this in detail in part 9 of our article How To Become A Good Dancer: The complete guide people need.
Triggers in general:
Have you ever noticed how something might trigger you to want to do an activity?
It might be watching a snowboard trick video makes you want to do snowboarding.
Or talking with a friend about training for a marathon makes you want to do it yourself.
And with dancing, it might be listening to a new song that hits you in all the right spots.
So try and find out what triggers you to want to dance.
If you don’t have any triggers yet, that’s okay, just be open to the concept. And also be on the lookout for such triggers in the future.
Watching other people dance:
Watching other people dance gives real enjoyment and inspiration. It’s why we have whole tv shows about dancing such as ‘Dancing with the stars’.
There is something powerful about watching someone bring to life a special song.
So, this can be a good way of getting inspired. Watch a few music videos. We have the luxury of Youtube and other apps which make such viewing very easy.
To get you started, take a look at the following channels/videos for inspiration:
- Millennium Dance Complex: Youtube Channel
- Love Never Felt So Good: Justin Timberlake Music Video
- Mi Gente Choreography: Matt Steffanina
For me, the above videos and channels are inspiring because they use music that I love. And so seeing the music take on a new life via other dancers is inspiring for me.
So see if you can find music videos that have dancing AND that use music that YOU like.
Having the right environment:
Whilst having the right environment is practical, it also serves as a point of inspiration.
Have you ever been in places that just make you want to do a certain activity?
For example, for a rugby player, it might be a perfectly manicured grass field or new boots. For a boxer, it might be a well-padded boxing bag and the smell of worn boxing gloves.
In dancing, it is a place where you feel free to move as you please. We have actually written an article that addresses this fully. It can be viewed under parts 1-6 in How To Become A Good Dancer: The complete guide people need.
Keeping things fresh:
Keeping your mindset fresh in dancing is important as it serves as an inspiring factor.
If you are jaded, whether it be with life or your dance environment, you likely won’t want to dance.
So how do we keep things fresh?
Well, you can change the time of day you practice your dancing. If you always practice at a certain time, change it up. See how you feel.
Another trick you can do is change where your mirror sits. If you always face a particular wall, change up the wall. Or even switch rooms.
And finally, try new music. This can be a great source of inspiration and keeps things fresh.
So when you hear a new beat, save it for when you have time to dance. In this way, you can fully appreciate it and generate some great dancing. Otherwise, if you wait until you have listened to that song 100 times, it starts to lose its freshness.
Having enough energy:
Finally, be aware of how much energy you have. This is part of being ABLE to be inspired.
If you’re really tired from work or life, it will be hard to dance. Whereas if your fresh and energized dancing comes easier.
The difference between choreographed moves vs freestyle moves:
Choreographed movement is different to freestyle movement. As such, getting better at dance has different challenges depending on which movement you want to get better at.
Let’s break this down.
Choreographed dancing relies heavily on mind memory. The usual scenario is that you go to a class and learn a routine for 1 hour. This is you using your mind memory of movements learned in the past hour. The movements are pre-planned and structured by the teacher.
Freestyle dancing relies heavily on muscle memory. The usual scenario is that you hear a song, feel moved by that song, and dance creatively to it. This is you using your muscle memory of dance movements learned over a long time period. The movements are what feel natural to you and are unscripted.
We discuss ways to get better at mind memory and muscle memory below.
Muscle memory: The engine of freestyle dancing:
When thinking about how to get better at dance moves, it’s crucial to think about muscle memory. Especially if freestyle dancing is what you are looking to improve.
We have spoken of it before on this website, but it is so crucial we speak of it again.
Think of any innate activity that you do, that was initially hard, and now is automatic.
Activities such as walking, driving a car, tennis, or even handwriting.
Close your eyes and picture how difficult these activities were initially. They were hard right!
Yet with regular practice, you learned to do them perfectly. Most importantly, you learned to do them AUTOMATICALLY.
If you want to be reminded of how useful this automation is, try the activities mentioned above but switch sides. For example, try writing with your left hand. Unless you’re ambidextrous, it’s very difficult, isn’t it!
“Muscle memory takes a complex and subtle set of movements, which our conscious mind is incapable of processing in a timely manner, and performs them seamlessly.”
NTOC 2022
The key to muscle memory is, you guessed it, practice. It’s why athletes of all sorts drill movements.
We wrote an article covering this in-depth as it’s such a key topic for freestyle dancing. It can be viewed here Basic Dance Moves: How to do them naturally.
Mind memory: The engine of choreographed dancing:
Choreographed dancing. The traditional way of learning dance.
If you go to any dance class, there will be a heavy requirement to use your mind’s memory to learn a dance.
If muscle memory is automatic, mind memory is the opposite. It is manual.
So how can you get better at mind memory?
Well, there are several techniques including using auditory, visual, and physical cues.
Auditory memory cues:
When trying to learn a choreographed dance, the music itself can be used as a memory jog.
For example, let’s say a song plays a certain instrument at a certain time. In your mind, you can associate that instrument with a certain dance move.
Then, when that instrument plays in the song, it can remind you of the movement you need to do.
Visual memory cues:
Visual cues can be used to trigger a memory of a dance move.
For example, let’s say you assign an image to a dance move.
The best images to use are those that are in your long-term memory. For example, an image of your childhood kitchen. There have been studies that show that using very familiar images prompts more accurate memory storage.
You can also use a visual timeline using such a system. For example, let’s say in your mind, you are in your childhood kitchen. You open a cupboard and find the first dance move. You then move to the sink and find the second dance move, etc.
Alternatively, instead of assigning individual dance moves, use dance segments. So you might break a dance down into 5 segments, each containing 3 moves. You might then assign long-term visual cues to these 5 segments.
This is called memory stacking in that it stacks context and gives color and shape to your memorized item. Thereby making it easier to remember.
Physical memory cues:
You can use physical cues to prompt your memory of dance moves.
What we mean by physical cues is cues through movement. So you can assign a memory of a dance move to a certain preceding movement.
For example, let’s say you lift your right knee. That can prompt you to remember that the next movement is ‘insert next dance movement’.
The key here is to use a preceding movement to remember the next movement.
Active recall:
A good tip to round this section off is to use active recall.
What we mean is to actively practice recalling dance movements from your memory in class.
Try not to always watch the teacher or other students. Try and go inside your head and see if you can find your memory of which dance moves come next.
Dance lessons: Do you really need them?
Do you need dance lessons to get better at dance? There are some differing opinions on this topic. It also depends on what you want to get better at.
Let’s explore.
If freestyle dance moves are what you want to get better at, then dance classes will rarely help. The reason is that classes are teaching you how to copy moves, not create your own moves. And freestyling is all about creating your own moves.
It’s like someone holding the steering wheel as you drive a car, as opposed to letting you steer the wheel yourself. There’s a huge difference!
But, if you want to get better at choreographed dancing, then classes are the logical choice.
Dance teachers: The good, the bad, and the ugly:
Be aware that when wanting to get better at dance, not all teachers are created equally.
I hate to say it, but some dance teachers are not great dancers. Unfortunately, studios are businesses and businesses need staff. More frequently than is expected, the need for staff outweighs the need for quality.
If there’s one thing that can hamper getting better at dance moves, is having a bad teacher.
The key here is to know when a teacher is not great. You do this by expanding your awareness of what a good dancer looks like.
So, watch dance videos, go to different dance schools, and ask around.
Perhaps more importantly, have an honest appraisal of your dance teacher. When they dance, do they look fly? Do they have rhythm?
Or are they all confidence and superiority with no real skill?
Another issue is that some dance teachers are not great ‘teachers’ even if they are good dancers. So ask yourself, is this teacher able to break down what they are doing? Are they patient? Or is it just a big rush that leaves you scrambling to make sense of what is going on?
Identify your dance goals:
Identifying goals is very important when trying to get better at anything. It provides focus and allows the task to be more manageable.
The same principle applies to becoming better at dance.
We discuss two techniques for goal effectiveness below called chunking and goal ambition.
Chunking:
If you want to get better at something, a key is to have a goal. And to break this large goal into smaller goals
It is well documented that breaking down a large task into smaller chunks can be beneficial.
For example, let’s say a person wants to have 1 million dollars. That is a large task and can be daunting. But what if that person broke that 1 million dollars into 5 $200000 chunks? Then he/she could focus on the first $200000 which is more manageable.
The same goes for dancing. Learning to dance well is a large task. Particularly if you are starting from scratch.
So break the goal down into smaller chunks. A smaller chunk goal might be being able to step to a rhythm or use your hands naturally.
Goal ambition:
Another part of chunking is how ambitious your goal is.
For example, do you want to be the sexiest person on the dancefloor? Do you just want to be able to blend into a dancefloor? Perhaps you want to be a semi-professional dancer at some point?
The key is to set your goal boundaries, don’t leave it open-ended if you can help it!
The reason for this is that you can’t chunk your goal if you don’t know how big it is. It also keeps you focused.
Creating a dance character:
Your dance character can play a role in getting better at dance.
What is a dance character?
A dance character is a certain vibe or person you might become when you dance.
It’s a well-known concept in the athletic space. We talk about this in part 3 of How To Dance As A Man: The complete guide men need.
You see dancing is an activity that is so different from everyday life. It can be useful to create a persona that embodies that activity. That persona then becomes a beacon to take you from everyday life to the extraordinary activity that you seek to do.
For me, it’s a certain big yet relaxed energy. It’s as if I am a hulking yet composed warrior, with a wild yet loving side.
You can choose whatever persona you want.
Another way of thinking of this is to imagine your ideal self at its highest potential. Try and become that person when you dance.
Interestingly in the Ubakala, a tribe in Nigeria, movement patterns reflect a person’s identity.
Just try not to over-engineer it. Use a little imagination to get into a mental dance zone.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, there are a variety of techniques to get better at dance.
Which technique is useful to you depends on what you need to improve.
We would advise being cautious of ‘get better fast’ tactics. Dancing is like making wealth, it is rarely something you can improve rapidly due to its complexity and depth.
And even if you do fake it, you won’t enjoy it.
Also, keep in mind that the coveted ‘confident dance moves’ are the SUM of a combination of factors. Not ONE factor in of itself.
It’s like wearing a suit. If you wear a collared shirt by itself, it looks okay but nothing special. If you wear suit trousers by themselves, it looks okay but again nothing too special.
BUT, if you wear a collared shirt, suit trousers, a tie, pocket square, fancy shoes, and a blazer, you will look sharp!
The sum of the parts is greater than any individual part.
Another thing to keep in mind is that concepts are only as good as the action you take. So read this article, understand it, and now go and put it into practice friends.