Can you learn how to dance on your own

How To teach Yourself To Dance (Ultimate Guide)

Many people love dancing, watching professionals perform smooth moves, and maybe also cheering on friends who can bust a move effortlessly. Dancing is always a wonderful sight to behold. But, it is always a downer when you can’t do those moves like the other guests at a party, especially when the music is just right and all your heart wants to do is get up and hit the dance floor.

Here are the steps you can take to teach yourself how to dance:

Get in shape.
Pick a style of dance you’re interested in.
Follow up with some background research.
Choose a learning tool.
Schedule your practice time.
Stretch and warm-up.
Observe and start mirroring the moves.

Your inability to dance could be because you never had anyone to teach you or because you live in a place where there are no dance studios, classes, or communities. Regardless, in today’s digital world, you can learn any skill online in no time. And by making use of your phone, mustering determination, and putting in the work, you could be moonwalking in no time.

1. Get In Shape

First and foremost, you need to understand that dancing is an activity that requires movement from every part of your body, your hands, legs, neck, back, head, stomach, and even your toes.

So before you begin any dance lessons, you need to get your body ready and in sync doing several types of exercises. But don’t worry, dancing is a fun activity, so don’t put too much pressure and thought into it.

Just stick with basic exercises that will loosen up your muscles and strengthen your core, which means warm-ups before every lesson is a must. Some basic stretching, sit-ups, planks, and crunches will go a long way to get you in the right shape to tackle those moves.

Picking a fitness app or plan will help you build stamina and boost your morale during the learning process because you’ll be more inclined to continue dancing if you’re in the right shape for it.

Also, you’ll want to get your nutrition plan under control, as what you eat is just as important as what you do to get in shape. Choose proteins, lower-carb veggies, and some fruits for most of your meals. This is a sure way to get the nutrients you need for better health and performance.

2. Pick A Style of Dance You’re Interested In

When you ask most beginners what dance style they would like to learn, a lot of them say, “I just want to learn how to dance.”

This answer is so generic that it doesn’t help your journey to dance at all. It’s like a high school student saying they want to go to college and get a job afterward. That doesn’t help them pick a major in college, and the same applies to novice dancers.

Having a particular dance style or at least a couple of styles can help you figure out how your lessons will go. Different dance styles have different learning patterns, so narrowing your range of interest is important.

There are many different dance styles, including hip-hop, ballet, jazz, salsa, ballroom, contemporary, and much more. Looking at dance manuals, watching your favorite dance shows, or even watching your favorite dancer perform can help you understand which styles interest you the most.

Maybe you have a thing for old-school hip-hop dances, or you’re more of an energetic, competitive dance lover.

The key is to explore every possible option.

3. Follow Up With Some Background Research

After you’ve successfully narrowed down the dance style you wish to learn, it’s time to do some research on it. You might be wondering why you have to research a dance style when you are about to learn it, but knowledge of something you wish to learn and possibly master never hurt anyone.

You need to know a little about the origins of the dance and how it has evolved over the years. Don’t worry; it is almost a guarantee that it would be an exciting, eye-opening experience as it will give you a better understanding of how and why certain moves are done the way they are.

In a nutshell, be sure to read up on some basic techniques for beginners and nail the moves better quickly.

4. Choose A Learning Tool

Choosing a learning tool is not rocket science as there are several free and paid resources to learn dancing from. Learning online is one of the easiest and most common ways of learning any new skill or activity, and picking one shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.

Some of the best learning tools include free YouTube videos and come in different durations and forms. There’s also Vimeo, and while this is a paid platform and requires a subscription, it features some of the best compilation of tutorial videos for beginners on different kinds of dance styles.

Amazon is also another platform with many tutorial materials for sale that you could purchase and learn with. There are other sources of learning materials that you could check out and pick which best suits you.

One way is to use Google or go straight to YouTube and search for videos of your preferred dance style for instructional videos on beginner-level lessons. After getting a few videos that resonate with you and your intended dance style, it’s time to bust some moves.

You can watch this video by Steezy to learn some nice dance moves:

5. Schedule Your Practice Time

Remember to schedule your practice times to suit your daily routine and possibly exercise. Dancing is fun and should not be approached like a military drill, but consistency and persistence are crucial to achieving any goal.

If you can, draw up a timetable of when and how long your daily practices would be, remembering to time yourself for as long as is needed to achieve your daily goals.

6. Stretch and Warm-Up

Stretch and warm-up before you start every practice to loosen your muscles and get your body in the right shape to practice.

Some pre-dance warm-up exercises include:

Jog or run in the room for about 2 to 4 minutes to elevate your heart rate and increase blood flow to your extremities.
Lay on your back and stretch out your hamstrings by pulling your knees to touch your chest and returning them to the floor.
Sit on the floor and stretch your legs out. Then try to touch your toes with your fingers. This exercise might be a bit hard for first-timers, but not to worry, constantly doing it will loosen up those leg and calf muscles.

Watch this video by Dancercise on how to do warm-up before dance:

Cooldown and rest up for a few minutes after the warm-up exercises. This step will conserve your energy and restore stamina for when you begin dancing.

7. Observe and Start Mirroring the Moves

Play the video you have picked and observe how the instructor completes each move. Be sure to watch each video at least twice to get acclimated to it before you start mirroring the moves.

Begin to mirror the instructor carefully, performing each step as identical to the instructor as possible. Watch the angles from which the instructor is moving to help you execute those same moves to perfection.

If you’re learning a routine, be sure to break it down into segments before attempting to learn it. Begin from the top of the first set of movements, and when you’ve comfortably mastered it, you can proceed to the next segment.

Practice, practice, practice, repeat, repeat, repeat. Practice makes perfect, and the same is valid for dancing as well.

Why Learning To Dance on Your Own Might Be Beneficial

Right about now, you might be wondering if self-teaching yourself to dance is the right way to go.

Chances are you are already asking yourself, what if you can’t do it as well you would if you paid for dance classes, or what if you slack off with the lessons because “who’s gonna know?”

These questions are all valid points and should be considered before attempting to self-teach yourself dancing, but there are some benefits to learning how to dance on your own. This might be the better option because it comes with many benefits that would suit everyone regardless of who they are or how their schedules may be.

Let’s take a look at these benefits now.

You Learn at Your Pace

Picking up a new hobby and learning it from scratch can be terrifying sometimes, but it can also be fun and liberating. After considering that, it’s easy to see why embarking on the learning process at your own pace is vital for getting the best out of the experience.

Most people who learn to dance through dance classes will probably tell you that however fun and exciting it is to learn with a group of people, it is equally daunting as they all have to share the same dance coach.

The lack of personal attention will leave you on an average learning journey that might not benefit you all that well.

Self-teaching yourself to dance will equip you with the freedom to set your own goals and time limits and enable you to submit to the process without any undue pressures that might disrupt your learning journey.

It Will Help You Blend Dancing Into Your Daily Exercise

Exercise is an essential aspect of our daily routines and should be done regularly to keep us tip-top shape, but how do you manage exercises when you’re not really in control of your schedule?

Some people might like to exercise in the mornings and get on with their day right away, and having to do dance lessons, later on, might be a bit too much.

While self-teaching yourself to dance, you can incorporate your dancing time into your exercise time using the lessons as a form of exercise. You could do both in the mornings and get on with your day or do it whenever you feel convenient for you, giving you complete control over your time.

The Learning Process Can Be Enjoyed as a Hobby

Some people dance as a profession, while others do it as a pastime. Some other people, however, are just born with it. But whatever your intentions are for deciding to learn dancing shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the process.

Self-teaching yourself to dance can be a long journey, and your determination to love the process can make it more enjoyable. Making the dancing lessons a hobby might be the learning curve you need to get the best out of the process.

It Could Be the Motivation You Need To Learn Other Hobbies

Never overestimate the power of learning a new hobby or skill from scratch. The level of will and determination it builds is something that will impact you even after you’ve achieved your goal.

The resilience a self-taught process builds is remarkable as you and you alone are in charge of motivating yourself and pushing through the lessons day after day. It is a fun way to build character while learning some neat moves along the way.

Furthermore, your decision to start learning dancing could help motivate a friend, family member, or spouse to join in as well.

Final Thoughts

Learning a skill or hobby can be quite challenging, and doing so from scratch is even more so. But determination and consistency in your practice will surely yield good results. The suitable materials coupled with the right attitude will go a long way, which is just what you should do.

Practicing every day with the right mindset will have you dancing like a young Michael Jackson in no time, and all the time and effort put into it will be worth it in the end. In all, remember to have fun, and you’ll enjoy every moment of it. Enjoy.

Learn How To Dance At Home With These 4 Tips

Wanna learn how to dance at home?

There are times you get really motivated to become a better dancer. ..

BUT You either live 92736 miles from the nearest studio, classes are not being offered on that day, you have no ride, or you can't afford to pay for a class.

Ugh, buzzkill.

It's not always possible to take a dance class or workshop whenever inspiration strikes. But that doesn't mean you can't dance!

You can get getter at dancing anywhere, anytime... including your own living room. Here are 4 ways to learn dance at home!

1. Practice a piece you've already learned

Ever take a class that was soooo good?

Well, that experience doesn't have to end! You can keep practicing that piece on your own time.

Start by playing the song and marking the piece in your head. Then try it with a light mark.

(You don't need a mirror here, but it does help for cleaning.)

Once you remember how it feels, turn off the song and go over each 8-count in detail.

Try and remember the notes that the choreographer gave that you may have missed because of the pressures of class.

Got it more ingrained in your muscle memory? Cool. Now go full out.

With more leeway on time, you have the luxury of really playing around with the choreography – adding performance, facials, some freestyle, etc.

This is a great way to get better at dancing and hone your strategy in class taking.

Re-learning a piece at your own pace will help you understand how to approach a piece the next time you take a class.

‍Get more ideas on how to keep learning dance at home! How You Should Practice After Learning A Piece

2. Drill fundamental exercises and grooves

Popping, Locking, Waacking, House, etc., – whatever style you want to get better in, the key to improvement is all the same – repetition.

Play a song, and practice the basics. Switch it up every few 8-counts or so.

Combine variations of those basic drills – this is the skeleton to your freestyle! Doing this will not only strengthen your fundamentals, but it's also a practice in mental discipline.

You will strengthen the body parts you engage, getting the grooves into your muscle memory.

Want to drill your Popping fundamentals? Try Boogie Frantick's Popping Program on STEEZY Studio!

‍Boogie also gives tons of practice drills that you can do on your own time, outside of the class. Or, practice Hip Hop Grooves with Bianca Vallar.

This class will definitely get your body loose and comfortable. Bust out these moves in a freestyle circle or at the club!

Carlo Darang from Choreo Cookies, Building Block, and STEEZY Studio talks about grooves here:

3. Stretch and strength train your body

As dancers, our bodies are our most important tools. It's crucial to keep it healthy, strong, and flexible.

Even if you're not actively dancing, you can still become a better dancer by stretching and strength training your body.

Identify a few parts of your body that you'd like to strengthen.

For instance, Do your arms feel floppy when you dance? Are you having problems with balance? Do you want to kick higher or jump further?

Targeting key areas will make you more confident and better able to execute in a way that you envision for yourself.

When you have a better understanding of your body, you get better at dancing with it.

Unsure of where to start? Your core is a great body part to train – a stronger core will mean better balance, control, and strength.

Do crunches, planks, and other ab exercises are easy ways to become a better dancer at home.

‍Try out: 7 Stretches To Help You Dance Better (And Stay Injury-Free!)

When I first started dancing, I'd find pieces on YouTube and try to learn it off of the 240 pixel non-mirrored video.

But now... there's STEEZY Studio.

STEEZY Studio brings dance classes from world-class choreographers straight to your home.

You can review certain sections, skip 15 seconds forward or back, switch quickly from front / back views, and practice in a slow, medium or tempo speed as many times as you need.

You have everything you need to dance at home!

We hope these ideas inspired you to train – with or without a studio.

‍Have other suggestions for training at home? Leave a comment below and share with us!

90,000 12 life hacks, to quickly learn how to dance from Mamita Dance

Dances

Author: Pavel Gather
Psychologist, Lecturer Salsa and Tango

Dances

Author: Pavel Pavel
Psychologist, Lecturer Salsa

on At the start, you always want to get a quick result. When it doesn't happen, the hypothesis arises that everything takes time. After a conditionally acceptable time, humility comes to mastering pair dances, which, perhaps, is not given, and I will just do what I learned somehow.

This is the most common story of those who believe that the mere act of attending a pair dance class is enough to learn how to dance.
Absolutely not. If you want to really dance well, you have to make an effort outside of the dance class. A good teacher will definitely be needed, but the initiative should be on your side.

1. Listen to music

The most common and accessible advice that is given already in the first lessons. And it definitely works. Music creates a certain atmosphere of the dance and intuitively you want to move to it. It doesn't matter where you listen to music - in the car, on headphones while walking or doing household chores.

An addition that will help you dance better is your active participation in the music. Sing along, dance or simply beat musical accents with any free parts of the body. In the subway, for example, it is enough to tap out bright moments with your fingers, in the car to sing along with sounds, and at home you can jump for pleasure.

2. Watch videos of good dancers

It's complicated, but also obvious. It’s more difficult, because without recommendations from more experienced dancers, unfortunately, it’s not so easy to find a good quality video on the net (I mean not the resolution quality, but the content itself).

Meaningful video viewing is about building an understanding of HOW dancers make a particular impression on a partner or viewer. Technology is at the heart of everything. Understanding how the pros do it is a big step forward.

It is important to distinguish a show from a disco dance, a staged performance from an improvisation, a stylized dance from an authentic one, etc. Ask for recommendations and dance teachers will always throw off a couple of videos of worthy landmarks.

Tango Z. Showreel.

Online modern tango courses

Tango nuevo is the most advanced version of tango. We can quickly learn to dance from zero to a steep level.

View details

3. Dance in salsatecas/milongas/discotheques

A very delicate moment when it is worth coming to the first party. From a technical point of view, most students in 1-3 months have a sufficient set of figures and techniques to come and dance calmly. Psychologically, the same moment can be stretched out for an indefinite time. After all, it is imperative to “not lose face”, “learn more figures” and be sure what to do in case “there is an unfamiliar movement”.

In fact, the partygoers don't really care (except for a small layer of non-professional teachers who want to help inexperienced dancers by treating them as customers in the future). It is important to come and try dancing after a month of classes. You can only with friends or guys from your group. This will be enough to feel the adrenaline and inspiration from the dance.

4. Dance with partners or partners not of your level

The conventional wisdom that you need to practice in groups of your level does not withstand the test of experience. Perhaps now your eyes widened in surprise, and you want to meaningfully read the phrase again. Yes, you saw everything correctly: when you dance with a partner of your level, you don’t grow anywhere.

It's important to understand that not only does it work one way and you have to dance with cooler dancers, but it works even more effectively the other way. It is no coincidence that teaching pair dances dramatically raises the level of the teacher himself. You have an endless stream of very beginner dancers.

How it works. A more experienced partner needs to be "stretched". It's easy and obvious. With beginners, you need to take more initiative on yourself, see the general pattern of the dance more widely, turn on and insure more, try to be an example and be more careful. The quality of interaction begins to grow significantly. And wonderful partners too.

Dancing with partners of your level doesn't make you grow. Dance with both beginners and more advanced dancers

Dominican Bachata Women's Style Online Course

Want to learn how to hypnotize those around you with the most appetizing part of your body? On the course we will tell you all the secrets.

Interesting

5. Learn to dance for a partner and for a partner

Turks and Argentines are one of the best partners in the world. In Russia, partners are highly valued. Why? The answer is simple. In Argentina and Turkey, it is not questionable for men to ask another man to lead in one piece or another and give feedback on the quality of the lead. For them, it will be a great shame to hear moralizing from a partner, or even more so to be known in the community as an insecure partner.

In Russia, due to the constant, often far-fetched, opinion that there are more women in pair dances, partners calmly get up and study their partner's part. Such partners then grow into very cool dancers and teachers. In no case do this at parties, only in class. Here we are talking only about the learning strategy. At parties, be yourself.

6. Do not memorize the links

Always try to look deeper and understand the through principle and idea of movement. Understanding what and how is done will make it possible to independently generate any sequences and chips.

Human memory is limited and there will always be a moment when something will escape and your repertoire will be limited by the size of RAM.

In Argentine tango, for example, there are seven levels of movement construction that, when mastered, will allow you to make millions of combinations. And how many dance sequences can you really remember? In rueda, more than 150 figures dance in a rare circle. It's hard to keep more in mind.

7. Develop your body

Many years of experience in teaching couple dance shows that as soon as everyone pairs up in a class, any progress in individual style ends. But it is the individual style that distinguishes everyone at the disco: partners change, and style is always with you.

The body as the main instrument of dance must be very plastic, responsive and emotional. Surprisingly, not all pair dance schools have a general physical warm-up. It is vital to tune the body and understand how it works.

You can always train extra and concentrate more on the basic steps, as their true value is as body work. The sequence of steps is, in fact, the simplest thing that can be in pair dancing. The quality of individual performance determines the craftsmanship.

8. Try on the images of inspiring dancers

A psychological life hack for those who have already mastered the steps, but still feel that there is not enough brightness and drive. Most are terribly afraid of being someone else's "clone". Here the action is the same as under the influence of hypnosis - the more you resist, the more you plunge into an altered state of consciousness.

With a high degree of probability, you are already dancing like someone else's "clone". A meaningful fitting of someone else's image is that you mentally take the image of the one who inspires you (inspiration is critical in this case) and "put on" yourself. Then you start dancing and trying to feel in general how it is to be able, for example, to be the best partner or the sexiest partner in a disco. This is much more difficult than it seems. But it works extremely efficiently.

9. Dance to offbeat music

Habitual rhythms keep you tight. Tango salon or speedy timba leave little room for experimentation and fantasy. Pattern dancing is always noticeable and is reserved for beginners.

The truly new is born outside of the usual. Look for places to experiment. If there is no place, organize self-training. The main thing is not to get carried away, because music determines the style. We bring something new to pair dances, rather than trying to change them.

Search, improvise, don’t be afraid to go beyond, develop in different directions, be inspired by music atypical for the style

10. Try your hand at basic dance directions

dances exist according to their own non-choreographic laws.

This is the deepest delusion, which has turned into a ceiling for the qualitative development of partner dances. After all, all professional dancers, for example, in salsa or bachata, build their ideas on the basic choreographic principles.

Do not think that choreography is only applicable on stage. Any meaningful movement of the body can be choreographic. In general, try classical or modern choreography. Basically, hip-hop can work too.

11. Look for battle sensations

Pair dances return us to an active position of manifestation of our body. As in the days of our ancient ancestors, we impress the members of the opposite sex by how dexterous, hardy, sexy, etc. we are. Modern laws of the jungle in the entourage of large cities.

If you look around the dance floor, it becomes clear that the majority are clearly herbivores (not in the sense of vegetarians, but in relation to those around them). I am sure that predators are always more interesting in terms of the attractiveness of the image - try to find a counterbalance among herbivores, for example, a cat woman or a lion man.

The conversation is about an internal position, not about aggressiveness. Lability and lack of control are inherent in adolescents, and not in adult self-sufficient people.

Accordingly, even a training or friendly battle gives, on the one hand, practical skills - to make a bright sequence of movements, bring an idea to a climax, show a spectacular feature, on the other hand, develops the psychological basis of the dance - self-confidence, resistance to extraneous attention, self-control and self-control in complex elements.

12. Communicate with professionals

The environment shapes the internal position. Basically, real passionaries of the dance community are ready to openly talk, discuss and support the development of dance in every possible way. Universal principles and the ideas they articulate have a much longer and more practical perspective than meets the eye.

Accept that, for example, behind the words "listen to your partner" is not only a beautiful metaphor, but also a practical skill to literally listen to your partner. At the same time, always treat every thought, even the most respected teacher, as a private opinion.

Your skill will lie in finding the scope of the idea even in conflicting opinions. Most often, the contradiction is speculative and the truth lies in the angle of perception or situationality.

Your dancing growth will stop sooner or later. This can happen at the level of three basic steps or years of experience in teaching and show performances. Regardless of your level, the suggested 12 life hacks can get you off the ground and greatly accelerate your dance growth. There is no way here without your motivation and activity. Take your dance development into your own hands. 9Ol000 Dangerous sexuality

Salsa: destroyers of stereotypes

Couple dancing as a source of strength.

Self-destruction of the couple dance community

The Salsa series as a mirror of the community

Mamita Fridays: salsa, bachata

Destroying the myths about leading pair dances

Does dancing make us better?

The seven deadly sins of teachers

Why we will never dance bachata like the Dominicans

Why tango?

Dispute over musicality

Selection of dances according to alcohol preferences

Where to find inspiration for dancing?

Terrible tango nuevo

Distribution of roles in a salsa party

Argentinean tango through the eyes of a salsa dancer

Is there a predisposition to dancing?

Which is more effective: individual or group lessons?

Sexual overtones in partner dancing

How to learn to dance from scratch: 6 key tips

Dreaming of learning to dance, but something stops you? All beginners have fears. And The Challenger has ideas on how to start dancing, even if you've never tried it.

Forget your fears

If you think that you have no sense of rhythm, flexibility, age is not right, this does not mean that you cannot sign up for dancing. All fears live in the head. Modern types of dances perfectly develop all these qualities. In dance studios you will be in a group for beginners or individually, the trainer will show and tell you what to do and how to do it. Training takes place gradually, from the basics - you will be taught everything.

Try different dances

There are many dance directions: European, Latin American, Caribbean, modern, oriental, fitness, classical. How to decide? Go to trial lessons and find something of your own - so that this particular dance ignites you, gives you strength. Maybe it will be not one, but two directions. In the first lesson, you will get acquainted with the basics, starting with the simplest. If you have chosen a pair dance, you should not worry about the lack of a partner - the studios will always help with this.

Dance for yourself

Here is the main secret. Dance at home, in the hall, on the street. A little practice - and you will dance anywhere without hesitation. Enjoy the movements, do not think about how correctly and well you do it. Let at first it doesn’t work out the way you would like, but the more you practice, the easier the elements are given. Desire is all you need. A competent coach will teach technique and inspire confidence. Nobody dances the first time like Baryshnikov - tune in to success, and you will succeed.

Attend classes regularly

Yes, learning to dance after two or three lessons is unlikely to succeed. Regularity is important here - then you will definitely see progress. You can learn the basics in a couple of months by attending two or three classes a week at a school or dance studio. The main thing is not to stop. At home, too, dance whenever possible.

Do not compare yourself to others

Level yourself. Everyone needs a different time and amount of effort to achieve the desired results. History knows examples when people learned to dance professionally and successfully competed even in adulthood. But you need to put in the best effort. A person who lives by dancing can do it all. From scratch. Any age.

Don't forget your dream

Dances inspire, ignite, change from the inside. If you try, you will probably not be able to live without them and you will regret only one thing - that you did not come earlier. Thanks to dancing, you develop a sense of rhythm, flexibility, improve health, improve your overall mental state (dance is recommended as a therapy), the body becomes more toned, and posture improves. The dancer moves in a different way in life - he flies, proudly carries himself. It is beautiful.