Dancing Tips

by Dion P. Thomas F.A.T.D., S.A.T.D., A.R.R.C., A.R.R.J.A., L.D.I.A.A. ( dion@alldancing.com )

After you read this, there will then be more people in the world  that now know what dancing is and what it's all about. The rest are just doing steps to music.

After reading the foreword, and the tips below that (from The 3 Basics.....), any feedback to this page would be appreciated.

As would input, suggestions or whatever.  us at Feedback

Foreword: This is put together by me to help both dancers to improve and for dance instructors to become dance teachers. Some people 'know it all' after dancing 3 or 4 or 10 years. I've been dancing for over 34 (since the later part of 1971) and teaching for over 29 ...... and still learning.

Likewise there is nothing here for you, if you don't mind taking a long time to learn a dance or years to progress in levels.

Learn to dance, don't just do steps. Is it harder ? At first, yes, but in the long run, and I'm only talking about 6-12 months or so, you'll surpass someone that has been 'dancing' for 5 years or more and taken the 'easy way out' (doing steps to music).

Don't treat any dance (choreography) as it's own entity. It's made of different steps, and those same steps will be used in many dances. Treating a dance as it's own entity is like treating each word as unique character rather than made up of the same letters as other words, to use an analogy. Learning to dance is like learning the alphabet, learning 'dances' (choreographies) without learning the steps is like trying to learn each word.  Learn 26 letters (to dance)  or thousands of words ('dances'). Your choice. Remember, you only get out of it, what you put into it. Homework is the best way to improve and progress quickly. Like anything else, if you only do it once a week, it's going to take a hell of a lot longer than if you practice every day. By the time you get to experienced beginners level, you should know most of the steps. Memory is what mostly differentiates the levels, and that you have to work on by yourself. If you're a somewhat experienced dancer, you'll know what I mean. Novices and beginners take much longer to remember a dance than you do. Are the steps hard in those levels (vines, struts etc.) ? No. They just have to go over and over it to remember the sequences. Memory = Level.

If you don't mind taking a long time to learn to dance or a dance and progress in levels go to an instructor or anyone. If you want to save time, money, effort etc., go to a dance teacher. You can learn 'a dance' in 30 mins, not 1-2 hours. You can become an intermediate in 6-12 months, not 5 years or more. It may cost you more per lesson but it's cheaper. eg. if you learn 4 dances a lesson with a teacher for $10, and only 2 with an instructor for $7, you are effectively paying an instructor $14 for the same thing and taking twice as long, thus wasting money and, far more importantly, TIME. Not to mention the years in difference to progressing in levels. Lots of instructors. Very few teachers.

A teacher will not only tell you what to do, but the best way to achieve it quickly & easily (learn now not in a hour or a week or a month), and can explain things better. But firstly, and most importantly, you have to learn to LISTEN. If you only watch their feet, a teacher is no better than an instructor. By only watching, you pick up steps. To learn to dance, you MUST LISTEN carefully to everything that is said. Anyone can tell you a triple step is Left, Right, Left  or  Right, Left, Right,   but a teacher can TEACH you how you execute it to do it correctly. For example, you should finish with one foot 'flat' and the other on the 'ball'. If you don't know which foot to use next, you really don't know how to triple step. A teacher can also see and correct your problems. After all, isn't that their job ?  An instructor ............... well .............. you decide.

Some people say they don't want to learn to dance, they just want to have fun. Thus they end up sitting a lot of the time, get frustrated, annoyed and very irate. My idea of fun is learning a dance in as short a time as possible and utilise the remainder of the time to do dances that I've already learned. eg. 30 mins to learn a dance and the other 30 mins doing 8 dances. Not taking an hour to learn something. Likewise become intermediate in 6-12 months and advanced in 1-3 years, not being an experienced beginner, at best, after 5-8 years or more. I don't enjoy sitting and watching other people dance because it's too hard, I'd rather do it. I don't like getting frustrated trying to get a step or sequence, I want to get it right away. I don't like getting annoyed because something is too hard or can't remember sequences or dances. I don't want to take a long time to progress in levels. The only time I want to sit is to take a rest or don't like the music or the dance.

The 3 basics of all dancing are....

The most important is 1. Weight, followed by  2. Body attitude (lean) and 3. Foot Position

There are 4 types of Weight 'steps' (movements)

1. Full weight  2. No weight  3. Equal weight  4. Part weight (like a 'ball' step)

If you haven't been taught the above, you haven't been taught anything. You've just been doing steps to music.

*  Think logically. Dancing is like what you do in everyday life. eg. If you walk forward, you do so with your heel. You walk back with your toe and ball of foot.  If you walk, you step 'flat', if you make a quick movement, like running, you do so on the balls of your feet, therefore a quick movent is on the balls of your feet etc. I know people don't think about it, but what do you do when you're about to start to walk ? Think about it. Firstly you decide what foot you will move and take your weight to the other, then you lean to the direction of movement, usually forward, then you place your moving foot to the direction of movement.  THE 3 BASICS. Even the most basic line dance step, the vine, incorporates this with the first movement. If you know how to vine, think about it.

*  Exaggerate your movements when learning steps and doing 'dances', until comfortable. Learn it now, not eventually. Really put your weight one one foot and the heel of the other foot in the air. eg. touch together on the very tip of the toe.

*  Most of the time your weight is only on one foot, so avoid having your weight on both, especially when your feet are close or together. So keep one heel in the air (especially doing a triple step, as mentioned in the 'foreword', above).

*  Understand that certain steps done in a different pattern are the same (footwork-wise). The only things that differ are 2 & 3 (body attitude, foot position). eg. triple step, shuffle (chase), coaster step, sailor step (shuffle?) .............. they are all triple steps

*  Learn the floor pattern of a dance (choreography) ........... where the movements lead. eg. does it go forward, then left, then back, then right ......... a square or oblong. Also learn the dance pattern of the dance ......... eg. step, step, shuffle,          shuffle, step, step ......... the 2nd part being the reverse of the first.    ie. you do the last part first. Another example, is of 'mirror' (doing the opposite) ....... eg. side shuffle right, step back, replace,    side shuffle left, step back, replace ........ Easier to remember and do. Look in a mirror and do it. When you do the first part, in the mirror you will see the 2nd part and vice versa.

*  To best remember a dance (choreography), break it up into consumable pieces. ie. in 4 beat sequences (sections) when you start, then as you progress, to 8s, 16s, 32s etc. Like you would do to remember a phone number. Remember the first 4/8/16 beats then the next 4/8/16 then run & remember them together, then continue doing likewise.

*  I recommend, as a very minimum, walking through the dance or dances just 1 time each after you get home from the lesson and then again that night (if it's a night lesson, then just when you get home), again the following morning and night and the same thing the day after. How long does it take to walk through a dance? 1 minute? What difference that 1 minute makes. You would be surprised. Else if you want to improve faster, 10-15 mins a day, 3-4 days a week. If you're keen and want to progress quicker do more time and/or more days. Not only to practice any steps you learn, but to work & improve your memory.

*  Think for yourself. Use & improve your memory. Don't look at others. Not only will you make their mistakes, but, on turns, you will turn to face them instead of the wall you are suppose to be facing. AND take forever to progress in level and take much longer to remember a 'dance'.

*  Learn to spot. Look at the wall you will be turning to. Before you turn, look left or right or visualise the wall behind you. On a full or multi turn, look at the wall you will be eventually turning to. If people drive like they dance, there would be many accidents. Look where you're going to. Not the floor or other people. Everyone can spot. They just don't realise. They spot people they are watching rather than the wall they will turn to. Use that same ability the right way.

*  A syncopated step on an '&', is done most of the time (90%+) on the ball of your foot. It's a quick step, like if you're running.

*  Anyone can do any step if you are shown properly and done slowly. It's then up to you to practice and get your speed up. Practice slowly at your own pace and not to music. You will progress quicker. Doing it quickly, more mistakes are made, thus take longer to achieve the step than if continually practiced slower.

*  Line dancing has few steps that are 'its own'. Most come from other types of dancing. Latin, Jazz etc. Learn the steps and what they are called. One thing that really irritates me is when I see, on a dance sheet, or an instructor say, something like 'a Samba step' ......  which one ? Each dance form has certainly more than one step (movement / sequence). Only goes to show their lack of knowledge and ignorance. But they know it all.

More to come as I have time to add things