How to become better at Social dancing? This is probably a phrase that sounds familiar to all of us when we are in the beginning phase of our dancing journey. The beginning phase is always filled with frustration on how I can become like so and so person in a short span of time.
How do we move past this frustration? Frustration is a normal human feeling. If you’re trying to get to something, to learn something new, you will be frustrated every now and then – whether it be music, dance or any other skill.
This is part of a learning progress. All of us want to learn something, all of us want to be at least ‘ok’ dancers. At least good enough to complete one song without boring your partner with too many basic steps.
The key is to start small with basics, strengthening the footwork, gradually working on combinations, patterns and then finally working on musicality, styling, accents, body framing, etc.
Whether you are just delving into the Latin dance world or are already a few weeks in, we hope these tips will help you navigate the beginning stage of a life-long dance journey –
Try not to worry about how quickly you will become an advanced dancer. Enjoy the journey. Don’t worry about the destination.
Attend as many group classes as possible. If you are at an intermediate or advanced stage, attend beginners classes again. It gives you a new dimension and adds flavor to your basic steps.
Attend practice parties and if you can afford take some private lessons.
Broaden your arsenal – Explore basics of other dance forms(Merengue, West Coast Swing, Tango, Zouk, any other you like) once you are comfortable with one.
Finally, you learn social dances to dance at the social events. So, you need to build up your confidence and social events help you achieve that. You don’t have to know every dance move out there. You just need to know few basic steps. Just get on the dance floor, let your partner know you are a beginner in case you are worried about disappointing him/her.
In the initial days, you will miss beats often, your body will be stiff, guys will face difficulty remembering combinations. Do not worry, everybody goes through this phase, you just need to continue dancing!
Everybody feels insecure about themselves. We’are all too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too ugly, too pretty, too stiff, too elastic, too dark, too white, and too too. The key is nobody cares as long as you smile and have fun while dancing. Believe it or not, people don’t really care about you. Everyone’s just too busy thinking about themselves. Am I looking odd while doing shines? Did I land properly after double spin? Did I follow the lead correctly?As an On-looker, do you look at the beginners or at the advanced couple doing fancy moves at a party? So now that you know the answer, you shouldn’t be worried about making mistakes or thinking too much.
Guys, Dance as per your lady’s comfort. The follow determines the pace and beauty of the dance. No point making her do a triple turn and a dip when she is struggling with one!
I often get rejected by ladies, what do I do? Don’t take it personally. Maybe they had a bad experience with their last dance! Maybe your breath smells of beer! Even the best of the best dancers get rejected. Getting rejection is part of dancing life. It hurts initially, over the time you get used to it. You have a choice to be a better dancer and not ask the lady ever again! Ladies remember, guys forget the girls name but never the rejection, bwahahaha! Rejection just makes them stronger and pushes them further to become better.
Best way to check your leading abilities is dancing with newbies. Crappy followers is a blessing in disguise. If they can follow, your leading quality is taking off!
Ladies, It’s all about good vibes. Don’t get sucked into instructor’s, fellow mates favoritism and the shallow side of dancing (who’s tall, who’s fat, who’s hot, who’s not).
Ladies and gentleman, don’t show off unnecessarily to each other. It comes off as a sign of being disrespectful to your partner.
Fall in love with the music. If you can’t feel music, your dance would look empty as if, devoid of soul.
Remember that dancing is like learning a foreign language; it takes time to develop fluency and get comfortable. The only way to progress is to keep practicing every week!
Remember we all started dancing with certain goals in our mind – As a means to remain fit? Improve Social skills? Find a romantic partner? Meet real people? Connecting with music? Killing stress? Feel Young? Just experimenting? Life sucks, nothing else to do? Whatever it is, Don’t lose your focus no matter what!
Remember Focus + Hard Work + Interest + Timing + Musicality + Positive Vibes will make you a better social dancer!
Finally, folks in the ‘Social dancing’ scene should go back home with good vibes and smiles post socials. It shouldn’t really matter if you’re great at dancing or not. Some people just look great at it because they enjoy it so much. The pleasure of the dance bursts out of them when they’re dancing. Technically they may not be perfect with their execution but that smile, that joy they share with the partner brings out everything!
How many people do not dance because they think that they’re not just good at it? Remember no matter how good you are, there will always be people on the floor who will be better than you in certain aspects – some with body language, some with musicality, some with styling, etc. The truth is no body cares if you’re not good at it. Enjoy the music, the atmosphere, meet people and have fun!
Feature image source: unsplash