Dancers Alive

1. Stretch.

Flexibility is important. If you're already taking a yoga or pilates class, that is a beginning. If you're not, you may want to consider adding it to your exercise regimen. If you're not exercising and stretching at all, you need to begin. Even if you're just going to be dancing in the club on the weekends, you need to remain flexible and loose. If you're beginning to train to be a dancer, flexibility is the most important factor to you.

2. Feel the movement

Let movement come from deep within, allowing it to emanate outwards. Try doing the moves with your eyes closed. Does it feel different from the way it looks? Can you do it smoothly, or does it "catch" somewhere? Can you do it evenly on both sides? Do each movement repeatedly to develop muscle memory.

3. Practice.

Once you've learned a few techniques, practice them at home on your own. Not only will you be getting good exercise, you'll be honing your technique and style. Watch other dancers on television or in other venues for new moves, and be confident to try them out.

Scheduling the right amount of practice time is another key element to success. With too much practice time, you will decrease your motivation, and waste time. With too little practice time, you will be unprepared. For most dance events, 4-6 weeks, is the appropriate amount of time to prepare, if you practice at least 2-3 times per week.
By creating this short, yet significantly long period of time to practice, you will nearly eliminate wasting time and increase your concentration and productivity.

4. Lose the mirror

When choreographing for himself, Michael Jackson never used a mirror. Why? Because, he said, mirrors make you pose. In other words, they can make you too self-conscious. Some disciplines use a mirror for checking body alignment, but mirrors can have limited benefirs as correctional devices, because their use makes it difficult to see yourself objectively. The best way to use a mirror is to let it reflect your own joy in movement back to you. It's easy to become dependent on a mirror and, some dancers find they become disoriented when they dance without one.

5. Work on Transitions

Smooth transitions make for a seemless performance. Let's start with a definition: essentially a transition means moving a part of the body that is extended in some way back to a neutral or central position.

A simple example is: If we execute a hip circle by first moving the hips to the side, then to the front, to the other side and finally to the back, then all we need to do to return the hips to "centre" is to relax the pelvis. We are not free to move the hips any way we like.

An example involving the arms and head: If you have one hand extended high over head, and the other is to the side. If you move both arms so that they are both extended infront of your chest, it's easy to reverse their initial position. If you would like the movement to look more like dance, start by adding your head: look toward the arm extended to the side, and when you bring your arms to the centre, move your head to the centre as well. Make the movement lovely by rounding your arms and leading with your wrist, if you like you can cross your hands when you reach centre.

6. Find the Right Dance Teacher

Have you ever had a teacher who made you feel like great and brought the best out of you? If so, find such a person and work with them on a regular basis in order to improve. Often times, especially in the dance industry, there are teachers who make you feel less confident, fat, ugly, and worse about your dancing. Avoid these people at all cost. By doing this, you will be able to avoid 90% of the self-doubt and self-pity that the majority of dancers fall into, and be able to learn in a safe, and productive environment. By doing this, you will be able to progress faster and feel better about yourself.

7. Remember that correction is not criticism

In fact, correction is nothing more than another opinion being presented. Try what is suggested in the spirit of a new experience. If you like it then claim it as your own. If not, just let it go it is not worth keeping.

8. Work Towards a Specific Goal

Working towards a specific goal can accelerate your learning tenfold. If you have a competition in 4 weeks, the pressure to practice and improve is going to be increased which is going to cause you to grow and become better. Specific goals are critical to achieving success because without them, you will not be challenged to grow because there is no pressure to get better. If you have a specific goal, such as a competition, performance, or exhibition, you can be sure that you will improve and grow as a result of the pressure.

9. Surround Yourself with Positive People

Surrounding yourself with people who make you feel good about your dancing is key to performing well. Dancing is a visual art, and people who feel good about their dancing appear more confident and are more fun to watch. As a result, people who feel good about their dancing are much more likely to win competitions, and lead long and
successful careers as dancers. If you are around a truly negative group of people who isolate you, put you down, or say mean things to you, find a better group of people to associate with, then to quit the old group, and join the better one. Doing this will dramatically increase your happiness and performance.

10. Expect Challenges, and Don’t Give Up!

Some days you are going to dance poorly and feel tired, unfocused, and not confident. Everyone feels insecure and lousy from time to time, and accepting this reality can help you to see it for what is; which is completely normal! Everyone has good days and bad days. They key to overcoming these challenges it to acknowledge the way you feel, tell someone you trust about it, and keep working hard in spite of it. Once you begin to work hard in spite of the way you feel, you will develop a confidence and level of personal integrity in yourself that will inspire you to work hard on the days you don’t feel like it. Enhancing your mental performance will result in an increased sense of control and confidence.

You can help put yourself in the top 1% of dancers by following these principals. By practicing just one or two of the principals that really speaks to you, you can overcome self-imposed limitations and progress faster than you have in the past. Remember to accept yourself at whatever level you are, work hard to improve, and to expect and overcome obstacles along the way.

Source from: www.dancingwith3tsdanceshoes.com