The Major Hurdle For Most Aspiring Dancers
Author: Kevin Shwe

Most people with an ounce of talent in dance will never realize
it. There is one hurdle, one major obstacle which will stop most
in their tracks. Even the most ambitious and enthusiastic to
start with won't be able to pass it. It can discourage the most
enthusiastic and make fools out of otherwise cool people. What
it is I'm talking about...it's the first dance class.

My word, what a freak show! You'll watch some MTV video,
realize you can pull off a few of the moves and that you're
pretty good. Then wham, you go to a dance class that seems to be
teaching the hardest routine in the world, and wham! It'll knock
the balls out of most people from ever going again!

I'd love to say this is an exaggeration but it's not. Most
people who walk into a dance studio will only walk through it
once. Statistics will back me up. If you watch the first-timers
in a dance class, you'll find that half of them you'll never
ever see again. Which is a great shame, because a lot of them
probably had enough talent to pull off the same routine that
frightened the hell out of them...with a bit of practice of
course.

Learning to dance is I've found as much to do with the attitude
as it is with what you're body can to. Everyone has the same
body, the same neurology that can be taught the same things. But
it's attitude that makes the difference.

A lot of people who are otherwise comfortable doing most
things, who will easily get up and give presentations in
meetings, who'll ride the theme park rollercoasters that seem to
start on the Moon, will be terrified of being in a room full of
people learning to dance. You can try and entice them with all
the Diet Coke in the world and they'll still hunch up like a
little mouse.

The 2 things that'll sound the death bell for a first-timer
are:

1. The worry that comes with looking like a fool
2. Ridiculously high expectations

You see, the thing that most dance studios don't tell you is
that when a dance class is described as 'beginner' it doesn't
mean that a beginner can easily cope in the class. It means that
once you can pull off the routines at beginner standard you will
be at a good level of dancing and can progress to harder
classes. So a 'beginner class' for a beginner is actually very
hard.

And you certainly shouldn't expect to be pulling it off first
time. No one does at their first attempt! So what should a
beginner do? Firstly accept that you are in a dance class to
learn and yes, you may look like a fool to begin with, but
believe me, everyone including the experts in class has been
through this experience, and know what it's like.

And secondly, take your time learning and go in with no
expectations. Be like a child. If a child learns one new word a
day, that's a good day's learning. If you go to dance class and
can only do one or two moves, that's a good day's learning too.
Because all the learning you do is cumulative and will add up to
an impressive skill. If you learn 2 moves a day and do 2 classes
a week, that's 4 moves a week and 16 moves a month. In a year
that's nearly 200 moves, or 200 different combinations – and
that's a lot. SO think of the bigger picture.

Most of all have fun when you're dancing. After all, you should
only be doing it if you enjoy it and want to learn badly enough.
The more you enjoy it, the more relaxed and calm you'll be and
this is the perfect state to learn in, in the warm, humid
atmosphere of the dance class.


About The Author: Kevin Shwe runs the Hip Dance Moves classes.
Teaching students funky moves that are ideal for all settings,
in just weeks he can transform a complete non-dancer into a
confident dancer with the funkiest demeanour. Check his website
http://www.hipdancemoves.com for more details.