1.Repetition is key
In Ballroom Dancing like in everything else we often use the phrase “repetition is key”. Here is the thing, if you ever want to be good at anything you have to work on your skills. Talent is important and we believe that some people may have natural gifts that give them a head start but still the persistent ones end up becoming great dancers. Most people follow the "work smart" mentality where work smart means if you understand it you don't need to sweat and do it over and over again. Some adults think that intellectualizing something and analyzing it in your head is enough and we don’t need to go through the physical grind of repeating a dance move over and over again to memorize it. The truth is that we all need to create that thing called a "muscle memory"and the only way to create such is by doing few extra repetition right after a Group Ballroom Dance Class while the memory is still fresh. Memory fades away and other thoughts get in our heads and all that theoretical information get substituted by other things. Muscle memory is proven to stay longer and serve us better when needed. Think about it as learning to ride a bicycle. If you haven’t ridden it for a while it might take you few minutes to get back on it to remember but you don't have to re-learn how to ride it. If you’ve learnt how to do it once you still have the muscle memory to do it again and again it and it will came back to you much faster.
2.Identify repetitive paterns
Learning to dance can be overwhelming. It seems so complicated and intricate at first and at moments feels frustrating. Sometimes you feel that you’ve just learnt something and mastered it and then your Ballroom Dance Teacher will change with a new dance choreography. You immediately feel lost and helpless. One way to get rid of that feeling is to start looking for repetitive patterns. Skills and moves in dance get recycled all the time. Instead of trying to memorize all the steps try to get to know more about the components involved. In Ballroom Dancing like in cooking you might be using the same products to prepare different meals. Once you identify the building blocks involved in a dance choreography you can become a master chef in no time.
3. start with the end goal in mind
Be clear what you want to learn and don't do too many things at the same time. Focus on one thing starting with the end goal in mind. Goal setting is important when you start learning a new skill. Things are going to get tough and taking Group Ballroom Dance Classes is going to start pulling you in different directions but if you keep your end goal in mind you will always stay on track with your progress. Some people want to learn so they can just feel more comfortable on the social dance floor, others go as far as starting to do ballroom dance competitions. Whatever your goal is talk to your Ballroom Dance Teacher and communicate to him or her your goals or ask for their help to set up some goals to keep you on track and how to measure your progress.
4.Find the right ballroom dance teacher for you
Search for an experienced teacher who will give you enough to challenge you but not overwhelm you. Finding the right dance teacher makes the whole process so much easier and pleasant. Many inexperienced teachers don’t recognize the needs or personality of the student and often overwhelm them with unnecessary information which sometimes discourages the dancer. The truth is that knowing how much information you need to give in ballroom dancing is extremely important. Giving too much makes things very challenging and makes the person feel helpless and on the other hand giving too little makes somebody bored because they are missing the challenge. The sweet spot is always recognizing how much is enough to keep the person motivated but still having a little challenge and there is no blueprint to tell you that because we are all different. One person responds to more gentle teaching technique where praise is used and some people like the “tough love” style of teaching. It's not one size fits all kind of a technique and there is no one teaching style that works for everybody.
5.Be part of the process
Participate actively by asking questions and be prepared for each class. Receiving information in a passive way without analyzing it and asking questions is going to slow down your learning in Ballroom Dancing. Most people think that being a good student means that you just nod your head and do as the teacher tells you. Thats true to some extend but there were many times in our teaching experience where we will see that a person is nodding their head positive but their body language shows us that they don’t understand the material but they feel shy and don’t want to look like slow learners by asking to many questions. Remember that you are in a Group Ballroom Dance Class to learn not to show off so asking questions is ok. You are there because you are a beginner and to learn new skills and things that you don’t know. Feeling insecure is normal when acquiring new skills and almost everybody feels that way. Sometimes all that it takes to feel better is talking to another student in class to find out that you are not the only one feeling this way.
Image Ballroom Dance Academy's instructors are passionate about dance and helping people learn how to enjoy partner dancing more. We offer ballroom dance lessons, wedding dance instructionand private dance parties. Dance styles we teach include Cha Cha, Salsa, Rumba, Swing, Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango. Sign Up Today for your first dance class with us.