4 Ways to Become a Better Dancer

Want to be a better dancer? You may be thinking that the title "good dancer" is only reserved for those who've been dancing since before they could talk, but science has a few hints about what can make someone —anyone who's willing to implement these steps— a great dancer. Yes, even someone with ZERO dance experience before they attended a Dirtylicious class.

 1. Consistency 

Becoming a better dancer requires muscle memory, and muscle memory requires a lot of repetition through practice. Even if you'd never taken a dance class before attending Dirtylicious®, you can become better!

So don’t overthink it – set a goal to come regularly, then make some room in your schedule to attend a class the same days and times each week. Literally schedule it into your phone's calendar with a notification! Take it a step further by dancing in your front room or getting in front of your mirror and practicing the combo you learned at your last Dirtylicious® class.

2. Do The Warm-Up

At Dirtylicious®, every class starts with the Dirtylicious® Warm-Up. This is often times considered one of the hardest parts of a Dirtylicious® class, and where you'll start to sweat and burn those calories. It's so hard in fact, that sometimes people come late or miss this step on purpose, but you're only doing a disservice to yourself when you do that. The Dirtylicious® Warm-Up not only gets the blood pumping, but it will also warm up your muscles to help increase your flexibility and range of motion when you dance. 

As a dancer, you'll learn that warming up before you dance is also a crucial step in preventing dance related injuries (which typically result from not being warmed up enough in the first place)...so don't skip the Dirtylicious® Warm-Up or you'll get injured. Or as we like to do, let's quote Alanis Morissette: "Isn't it ironic?"

3. Confidence 

Confidence is like a muscle, the more you work on it the stronger it becomes. This skill also comes with consistency and getting more comfortable in your own dancing style and authenticity. Do you enjoy dancing with more swagger? Or do you like to dance in high heels? Do whatever it is that makes you feel more comfortable and sexy.

Practice different ways of dancing and look for inspiration around you. Instead of seeing a good dancer in class and beating yourself up for "not being as good" as him or her, use them as inspiration. Take it a step further and try to dance more like them. Don't be afraid to ask questions about trying to do a move better or with more confidence to your Dirtylicious® instructor.

"Fake it till you make it" totally applies here, and yes you'll find more confidence with time and practice.

4. Posture

Becoming a better dancer requires muscle memory as we discussed earlier, and a huge part of dancing well is having good posture. This means pulling your shoulder blades back when you dance and standing up straight and tall. Even if you can't master the moves just yet, having good posture will ALWAYS look better that humping over and making your body look down and con-caved.

The second part of posture is having a strong core, but don't confuse this with having a six-pack. A strong core means you're flexing your abdominal muscles when you bend, drop down and when you shift weight. There is so much science to dancing, if you feel off balance, try different ways of positioning your weight to give you more balance. And if you can't figure it out on your own, ask your Dirtylicious® instructor how to do this. We're positive you'll be helping multiple people in the class too!