The Top Secrets to Learning Dance Faster
What dance pros do to learn faster than everyone else
At DanceLife X we firmly believe that ANYONE can learn to dance. However like most things in life worth learning, it will take a bit of effort. While you probably should not plan to compete on So You Think You Can Dance after only a couple weeks of group classes, these insider tips will help you learn as quickly as possible.
1. Pick the right school
A school with a high energy, welcoming vibe tends to be infectious, keeping you positive and motivated through the learning process. The teachers should make the class fun and all have extensive experience in the dance style they are teaching you (in our case that usually means 10+ years). It should be obvious from their dance videos that they are great at that style, and in class they should teach you the tricks of how to break down the moves to make them easy to learn correctly. To learn LIKE best, learn FROM the best. If the school is clean, tastefully decorated and well maintained, that is a another good sign that you will get high quality dance classes.
2. Muscle memory is the key.
To get over the beginner’s “awkwardness hump”, repeat the simple basic dance moves (which get strung together make a choreography much like words into a sentence), as many times as possible in as short a period as possible. They then become automatic and you no longer have to think about how to do steps, but can instead focus on having fun and feeling the flow.
It is critical however that you practice the moves correctly from the start or you’ll memorize bad habits that will then take twice as long to unlearn and re-lean. That is why it is so important to follow only the best teachers. Youtube videos will cause you to miss critical elements that make the dance moves look good, but which you cannot see in a video (such as how to shift your weight correctly or which part of your body “leads” the move), so in-person classes make a big difference.
3.Dance often and dance full-out.
Every day you don’t dance, you forget a little more of what you learned. If you just take a dance class once a week and don’t practice, you will have to re-learn much of last week’s lesson, which slows your progress tremendously. Doing 50 hours of serious practice over 2 months will make you a far better dancer than those same 50 hours spread over a year. So if you want to get good as fast as possible, make the time commitment and whenever you practice, do so with your full energy and effort. Just don’t forget to still have some fun 🙂
4. “Letting go” will skyrocket your progress.
The last common hurdle that trips up newer dancers is over-thinking. At first while you are building that muscle memory, you will have to actively think about each step. However as this starts to become automatic, it can be tough to break that “in your head” focus when you are dancing. You will need to stop overthinking, stop worrying, and just trust that your body knows what to do. When this happens, you may find your dancing level immediately improves quite noticeably, and THAT is when dancing really starts to become fun. When you empty your mind and just let yourself flow, you can get into the music, start to play with your styling a bit, and just… have … fun.
At DanceLife X we bring together only the best teachers in Toronto in a welcoming, modern space to give you the best classes around. Come check out the Toronto Hip Hop Dance Classes, Toronto KPOP Dance Classes, Toronto Ballroom Lessons, Toronto Wedding Dance Lessons, or Toronto Kids Dance Classes
