Self-taught Dancers - Tips?

[Guest webmagine]

I'm a week into this whole thing. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for someone who wants to learn without a dance class?

I'd like to go to a dance class, but I just can't be bothered.. and yeah, I guess I'd be a natural dancer?

So yeah. Do you guys have any tips for self-taught dancers?

So far.. I've been watching alot of music videos on YouTube and seen a few choreographies on songs I like aswell.

[Guest watermelon586]

I'd say to just look on youtube...they have all kinds of stuff on there. Ya, i like to be able to say that i've never taken a hip-hop class b4. (although i take ballet and lyrical) An actual class is great (i wish i could actually take a hip hop class, but no....my mom's kinda wierd), but youtube is probably the best resource I can think of.

[Guest ulynn]

do u want to learn how to freestyle or do u wanna learn cheorography?

basic (lol those that i learnt) are things like beats and countings. if you're talking about freestyle.

watch alot of dance to get moves. then you shld be able to fit them into whatever music you'll be playing lol.

sometimes i got on youtube to learn like actual dance moves from singers. to start out. take thsoe with them actually teaching you.

when you get better. u can do those that just show u their dance practice only, bad point is that u have to mirror them cause you have to learn the the same side as them. unless you dont mind learning the opposites.

yep. youtube's your best friend when you want to learn how to dance at home

[Guest ultaeja]

First of all, stretch almost every part of your body for about 2 minutes each day ^^;; so you can be more flexible because the more flexible you are, the more you can move.

[Guest benjaminlibl]

OK. You're being really general about the whole dance thing but that's OK.

What I suggest is you watch more youtube videos. There might be tutorials of what you wanna learn on it too.

Second, find an alternate forum dedicated to the dance you wanna learn. That way you can have more experienced people help you with whatever you need.

Also, if you've just started, freestyle is near to impossible. Maybe you might drop a few moves but seriously if you want to dance through a song you can't freestyle it all. So I suggest you start choreography first. Develop a routine. Then when you get more experience you can try freestyling it through.

Would be good to know WHAT you're trying to learn though..

[Guest webmagine]

Thanks for the tips! ^^

I guess I should've been more clear on the freestyle/choreography part. Well, I kinda want to learn both LOL. The first few attempts I've made at dancing we're all freestyle, because I just couldn't be bothered doing choreography, but I guess I should really start off with choreography.

Anyways, the style of dance I'd like to learn is hip hop. [:

[Guest xkrn4lyfx]

wellz like everyone's said, youtube is your best bet, although i do highly advise classes. however the best thing u could do is to join a competitive team. if you do u'll learn how to control your muscles because u do the same routine again and again and you get corrected of mistakes, help a whole lot. but if not i guess u could just clean by yourself in front of a mirror, make the angles look right, develop your own style and jsut go with it. freestyle... is hard XD basically u listen to the music and groove with it. sounds easy? no it ani't! this is where your own personal style comes in and moving along with the music. so i suggest if u just wanna do it at home, get a full sized mirror and dance in front of it, learning a lot of choreo is good, u'll have more moves under your belt, but making them look good is even better, so after u learn a routine, practice it again and again in front of the mirror until it looks right. also remember to look at dance teams and how clean they are, they're all in sync with each other, that should be your eventual goal, to be able to dance with others doing the same choreo and be in sync and clean

for vids on how not to dance, look up 'kunfusion 2006' on youtube, they're really lax, not in sync, don't hit moves hard, and basically don't feel the music imo. one team i love watching is CADC, again u can look at their vids. however youtube is pretty bad quality, u can't see how really good they are, u'll just see clean, sync, and overall goodness but unless u get some better quality it'll look kinda fuzzy.

wellz good luck! it's really worth spending time in dancing!

[Guest addickshun]

classes are great and effective,

but if you want to self-teach..

there's what everyone has mentioned already-- youtube.

it's the best way you can learn yourself or with a friend.

[Guest Madoki]

youtube has any instructional video you can find. just search up whatever you want to learn

[Guest xkrn4lyfx]

i understand the whole youtube thing

but does it really work?

can some one be more specific and show the vids.

cause all i found is really nothing.

except the stephanie dance.

wellz personally i've never tried it but think of it this way: it's a free service. u can't expect it to be filled with goodies so it'll require you to do some ground work to be able to gain anything productive out of it

o yeah another great way to learn is to hit the clubs. look at what other people are doing and copy them and eventually u'll get your own style

[Guest Bboy_CL1]

watch dancing clips and learn from it , watch it over and over again and ull understand how to do certain moves ^^

[Deafz]

Youtube may or may not be a better source but check out some books. They are actually pretty good sources. You would be surprised how much you can learn from them. Another good idea is to ask your friends that know how to dance. They can teach you. Also, if your having trouble finding videos on Youtube, [insert word] then add tutorial.

[Guest benjaminlibl]

If you're trying to find books on the subject of locking, you can forget it already. No one seems to be interested in locking except me. Ha.

[Deafz]

There are a lock of tutorials and videos on Youtube about locking. No worries.

Anyways, I'm interested in locking poping etc. Been doing it for several months now.

[Guest Mishxmish]

i realized first time dancers really lack control with their body so even though they do the same movements as the more experienced dancers, their movements lack emotions and they look like they are all over the place... usually arms are very unstable and the body doesnt move with the beat... so make sure you work out your arms a lot and make sure you exaggerat every movement... this isnt only for guys it goes for girls as well... you need flexibility so make sure you stretch a lot!

[Guest benjaminlibl]

i realized first time dancers really lack control with their body so even though they do the same movements as the more experienced dancers, their movements lack emotions and they look like they are all over the place... usually arms are very unstable and the body doesnt move with the beat... so make sure you work out your arms a lot and make sure you exaggerat every movement... this isnt only for guys it goes for girls as well... you need flexibility so make sure you stretch a lot!

Quoted for truth. Experienced dancers usually have movements so everything looks more interesting, more dynamic. Know what I'm saying? If you just started obviously you wouldn't be able to do it.

[Guest tjh246]

i realized first time dancers really lack control with their body so even though they do the same movements as the more experienced dancers, their movements lack emotions and they look like they are all over the place... usually arms are very unstable and the body doesnt move with the beat... so make sure you work out your arms a lot and make sure you exaggerat every movement... this isnt only for guys it goes for girls as well... you need flexibility so make sure you stretch a lot!

yeah VERY true.

you mentioned that you are interested in hip-hop. read up on it and watch lots of hiphop videos. they don't HAVE to be instructional, you can always watch and copy. since you'e a newbie, get your foundations firm before you start. yeah even dancers have to train and do stretching, same for sports. you can't dance well without discipline.oh and musicality is important, learn how to count according to music and dance at the same time. it takes a little bit of time before you can listen to the music correctly, follow the beat AND eccentuate youre move with energy at the same time.i still have problems with that, although i've been dancing for 7-8 years

[Guest benjaminlibl]

I should practice more. I know I should but I don't want to practice wrongly.

[Guest iya.donghae]

I do...uhh... I download MV's and performances of the same songs so I have references. Then I play them over and over again...like 10++ times to see the sequence, then get up and learn the dance while playing the mv at around 1/2 of its original speed.

I actually learned how to do Yunho's quick "O" intro dance with that. And the "U" dance. And bits of other dances from other MVs. I remember getting dizzy when I first learned SNSD's Into the new world intro dance. >_<;; But with much practice, I finally got it.

Remember to practice hard and you'll eventually become good. Dance lessons are a great help, too. Actually, my dancing background was more on folk dance...and I had some difficulties with hiphop/modern dance when i first started[around 5th grade]. But as I progressed and taught myself, I've become confident with my moves.

It's also helpful to critique yourself. Be a strict judge. I've seen this winner of a hosting contest tell about how she became so good at it. She said she auditioned to herself, and was really really strict with herself. It sounds crazy, but it worked. You should always think that you can improve. If you feel like you can't do it, practice the routine many many times and you'll get it. Stand in front of a mirror to see how your dance looks so you can also point out mistakes.

Success in dancing is never instant. It takes time, patience and practice.

[Guest miklabret]

if u wanna stand out from all the other dancers. meaning: have original style.

do not look at youtube. thats just like plain biting (meaning copying moves), and dont copy moves from another dancer cause the dancer has like put so much time and effort trying to make up their own moves..and u just taking their moves is just plain disrespect .

instead go experiment with lots of diff music and experiment with your body to these music/rhythms.