Do you enjoy watching dance competitions but can’t always make it to the venue? I just found out about a new website: Starstreamers.com. They broadcasts dance competitions pay-per view style. Now you can watch some of the biggest dance competitions at home on your computer. The only requirement is a decent internet connection!
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Inspirational Dance Articles
The Athleticism Of Dancing
Dancing is as physically demanding as some of the most mainstream sports out there. Here is a video that proves that this is so. Professional “Dancing With The Stars” duo, Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo were motion captured to observe the strength, speed and flexibility they exude when dancing. A few key points from the video: A professional dancer doing Jive can reach foot speeds of 15MPH. A professional dancer spins at 180 RPM – Which is 4 times the speed of a record player spinning. I found out that the average tennis serve speed is of 175 RPM. Alright! We got 5 RPM on those tennis players! After watching the video, do you still have any doubts about the athleticism dancing requires?
How To Become A Better Dancer: 5 Tips
So you want to know how to become a better dancer?
Here are 5 important tips that will help you improve as a dancer fast:
1. Take Lessons Consistently (You’re not special)
Some people think that they can get good without ever taking any dance lessons…
This is a mistake. Think about everything else you ever learned in your life, did you just wing it? No, you probably took lessons to become good at it. The same goes with dancing. You can take lessons in person or online. For in-person lessons you can do group classes or private lessons. For online lessons you can learn from videos. Check out our online Ballroom dance videos here.
Furthermore, it is important to take the time to find the right dance teacher for your goals, because some are definitely more qualified than others. My recommendation is try out a lesson with several teachers before committing to one specific dance instructor. Read our article on what makes a good dance teacher.
2. Practice Daily At Home/Studio
One of the most important habits you need to adopt is daily consistent practice. No matter how naturally good you are, you need to practice if you want to become a better dancer. Many people assume that just because they take lessons, they don’t need to practice. This could not be further from the truth. It is precisely because you take dance lessons, you need to practice even more to make sure you retain everything you’ve been learning.
Becoming a better dancer requires muscle memory. And muscle memory requires a lot of repetition through practice. So don’t overthink it – simply make some room in your living room, get a mirror and practice the things you worked on at your last lesson/class. Check out our practice guide for Ballroom dancers.
3. Have A Goal
One of the fastest ways to improve your dancing is simply to have a goal to work towards. The goal can be a performance at your studio’s showcase or party. It can also be a dance competition. Even if you don’t want to perform you can still come up with a social dance goal such as “be able to dance comfortably at next month’s party”. Be creative with it as there is no wrong or right goals. The most important thing is to have one and to have a future date that you’re working towards. This will keep you motivated with your daily practice!
4. Feel your body
After you’ve learned the mechanics of the steps and routines, you need to make sure that you let your body “Feel” the movements so that all the steps and styling can really sink in to your muscle memory. You don’t want to be stuck in your head when you’re practicing or taking lessons, you need to be in “your body” to retain the dance moves, and progress faster.
After you got it pretty good, just put on the music and try to feel your body going with the music… This will also add enjoyment to your dancing.
5. Keep yourself inspired
It is critical to work on staying inspired and motivated with your getting better in dancing goal. Life gets in the way, so some days you will be more inspired than others… The key is to figure out some specific triggers that can energize you quickly to get back in the groove, whenever you’re not feeling it.
For example, let’s say you don’t feel like going to your dance practice today. What you can do is watch some videos of your favorite dancers performing your favorite choreography on youtube!
That should get you back on track fast.
Watch Video – 5 Tips For Improving As A Dancer:
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
By: Leon Turetsky
Professional dance instructor
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More Dance Articles & Tips
Types of ballroom dances
Styles of Latin Dances
Why Do You Dance? It seems you’re lost in music By Peter Lovatt, PhD
I came across a great article written by Dr. Peter Lovatt who is a Psychologist and a professional dancer. Dr. Lovatt spends most of his time researching human nature and how it relates to dance. In this article he explores the reasons to why people dance. I often ask myself this very same question: Why do I dance? And why do people dance in general? There are many reasons and for me I realized that I love to dance because of the FREEDOM. READ THE REST
Inspiration Butt-Kicking (For Dancing)
Have you ever gone through a month of intense reluctance to attend your dancing lessons? You just did not feel like going. You have not gone social dancing for a while, and you were losing the excitement you once had for learning how to dance. Something that used to keep you up late at night is not all that it used to be. That is perhaps when inspiration needs a little butt-kicking! CONTINUE READING
Danny’s Awesome Social Salsa Dancing Video
This dance video should remind everyone why they started dancing in the first place– to have fun! Danny (No, I don’t personally know him) and his partner are having so much fun together that it seems as though they are about to crack up at any given second. In addition, their dancing here is pure lead and follow. Notice how they are not thinking about anything, they are FEELING each others’ movement and interpreting the music. This is the way dancing was always meant to be. I challenge you to go out dancing next time and have as much fun as these two. Enjoy!
Results Not Going Your Way?-Dance For The Following Reasons Instead!
The subjectivity of Dancesport competitions can cause the results to vary greatly. As a dancer, you can only control how you dance. The resulting placement is in the judges’ hands. Therefore, being attached to results is quite futile and may lead the dancer to feel drained and frustrated.
It may even make him/her question whether or not to continue dancing at all. For instance, doing well in one competition makes you feel ecstatic. However, at the next competition you do not make the finals and you cannot help feeling miserable. Your emotions swing from one extreme to the next, leaving you feeling unfulfilled and disappointed. CONTINUE READING