One of the questions I get is “how often/much should I practice?”
Of course the more you practice the better dancer you will become. In this video I reveal one rule of thumb which will give you a good way to know the amount of practice you should be putting in.
[Transcript]
Hello and welcome to this Passion4Dancing Podcast. Today I want to answer another question that I get often and that is, “How often should I practice my dancing?” Well, the answer is as much as possible. Well! OK.
But let me give you a rule of thumb. OK? Basically if you have one hour of lessons per week, you should practice an equivalent amount on your own on top of that. So basically one hour of lesson equals one hour of practice.
If you have more than a one-hour lesson, let’s say you’re two lessons a week, you should practice two hours on top of that. So they basically should be equal. Yes? I see so many people out there that only take lessons or classes but they never practice. Yeah. And the people that really get ahead and really improve fast are the ones who also practice because it’s in the practice where you really retain all the information.
Lessons are great for getting information, getting knowledge, right? In getting inspiration. But at some point, you also need to put it into your body, right? Otherwise, you will end up repeating a lot of the information in your lessons again. Yeah? You will get the same thing over and over because you won’t be able to move ahead because the teacher will see you haven’t really quite mastered what you did last time. So I definitely recommend that for every single lesson that you do, whatever or how much time it is, you also practice on top of that an equivalent amount of time at least. Yes?
That will really help you progress much faster than someone who doesn’t do that. So how often do you practice? Leave a comment below.
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I love ballroom . I take 2 lessons a week that are 40 minutes and most weeks I don’t pratice outside my lessons. I have been taking lessons for 5 years and have not progressed as much as I would like. My grandson on the other hand takes one private lesson a week and pratice 2 to 3 hours 4 times a week and is progressing fast. You are correct with your recommendation . This is going to be my new goal to pratice at least 80 minutes outside of class. Thanks for the information.😊 By the way I love getting your emails! Great information.
Hi Pam,
I’m glad you saw someone who is actually taking less lessons but is improving faster because they practice on top of it. That is exactly the right formula.
I only take one lesson every other week as well as ‘partner’ a gentleman at his weekly lesson. I also go dancing 3 to 4 nights a week. One or two of these nights are with my ‘partner’. I feel that I have improved tremendously. My biggest problems are my arthritis. sciatica and balance. I just work through the stiffness and discomfort and manage to be quite agile by the end of the evening. I just had my 82nd Birthday last month. My partner is in his mid 50’s. We do a lot of Latin and Swing.
I love your videos, you teach ‘Exactly’ the same as my instructor. This is extremely helpful. I hope to continue my membership.
Nice to hear Patrcia. Yes those extra 3 to 4 nights of dancing must be very helpful.
Just to check, does this include group sessions?
I have 1 30 min lesson a week, but 4 1 hour group sessions, plus 2 hours of social, plus an additional 3 hours of dance fit classes per week, summing to an average of 8 hours of dancing a week. That is just with people, by my self, i would practice at least 25 – 30 minutes before a class, and every 3rd day during lunch time.
Is it healthy to dance this much?
Thanks for all the videos, you are fantastic.
Looks like you are dancing a good amount Heinrich! I think group classes help, however you should also make time to practice specifically what you’re learning at your private lessons.