Studying your video:

To get the most from your dance video plan on watching it many times and have a good objective each time. The first time you watch your dance video I suggest that you just watch it as you would a movie. The instructor will ask you to become involved at a certain point, but don't do it , not this first time. The objective of this viewing is to familiarize yourself with the teacher, vocabulary, and material. Most dance videos are in about the same format, but each instructor is different, so getting to know your teacher and material a bit first will help you the next time you watch the video.

The next time you watch your video you will have a different idea. Get involved follow the directions of the teacher and rewind when needed.

Practice Exercises:

The sure way  to becoming a good dancer is repetition. You have to do something so many times that you can do it without having to think about it. The best way to do this is to do regular practice exercises. Here you should take a small section of your video and repeat it over and over. You will become very good at this material, but the important thing is that your fundamental skills will improve. Each move or dance may have it's own style or flavor, but the fundamental ideas about dancing are pretty much the same. A great example is in Salsa. This dance is quick and compact. In the beginning most people have trouble by making their steps to big. They can do the material to some degree, but will always struggle and lack a sense of enjoyment due to the big steps. So if this person practices with a concern on size of steps he will improve all over in no time and the improvement will carry over to all dances.

Your instructor will make suggestions of things that you should do or avoid. Make a practice routine of what ever the fundamental needs for your style of dance and do them over and over. Eventually it may become a warm up for practicing other moves or material.

Learn the counts:

Every now and then watch your dance video with timing as an objective. Each dance and move has its own timing and your actions have to match this timing to the steps as well as the music. This is where things can get tricky when it comes to dancing. If you learn your counts and then recite them over and over in time you will have them memorized to the point that you can focus on the steps, style or what suits your fancy. Now that you know them put them to the steps. After a few times of this bring in the music.

This is a must:

No matter what style of dance you are doing there is one thing that is a must. Never watch your feet.  Watching your feet has a very adverse effect on your balance and will make it very difficult to move. Not only will you have a disadvantage as far as balance you will not look very good. Dancing posture should not be a military stance either. We are all different shapes and sizes so we all have to do what's natural for us. Your posture will change thru the dance sometimes you may sway from one side to the either, but looking at your feet should always be avoided. 

So remember that the repetition is the key.

Now enjoy your practice and enjoy your dancing and thanks for making www.learntodance.com your dancing headquarters since 2000.

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