Whether you’re a complete beginner or have been dancing for years, there may be times when you find yourself wondering:
“How can I make dancing easier for me?”
Perhaps your feet aren’t doing what you want them to do. Perhaps you’ve forgotten something you learnt last week. Or perhaps you’re watching someone else dancing and wondering how they make it look so easy.
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re certainly not alone!
But rather than asking, “Why is it so hard to dance?”, try flipping the question:
“What could I do to make dancing feel easier?”
“What could I do to make dancing feel easier?”
At Lindy Jazz, we believe in taking easy steps towards becoming a better dancer, rather than focusing on trying to be good. When you can do something easily, you will naturally do it better.
Think about the things you’re already good at. You probably do them quite easily, don’t you? You don’t have to force every movement or concentrate intensely on every detail. You’ve practised enough that the skill feels familiar and natural.
Dancing can become like that too.
Let’s explore some simple ways to make dancing easier and more enjoyable.
1. Are You Wearing the Right Shoes?
Let’s start with something practical!
Thick trainers, heavy shoes or shoes that grip the floor too much can make moving less easy than it needs to be.
When your feet can’t move freely, turning and changing direction require more effort. Your knees and other joints may have to work harder too.
You don’t need expensive dance shoes, but comfortable, lightweight footwear that allows you to move easily can make a surprising difference.
The easier your feet can move, the easier it is to focus on enjoying the dance.
2. Are You Trying Too Hard?
This might sound strange, but trying harder doesn’t always make dancing easier.
When you’re determined to get something right, you may unknowingly tense your shoulders, stiffen your knees, grip your partner’s hand or hold your breath.
And when your body becomes tense, movement becomes less natural.
Dancing becomes easier when your body is relaxed and able to move.
Try doing a little less. Relax your joints, breathe normally and allow yourself to move naturally. You may find that the movement becomes clearer and more comfortable without extra effort.
3. Are You Overthinking?
One of the joys of dancing is moving to wonderful music.
But sometimes our heads become so busy thinking about feet, hands, timing, direction and what comes next that we forget to enjoy ourselves!
Of course, thinking is part of learning. But trying to think about everything at once can make simple movements feel less easy than they really are.
At Lindy Jazz, we help you manage this by giving you one main thing to focus on at a time.
You don’t have to think about everything. Just concentrate on the focus of that particular exercise or lesson.
When one part becomes familiar, you can gradually add something else. Taking one easy step at a time helps your dancing develop naturally.
4. Are You Comparing Yourself with Others?
You might look across the room and think:
“Why can’t I dance like that person?”
But you don’t know their journey.
Perhaps they’ve been dancing for ten years. Perhaps they have a background in music, sport or another form of dance. Perhaps they have more time to practise.
And remember, we’re all physically different.
Some of us are naturally more mobile. Some spend long hours sitting at desks. Others have aches, pains or physical limitations that affect how they move.
Your dancing doesn’t need to look like anybody else’s.
Instead of asking whether you’re as good as someone else, ask:
“What would make this feel easier for me?”
The important thing is to enjoy your own progress, at your own pace.
5. Do You Know What You’re Supposed to Be Learning?
Here’s something that can make an enormous difference.
Imagine we’re teaching a particular footwork pattern or a way of connecting with your partner.
The purpose of that exercise may be to develop your balance, timing, coordination or connection.
But if you’re busy trying to memorise the entire sequence of moves, you may miss the very thing we’re helping you learn!
At Lindy Jazz, we carefully plan your learning so that you have the right amount of material, with a manageable progression from week to week.
There’s a reason why we focus on certain things and repeat them.
The aim isn’t to collect as many moves as possible or to prove that you’re good. It’s to develop skills that gradually make dancing feel easier.
And when something feels easier, you’ll naturally be able to do it better.
6. Are You Expecting Yourself to Remember Everything?
Think about everything else going on in your life.
You may have a demanding job, family responsibilities, a busy social life or a hundred other things competing for your attention.
Then you arrive at Lindy Jazz on Wednesday evening and expect yourself to remember every move from every previous lesson!
That’s quite an expectation, isn’t it?
Learning to dance isn’t a memory test.
We revisit movements regularly because repetition helps them become easier and more familiar. You’re not expected to remember everything perfectly from one Wednesday to the next.
So if you’ve forgotten something, simply enjoy being reminded.
Each time you revisit a movement, you’re giving your body another opportunity to make it feel more natural.
7. Are You Trying to Join Everything Together Too Soon?
I love seeing you experiment with your dancing!
Perhaps you’ve learnt one move this week and another three weeks ago. Naturally, you want to see whether you can put them together.
That’s wonderful. Exploring and experimenting are part of the fun.
But here’s where taking easy steps can help.
Just because you can do two movements separately doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be able to connect them smoothly.
Moving from one pattern to another is another skill in itself.
So by all means, experiment, explore and have fun. Just allow yourself time to find an easy way to connect the movements.
And if it doesn’t work straight away? That’s fine too!
You can simplify the transition, try again or return to the individual movements. The aim is to find a way of dancing that feels comfortable and natural.
8. Knowing How to Do Something Isn’t the Same as Being Able to Do It Easily
This is a particularly important point.
You might understand exactly how a movement works. You may even remember being taught it several weeks ago.
But understanding a movement doesn’t necessarily mean your body can perform it easily yet.
Knowing what to do and being able to do it comfortably are two different stages of learning.
Your body needs opportunities to practise and repeat movements until they become more familiar and natural.
That’s why we repeat things at Lindy Jazz.
Sometimes you don’t need another explanation or another new move. You simply need more opportunities to practise what you already know, until it starts to feel easier.
And once it feels easier, you’ll usually find that you do it better too.
9. Are Experienced Dancers Necessarily Better Dancers?
At Lindy Jazz, beginners and experienced dancers learn and dance together.
And here’s something I would love everyone to understand:
Being more experienced doesn’t necessarily mean being more naturally talented.
Experienced dancers have often developed greater confidence, clarity and ease in their movements because they’ve repeated the same basic skills many more times.
They may look good because the movements have become easier for them, not because they were always better dancers.
Equally, being a beginner doesn’t mean you’re less capable.
You may already have excellent rhythm, coordination or a natural feel for movement. What you haven’t had yet is the same amount of time to make your dancing feel familiar and easy.
So let’s not be too concerned about labels such as beginner, intermediate or advanced.
We’re all learning, and we all have something to work on.
10. Are You Expecting Yourself to Dance Like a Performer?
This is perhaps one of the biggest expectations we can let go of.
We see wonderful dancers performing on stage or in videos. Their movements look effortless, beautifully coordinated and full of flair.
It’s inspiring to watch.
But remember, you’re coming to Lindy Jazz to enjoy social dancing, not to prepare for a performance.
You don’t need to remember an impressive collection of moves. You don’t need to look polished. You don’t need to entertain anyone watching.
You can have a wonderful dance using just a handful of simple movements.
In fact, simple movements that feel easy and comfortable can often create the most enjoyable dances of all.
11. What Are You Telling Yourself?
Finally, listen to the words you use when you’re learning.
If you repeatedly tell yourself:
“This is so hard!”
“I’ll never remember this!”
“I’m rubbish at dancing!”
You may begin to approach each new movement with tension and frustration before you’ve even started.
What if you replaced those thoughts with:
“What would make this easier for me?”
“I can take one small step at a time.”
“I don’t need to be good at this immediately.”
“I’ll enjoy having another go.”
“I’m getting more familiar with this each week.”
You’re not pretending everything is already easy. You’re simply giving yourself permission to find an easier way to learn.
And that can make a tremendous difference.
So, Let’s Make Dancing Easier!
Every Wednesday evening, Andy and I carefully manage your learning experience.
We think about what to teach, how much to teach, when to revisit something and what we’d like you to focus on.
We do this so that you can relax, enjoy the music and gradually develop your skills through manageable, easy steps.
Of course, there will be moments when you need to practise or try something in a different way. That’s part of learning something new.
But the goal isn’t to prove that you’re good at dancing.
The goal is to find ways of moving that feel easier, more comfortable and more natural for you.
When something feels easy, you can do it with less tension. When you can do it with less tension, you can focus more on the music and your partner. And when you’re relaxed and connected, your dancing will naturally become better.
You don’t need to remember everything, master every movement or dance like somebody else.
You don’t even need to improve every single week.
You just need to come along, enjoy the music, enjoy the company and take one easy step at a time.
And when something doesn’t quite work, perhaps have a little laugh, relax and try again.
After all, Lindy Jazz isn’t about preparing you for a performance or turning you into a professional dancer.
It’s about enjoying the music, developing your dancing skills, making friends and having a lovely Wednesday evening together.
So next time you find yourself asking, “Why is it so hard to dance?” try flipping the question:
“How can I make dancing easier for me?”
Think about the things you’re already good at. You probably do them easily because you’ve had time to practise, become familiar with them and find a natural way to do them.
Dancing can become like that too.
You don’t have to focus on being good. Focus on taking easy steps, and the better dancing will follow naturally.
Happy dancing!
Joo-Lee & Andy
Lindy Jazz
