The Dance Routine Corner
Learning to dance? This site will help you with advice on learning dance routines and new choreographies.
With you on your journey to becoming a great dancer.
Help!
Common problems and topics covered when it comes to learning a dance routine, new steps and performing.
Also at this level, you'll notice that the timing of the routines becomes a lot trickier.
In fact now not only will you be dancing to the 1's 2's 3's and the "and's"...but perhaps also to various sounds within the music which may occur at any point. With some dance teachers and choreographers it is not uncommon to dance to sections of the music's lyrics.
For example they may teach you, "When you hear this drum beat do this move" or "you do this move when she sings the words 'just dance'".
Therefore at this level it becomes very important to LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. If you've gone through beginner level then dancing to a beat will probably be something you can now do. Now your musicality becomes important.
If you're not already, you should now begin watching dance videos in a lot more detail. Watch the top dancers and choreographers and see how they relate to the music in their dancing. At times it will be very obvious, other times it will be more subtle. At other times yet they will just be dancing to the normal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 beat.
Even the pauses at this level will be more complex and may not be just a single beat or two, but part of a beat or the silence of an instrument.
It becomes important to be a good listener. To listen to music and be able to hear the different instruments and sounds, and not just the obvious ones.
The rhythms will change more often in intermediate level dance routines. Instead of sticking to a certain rhythm for a long sequence, expect the rhythm to change frequently. The dancing will become less predictable and more dynamic.
Another thing (which you should be doing from beginner level) is to listen to different songs in the music style used in the style of dance you do. This will help get you familiar with the rhythmic structure and components of that style of music.
The reason this helps is because when you learn dance routines you may not always be familiar with the songs that you are dancing to. And if you're dancing to the different sounds or words, it helps to at least be familiar with the style of music so you're not thrown too far into the woods!
When practising the dance routines, getting hold of the music will help you to practice them with the right rhythm and timing. Having said that it is useful to know the rhythm inside out even without the music!