As a dance teacher, I’ve heard this sentence many times
Probably every student who is entering the dance studio for the first time pronounces those magic words… But every-single-time I prove them to be wrong.
Set the right expectations and references
If you look at dancers who have a past experience, you might feel quite intimidated, as they are already able to dance in music and move nicely. But they started exactly from the scratch like you. They started from very easy and basic movements to evolve into more challenging steps and figures. Therefore looking at them, at a first glance, as a reference might be quite intimidating and lead you to the conclusion: ”Oh no, I won’t be able to move in that way”. Over the time you will be able to achieve your most ambitious goals, but don’t fall into the mistake of setting wrong references that might discourage you. You will start from simple moves to develop into more advanced figures whenever you will feel comfortable.
An easy and simple approach is the key
Dancing is a natural body movement as much as walking. In our daily routine we use to produce an enormous amount of movements: from lifting our coffee cup in the morning to running behind the bus not to miss it. These are all actions and they have a lot in common with dancing. The key is to start from simple moves and as you get familiar with them, try to develop. The mistake is starting from difficult moves which you struggle with and usually discourage you from continuing dancing.
Just to give you an example
If I ask you to stretch your arm to the side over the course of 4 counts, most probably you will be able to do it. That’s how easy it is! Start with simple moves, experience the beauty of dancing and only then go to more complex movements.
Overcome the fear and jump into the dance experience
If you have never tried to dance, it is legit to be frightened to have a dance lesson. You are probably concerned to do too many mistakes, or even worse, to be judged by the teacher. But let me tell you something: nobody has learned without mistakes and the teacher is your dance partner and your partner in becoming a dancer. Leave behind all your concerns and take action: once you start dancing, the only thing you will regret is that you didn’t start earlier!