Have you practiced dancing on your own and you have yet to become the next Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly? Don’t worry. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day – and your feet looking like they are not attached to your body won’t take a day either.
Enrolling in a dance class is the best way to learn to swing, waltz, or tap. It doesn’t matter if dancing is in your blood or you have recently found an interest in dancing. If you sign up for dance classes, then you know that you will be able to dance with your spouse without stepping on your feet.
That said, if you have already taken some lessons, and you have yet to excel, then what else can you do?
Here are five tips to be a better dancer with dance classes:
1. Be Passionate About Dancing – Even When It’s Hard
Many people have a passion for dancing when they grow up. Every time they hear a song on the radio, they just want to get up and start strutting like Elvis Presley and tap like Fred Astaire.
Because of this fondness for dancing, a lot of young ones will sign up for dance classes. Unfortunately, once it shows that it’s a bit harder than it looks, then self-doubt seeps in, consternation becomes the norm, and the decision to abandon this interest is made.
Here is the reality of the situation: if you love something, you should always be passionate about it, even when it’s hard.
So, when you take your first, second, or 10th class, you shouldn’t give up when it becomes too hard.
2. Stretching is Preparing
You can still enroll in dance lessons when you’re not in the greatest of physical shape. But many students will concede defeat after the first couple of lessons, especially if they feel cramping or they feel like they have been through hell and back.
Do you know you can better physically prepare for dancing? Stretch!
Stretching, whether it is your limbs or back, is a great way to prepare for dance classes. You won’t need to worry about tightening up anymore, or feeling as if you can’t move your legs.
3. Always Ensure You’re Having Fun
If you’re not succeeding right away, then you’re not having anymore fun. This is typically the case with most of us. But what good is trying out something new if you’re not having any joy? That’s a good question to answer because it is important to always have fun doing something you like.
On one hand, you want to master a specific dance routine. On the other, you should still want to love what you’re doing, either as a hobby or as a professional pursuit.
4. Listen to the Music & Feel the Rhythm
What type of dance style do you want to home in on? Swing? Waltz? Hip hop?
Well, whatever choice of dance you want to concentrate on, you need to do two things: actually listen to the music and then feel the rhythm.
It can be difficult to explain to someone who has zero interest in dance, but you might understand it when instructors suggest to their students to feel the rhythm in the music. If you really enjoy listening to the music – who doesn’t love hearing a good Richard Strauss waltz? – then this comes naturally.
5. Practice Makes Perfect
Just because you don’t have a class until next Wednesday, it doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t practice in your spare time. In fact, that is how you can exceed in your classes: spending an hour or two per day going through the steps, routine, and music.
Rather than waiting week by week to dance for an hour, you can actively master the dance, helping you to advance to the next stage.
Dancing is not only fun, but it is also one of the better exercises around. Rather than jogging on the spot on a treadmill or using a stationary bicycle as you watch CNN at the gym, you can move around, have fun with others, and relish in the rhythms of George Gershwin or Benny Goodman. As long as you embrace these tips, then you can take comfort in the fact that you will go from beginner to expert in a couple of years.
