When starting out in learning how to dance, students might ask a myriad of questions because they just began on this journey and have many doubts still un-cleared.
This article anticipates some of the questions students might ask when first starting out in learning hip hop and provide some answers that might help you respond to them.
These questions came from my experience when I first start out, so here goes:
What do I wear for my first dance class?
This is the most typical question any beginner will ask you and it is only normal because you won't want to turn up for class with the wrong type of attire.
Hip hop dancing is a rather vigorous and sometimes might be quite a strenuous activity to engage in. Depending on the dance styles you are learning, what you wear is very important. Mostly, hip hop dancers don on loose fitting tees and sweat pants because they are the most comfortable.
Remember, you will be jumping, turning, squatting, basically moving a lot in your class, therefore it is crucial to be comfortable in what you are wearing. Dri-fit tees can be a good choice if you think you will be sweating a lot. Personally, I prefer cotton tees which are two size bigger. That is my preference, you need to try it out for yourself because different people have different comfort levels.
That was clothes, now about hip hop dance shoes. There are no shoes specifically for hip hop dance. Mostly, dancers go for the reputable sportswear brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok etc for dance shoes. This is because these brands guarantee durability hence though they may be rather costly initially, they last longer so you would be saving more money than spending.
Having said that however, there are specific Jazz shoes for Jazz dancers. A quick Google for jazz shoes will give you a whole array of them.
What can I expect from my first dance class?
Glad you asked. Different studios will be different but there will be some general similarities across all studios.
Dance classes are usually about 1-1.5 hours a session. During this session, you will learn the warm up exercises you need to do before any dancing. This involves stretches to loosen your muscles, stamina training and so on. If you have not been working out frequently, your muscles might feel tensed up and you may become breathless really quickly. This is normal. After a few more classes, you will be more relaxed and be able to catch your breath.
The typical basic dance move is the bounce. The first move you might learn could be the bounce because bouncing helps you to feel the rhythm of any song and that is the foundation of dancing.
The bounce looks easy but to master it is not that simple. With a few more practice you will get better at feeling the beat of the song and perfecting your bounce.
Your hip hop instructor will probably go into other hip hop dance moves depending on their preference.
So briefly, the abovementioned will be what you can expect from your first dance class.
These are just 2 most frequently asked questions by students before starting their dance class. There are other questions which will be discussed in another article.
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Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Friday, 14 September 2012
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Willpower and Partner Dance - The Simple Key to Better Lessons and Learning Faster
Do you ever find your mind wondering in your dance class? You know you should pay attention, and after you notice that you're not focused you put the effort into concentrating. However, it's not long until all of a sudden you notice that your mind is wondering again. And then not long after that, you notice that you've actually missed something important, and you're just not getting as much out of the class as you could or should be. Chances are that you have noticed this with things other than dance, but dance actually lends itself to this phenomenon more than many other activities. Fortunately, once you understand why this is the case, it is incredibly easy to deal with. In this article I am going to explain why you are more likely to lose concentration in a dance class and what can be done about it.
Willpower
Often, concentration in class comes down to willpower. You obviously enjoy dancing and you like seeing yourself improve. However, at times, when the instructor is explaining something you can feel like Charlie Brown talking to his teacher. You can hear that there is noise coming from their mouth, but it's just noise to you. This is normal. Whenever we need to be still and not active while another talks, our minds naturally wonder. It takes effort to keep this attention, and that means will power.
'So work on your will power' some will say. It's not that easy. An article in the January 2012 edition of New Scientist covered what was currently known about will power. The most interesting thing about it, I thought, is that will power actually uses energy. If you blood sugar levels are low, then we find it hard to maintain our will. This explains why some diets never work. You have little energy from not eating enough food, and this up quickly trying to maintain you will power to not give into the temptation of eating the food you love. Combine this with a diet and exercise regime, and you can see how failure is imminent. This is a slight digression, but it shows that will power (and concentration) very much needs energy.
Willpower and dance
Given that dance can be active it will burn some energy - energy that could be used to aide concentration. Think about when you have your dance lesson. It's probably later in the day. It is likely after work when you have already used up a lot of your energy reserves. So in a sense it is almost like your dance classes have been set up to make it hard for you to maintain the will to keep concentrating on the lesson. When you consider that it is just that, a lesson, then you realise that you might have an issue.
To improve your dance ability you are going to have to concentrate. You have probably already read about how dance is so good for us because it works both the body and the mind. As you now know, this is really going to use up your energy, and rob you of your ability to concentrate.
Maintaining your willpower
So you now know that you need to keep you willpower going if you're going to have effective dance lessons. You also know that the key to will power is energy. So the solution is obvious. You need an energy burst at the start of each lesson. I personally buy a hand full of Chupa Chups every now and then and have one before a lesson. Obviously, any lollipop will do - you just need something that will slowly release the sugar into your system during the class. If you want to be popular with other students or your teacher, then bring enough to share.
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Willpower
Often, concentration in class comes down to willpower. You obviously enjoy dancing and you like seeing yourself improve. However, at times, when the instructor is explaining something you can feel like Charlie Brown talking to his teacher. You can hear that there is noise coming from their mouth, but it's just noise to you. This is normal. Whenever we need to be still and not active while another talks, our minds naturally wonder. It takes effort to keep this attention, and that means will power.
'So work on your will power' some will say. It's not that easy. An article in the January 2012 edition of New Scientist covered what was currently known about will power. The most interesting thing about it, I thought, is that will power actually uses energy. If you blood sugar levels are low, then we find it hard to maintain our will. This explains why some diets never work. You have little energy from not eating enough food, and this up quickly trying to maintain you will power to not give into the temptation of eating the food you love. Combine this with a diet and exercise regime, and you can see how failure is imminent. This is a slight digression, but it shows that will power (and concentration) very much needs energy.
Willpower and dance
Given that dance can be active it will burn some energy - energy that could be used to aide concentration. Think about when you have your dance lesson. It's probably later in the day. It is likely after work when you have already used up a lot of your energy reserves. So in a sense it is almost like your dance classes have been set up to make it hard for you to maintain the will to keep concentrating on the lesson. When you consider that it is just that, a lesson, then you realise that you might have an issue.
To improve your dance ability you are going to have to concentrate. You have probably already read about how dance is so good for us because it works both the body and the mind. As you now know, this is really going to use up your energy, and rob you of your ability to concentrate.
Maintaining your willpower
So you now know that you need to keep you willpower going if you're going to have effective dance lessons. You also know that the key to will power is energy. So the solution is obvious. You need an energy burst at the start of each lesson. I personally buy a hand full of Chupa Chups every now and then and have one before a lesson. Obviously, any lollipop will do - you just need something that will slowly release the sugar into your system during the class. If you want to be popular with other students or your teacher, then bring enough to share.
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ExperTrans voice-overs services
ExperTrans interpreting translation services
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