Photo by Ardian Lumi on Unsplash
Finding Your Dance Confidence: Tips for Inexperienced Dancers
Let’s face it, dancing can be frightening—especially if you don’t have that much experience in the dance department. While you’d like to be a good dancer, you’re afraid of messing up and looking uncoordinated.
Yet you see all of your friends and family members having the time of their lives out on the dance floor. You ask yourself, why can’t you join them? How can you get over this hurdle and become the confident dancer that you want to be?
Here’s a secret: you can. Read on to find out how you can beef up your dance skills and become a more confident dancer!
1. YouTube is Your Best Friend
There are hundreds if not thousands of dance videos uploaded on YouTube. Simply, type in the genre of dance you’d like to learn and “beginner,” and you’re good to go.
What’s great about learning dance through YouTube is that you can do this in the comforts of your own home. This will make you feel more comfortable and less embarrassed. That is until you feel enough confidence to try out the moves you’ve learned in public.
2. Take Dance Lessons from a Professional
There are tons of professionals who offer dance lessons and can provide you the in-person experience YouTube can’t. If you feel you will be able to learn better this way, why not ring up the local dance studio in your area and see what they have to offer?
By being proactive, you are one more step away from squelching your fear of dance and turning into the confident dancer you’ve always wanted to be.
3. Keep Dancing—Even When You Mess Up
So you put your new moves to the test and you tripped a little. Was anyone watching? You feel yourself starting to sweat. The same old loop starts to run in your head: you’re not good at dancing; you should get off the dance floor; what were you thinking?
Instead of listening to those thoughts (which is just the fear talking), try to keep on dancing. By facing the fear directly, you show yourself that it is (more than) fine to mess up—to live out your biggest fear—and to keep dancing anyways. And, chances are, no one’s looking anyways.
Photo by Zachary Nelson on Unsplash
4. Lean on a Friend
Why not have a friend teach you some dance moves, especially if he or she is a good dancer themselves? This may even be a better option than getting professional dance lessons (which can be expensive, not to mention you won’t know the instructor as well as you know your friend).
By having a friend teach you, you’ll feel more comfortable learning the moves, even when you do mess up.
(Speaking of dancing with friends, consider checking out MoveU.us for dance uniforms.)
5. No One is Watching
Guess what? What if we told you that no one really cares if you mess up on the dance floor? That’s right. And, even if someone does supposedly care—make a weird face or laugh—than that isn’t someone you want to be around. As the saying goes, “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
In that case, you are given permission to dance however you want, whether those moves are “good” or not. Embrace that freedom.
6. Start Small
So you are feeling more confident with your new dance moves. Now what? It’s time to show off what you’ve got. But you still feel a little uneasy about dancing in front of people. In which case, it might be best to start small and dance with a group of friends or at a family get together.
That way, you know you are around people who love and accept you. Should you mess up, you know you won’t’ be judged and, in fact, will be encouraged to get back up and continue dancing.
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Final Thoughts
Dancing does not have to be torture. You can become a confident dancer. Find out how you learn best—whether that’s at a studio, with friends, or through YouTube—and pursue it.
Remember, it does take practice so be patient. How have you overcome your fear of dance and have become an experienced dancer? Leave a comment.
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Related:
How Do You Feel About Dancing?
Get The Best Out Of Your Dance Studio