Practice Plan??

[dldbm]

I was wondering if anyone had advice about how best to practice when you are a beginner. I am taking group and private classes. I find my instructor in the course of a class or lesson will mention 20-30 things. In the course of a week of practicing, I feel I should have 'mastered' what was told to me so I don't repeat the mistakes the next lesson. Maybe I'm approaching this too much like other things I've learned -- but my expectation of myself is to have fixed the things by the next lesson, so the next lesson is focused on fixing other problems. Or, should I ask my instructor, if I were to focus on 5 things this week, what's most important to work on? I feel (again, could be from prior learning experiences) that it is disrespectful to have not gotten it right by the next class -- makes me feel like the teacher thinks I'm not paying attention or not practicing. How did you, as a beginner, in a dance approach practicing (pick any dance)? Thanks!

[jwlinson]

I too felt overwhelmed by all the bits of info the instructor tossed at us during group classes when I first started, but rest assured that's the norm.

Keep a notebook handy, and after the lesson jot down as many things as you can remember from the class. Even if you never look at the notes again, just writing them down will help you remember what was said.

Focus on the footwork of the steps in the lesson. Pay attention to any information given as far as the leads for the steps. Foot placement, body rotation, etc. are all important.

Don't feel like you have to have every single detail perfect within a week. You're not expected to. There will be people of varying skill levels in a group class, and most instructors will throw out a broad range of info on the dance and steps they're teaching so everyone will walk away with something. Those who learn the steps quicker (or already know them) will benefit from the technical aspects given (such as head position, arm styling, etc.) while someone who's never had the step will learn the footwork while having an idea of the additional technical aspects involved.

Approx. 8 months or so ago, our coaches gave my partner and I the beginner's group class to instruct as part of our training. We teach the steps as well as a bit of technique, and end up giving out quite a bit of helpful info. The following week not everyone will remember everything we talked about (which is completely and totally normal), but they DO show improvement with what they DO remember, and that's what's important. Everyone learns at a different pace, and it doesn't bother me one bit to review the steps from last lesson. Chances are others in the class will have missed the same bit of info or have the same questions as you.

Hang in there, I'm sure you're doing fine.

[Laura]

Ask your teacher for 'homework' -- an exercise you can work on between lessons to help you improve.

[fascination]

two points that I would make...learning to dance is different than learning other things.....b/c it isn't just mental...there is no way on the planet that you are going to master anything in a week...and the the minute that you do have something sufficiently well in hand, if you have a good instructor you will be asked to add new stuff to that that will make it feel difficult all over again...which brings me to my second point: yes, prioritizing is important....if your instructor is full of alot of info...do ask which few elements are most critical and practice them the most then do other repetitions focusing on the ancillary stuff...there are only so many balls that can be juggled ad at once...and getting certain things correct tends to fix certain other things...

[nucat78]

I started a little over a year ago and it helps me to write down as much as I can remember after class in a notebook. I review my notes from time to time when I can. (Funny as some of my early notes are just plain wrong or missing pieces!)

Practicing helps too, even if it's just 5-10 minutes a day. But you need to be practicing steps correctly. Practicing something wrong is only going to make it harder to unlearn the error(s).

And as has been said, there is going to be a lot of info coming at you. I wouldn't worry about retaining all of it as I don't think that's possible. You will notice though that as you become more experienced, things are easier to remember and some of the things you had "forgotten" suddenly come back to you and make sense.

I've also found that instructional DVDs are a help. You have to exercise some caution there though because not all DVDs are high quality (IMO) and sometimes they teach steps slightly differently than what your teacher is teaching. For example, my teacher's rumba starts with a man's step to his left, others start with a man's step forward. No big deal but it could be confusing to a newbie.

[samina]

two points that I would make...learning to dance is different than learning other things.....b/c it isn't just mental...there is no way on the planet that you are going to master anything in a week...and the the minute that you do have something sufficiently well in hand, if you have a good instructor you will be asked to add new stuff to that that will make it feel difficult all over again...which brings me to my second point: yes, prioritizing is important....if your instructor is full of alot of info...do ask which few elements are most critical and practice them the most then do other repetitions focusing on the ancillary stuff...there are only so many balls that can be juggled ad at once...and getting certain things correct tends to fix certain other things...

what she says ;)

might take years -- or a lifetime -- to master something that seems deceptively "simple" to a beginner. everything is built on certain principles and it's stunning to realize that these don't change, no matter what the level of the dancer.

[waltzguy]

Time is both your enemy and your friend. As people have already said, things will take time to sink in. But, once something is in muscle memory, it will also take a while before you forget it.

[DennisBeach]

We always took 2 lessons at a time, so our review actually started at the end on our 2nd lesson. The last 5-10 minutes we would go over what was taught in the 2 lessons. I would review things in my head during the long drive home. We would, if possible, practice the next night before we started to forget things. We practiced once a week and went dancing once a week. We included the new steps or technical adjustments in our practice and when we went dancing.

Even after we quit taking lessons, we continued practicing and dancing once a week. Some of the many things we practice, are things we were told 3 or 4 years ago. Some things, particularily key techniques, I don't think you can ever stop practicing.

We had the 2 rule. We would only allow the teacher to have us work on 2 technique improvement items in a dance. More than that we just got frustrated, trying to think about to much.

[dldbm]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. It is very helpful!

[fascination]

that's what we're here for ;)

[biggestbox]

We had the 2 rule. We would only allow the teacher to have us work on 2 technique improvement items in a dance. More than that we just got frustrated, trying to think about to much.

Very good advice. Sometimes you can't control your teacher. when you practice make sure you only focus on ONE thing at a time.

[DennisBeach]

Very good advice. Sometimes you can't control your teacher. when you practice make sure you only focus on ONE thing at a time.

We have been doing that and it has allowed us to improve and enjoy our dancing.

[fascination]

. Sometimes you can't control your teacher. ....lol ....SOMETIMES??????

[blaze]

I think one helful thing can be vizualization in you head about what you did on lesson, try to dance it and think about it: when and what you need to do. I tryed it for a while and find it helpful. If you took notes then you can go by that notes and on the end try to put them all together.

I see that similar to skiers who practice how the stage goes, because when they actualn come on stage they dont have time to tking when and how should they move after each gate.

:)