So you’ve decided to start your swing dance journey with us, and you probably have a lot of questions. In this blog post, I want to answer some of those questions for you, and give you some of my top tips on how to get the best from your swing dance class.
1. Relax
This is a very informal course. You can try everything we show you in class, or you can choose to have a go at some parts of the material. The choice is yours. As long as you’re enjoying yourself and having fun, the rest is easy!
2. Release the need for perfection
If you are new to dancing, it is normal to feel you have to concentrate or try hard, and the chances are that the moves won’t come easy. But if you are concentrating too hard, your muscles (and your mind!) are tense, and this can stop you from just letting go and enjoying the dancing. We want you to relax, have fun, and enjoy yourself.
So remember to release any tension in your arms, hands, knees, and also your mind. You don’t have to get everything right and no one is expecting you to. Just turn up, enjoy the classes, and I promise you that everything will click into place.
3. Go with the flow
If you allow yourself to relax and let go of the need to get things right, you’ll find that it’s so much easier to learn to dance. Learning the steps will come much easier when your mind and body are relaxed, so let go of any worries and just go with the flow.
4. Get out of your head and connect with the rhythm
Being able to relax your mind and release tension in the body can also help you feel the rhythm more easily. Great dancing is about connecting with a rhythm, so we like to encourage everyone who comes to our classes to repeat the rhythm with the teachers during the lesson. When you focus on the rhythm, the movements come easily. If you get caught up in looking at your feet, overthinking the steps, or constantly wondering whether you’re good enough, you’ll only find it more difficult to learn and have fun.
5. Repeat, repeat, and repeat some more
You will find that we repeat a few steps over and over in the lesson. This is because we want to practise the moves with you so that they become second nature to you. Repetition is very helpful when it comes to learning how to dance, so that’s why we recommend lots of practice and lots of repetition in order to build strong foundations. Having strong foundations will help you to learn the basics and the fancy moves much more easily. You’ll go from two left feet to competent dancer in no time, and have a great time doing it.
We just know that you’ll fall in love with swing dance and we hope that these tips make it easier for you to get the most out of the experience.
This is just the beginning of your dance journey, and we’re so happy you’re on it with us! For more details about beginner courses at Lindy Jazz, click here to read more.
Happy Dancing!