7 Practical Tips to Become a Dancer from a Professional

Dancing is an art with more benefits than one can describe. If you are thinking about getting into this art, this is not something you would regret. You might get discouraged in the beginning and feel like you are not cut out for this, but you will start to feel and enjoy it. Here is a basic and simple guide to help you get started as a dancer.

Don’t Force Yourself

If you don’t want to dance yourself, you should not even start with it. There is no point in dancing because your family wants it. Some people just get into dancing because their family forced them. Some think they can become famous or impress other people with dancing.

It is not as easy as it looks and dancers have to work really hard and with the passion to achieve dancing skills. You won’t be able to keep up if you are enjoying the process. You will go through all the troubles just to become mediocre at it. This is why you should either get full in or full out. Dancing is not something you can do if you don’t personally love it.

Take Professional Lessons

Even if you are natural, you have to learn from professionals. You can watch online tutorials and practice yourself, but it will take you way too much time to learn. With professional monitoring you, all your shortcomings will be identified and solved right away.

A teacher would know what level you are at and what you need to do to become a better dancer. Besides, dancing with other good dancers creates a rivalry and competition that keeps you motivated. You don’t just learn from your mentor but with fellows too.

This also makes the process much more fun and engaging. You should somehow arrange money for the fees and join any dancing academy near you. If you can’t afford it, you should at least talk to a teacher about it.

Practice Every Day

It’s a rule for all dancers to practice every day. If you don’t improve, you get a step back in your performance by missing even a single day of practice. This is why you have to keep your muscles engaged and improving. You don’t have to think about your movements when you become a good dancer. You follow your instincts, which is basically muscle memory.

When you keep repeating those moves every day, your muscle memorizes those movements. You are able to move more freely and better with muscles helping you move that way. Whether you go to the studio or not, make this a habit and never miss a day of practice.

Get Proper Dance Flooring

You have to do some very difficult moves when dancing. There is a reason why professionals have a proper dancing floor that makes their movements easy and safe. If the floor is not flat or even a little slippery, your practice can end up in a serious injury.

This is why you consider getting proper dance flooring for regular practice. Even if you can’t afford it for your home, you can recommend your teacher to get it for the studio. A floating subfloor with a Marley-type floor covering will set the perfect stage. It will protect your bones, joints, knees, and back safe from stress during all the jumping.

Set Achievable Short Goals

You should set goals for yourself that you know you can easily achieve. Don’t set something very big and difficult. Instead, start small and set short goals that won’t take a very long time to achieve. You should have a daily, weekly, and monthly milestone for yourself.

Every time you will achieve a goal, you will feel motivated and work even harder. It’s important that you set only SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This means you will have to set a time and follow a goal that will help you step up and isn’t too difficult to achieve.

If you set a goal that you can’t reach, you will get really demotivated. This can break your routine and set you back. You will not set any more goals and start to work without any target. Once you make a habit of setting the right goals and achieving them, you will see that you are improving faster than ever and your time has become very productive. With productive time, you can complete work of days within hours.

Feel Your Body When Dancing

You shouldn’t be thinking when dancing. You will think when you are practicing and you have to watch your every step. A dancer has to be very critical of himself when practicing. However, this should not be the case when you are performing. Your goal should be to become good enough to dance freely without anything interrupting you. No one from the outside will interrupt you; it will be your own thoughts.

These thoughts are important in the learning phase, but they can become a problem when you are competing or performing in front of an audience. Dance is supposed to be something you do naturally and smoothly like flowing water.

You should feel your body when you are dancing and try to become one with your movements. It should feel like you were made to do this and you don’t have to think about what step you need to take next. This only comes after you have practiced your routine more than enough times.

Keep Yourself Motivated

Dancing is difficult and you can get demotivated if you don’t see any clear results. Remember, you are improving if you are dancing every day even if you don’t notice any change. Practice doesn’t go in vain. Once you get discouraged, you might end up quitting.

Make sure you don’t compare yourself with others and only focus on what you were yesterday and what you have become today. Watch your favorite dancers and take inspiration from them.