Dancing in front of a mirror: advantages and disadvantages

[Mr 4 styles]

I was so accustomed to the visual lead through the mirror

your pro is a jedi.. for sure

 

[5678dance]

Simply looking in the mirror in some positions can take you out of position.

this is the WORST I am ALWAYS glued to the mirror.

But on the flip side, oftentimes for me dancing at a comp actually feels 10x better because there is no mirror. I think it is because my head is actually aligned for once instead of cranned toward a mirror. Though, it might actually just be because I can't see what I'm doing wrong anymore therefore I don't think I'm doing anything wrong

 

[GGinrhinestones]

I use the mirrors for drills and I think they are essential (however much I hate them)...they allow you to see if what feels right actually looks good...as the two can be very different

Absolutely. It took me forever to start practicing in front of mirrors because I didn't want to get used to relying on them for competition and feeling, but then I finally figured out there are some things that just don't work until you see how what your head knows is right does not translate into what your body is actually doing...and then you can fix it, get "the look", and learn the feeling. That said, I almost never use the mirrors in lessons, only in solo practice, and only in drills and technique work (to include styling drills).

 

[Miss Silly]

We take all our lessons in this mega ghetto 'studio' where there are no mirrors.... so when we finally to practice in front of them we go through our own "WTH?!" moments LOL. What i felt was "awesome" didn't actually look quite so awesome.

I like that we're so used to no-mirrors that we're not mirror-dependent, but it has been helpful touching base in front of a mirror with some basic actions and being able to correct some things seeing how they look as it happens. Ideally videoing ourselves would be a great tool too but we're lazy :-/ (or more like, we subconsciously just don't want to see ourselves on video LOL)

 

[fascination]

I don't know if one can ever become mirror dependent other than the way in which I mentioned where you are relying on a visual from your partner which isn't there otherwise...I would say that on the the contrary, looking in the mirror and making necessary adjustments on a regular basis, can put that adjustment into your body in a way that is more trustworthy than feel alone ...

 

[Miss Silly]

Oh for sure like how you mentioned. I do suspect that with a heavily-mirror-dependent dancer, that their proprioceptive response would develop a little slower since a visual cue is a very strong sensory input. Maybe that's what i meant by "mirror-dependent".

I find that both are useful (with and without)----it was definitely a reality check seeing my jive action in the mirror last weekend

 

[regis]

funny one should bring this up. though the studio is covered in mirrors, I rarely use them. Except in practice parties and it isn't to look at me its to help me with traffic control!

I try to go more on how the movements feel. So to try and look into the mirror is more distracting for me. I do however love to review video! the video reveals so much. When I think I have done something well and then watch myself on the video its like, "ewwww, hideous!"

 

[Krogholm]

I very rarely use a mirror. Occasionally, I use it to check the alignment of my feet in a particular latin step if I'm working on technique, or my arms in standard, and I have a standard warm-up exercise that I used to have to do in a mirror in order to get it right.

On the whole, I don't like to use it. I'd rather concentrate on how things feel, since that's how I have to figure things out while dancing with a partner, in a competition, etc. Too much mirror time, especially in standard, means I've been working without my head being where it is supposed to be!

I totally agree on the head issue. Being a visual person myself, I have spent several years of standard practice, keeping a close eye on my partner and myself in the studio mirrors, no matter what direction we were going. Even though my partner has long been complaining about my spinning head, it is only recently that I have begun to focus properly on my head/spine alignment - and I find that my bad habits are now extremely hard to break... :-(

 

[latingal]

In latin I find mirrors to be quite useful. But I do have to be careful how I use them.

I use them to; check lines and pictures, help me visually learn what should be happening (so I can repeat the correction in solo practice), to match my instructor to learn what a movement should look AND FEEL like, and to check corrections.

I am very careful however to work with the mirror to do repetitions of my corrections and then immediately turn away from the mirror to do the same correction to make sure I know what it feels like when it's right. I will do many cycles of alternating of watching in the mirror and immediately turning away and doing it to check the internal feeling.

 

[ajiboyet]

I'm with the people who think along the lines of "what I think and what I feel may be different." My rumba walks feel REALLY good, for example. But when I do them and look into a mirror I realise my posture is TERRIBLE.

I need a mirror.

 

[slhull.13]

My partner and I have gone so long without mirrors that it always feels like a shock when we DO have them...in both good and bad respects. It's wonderful to finally see what we look like up close, but we also notice when something is not where we want it to be. I guess that's a good thing too, though!

 

[shava]

Studio I dance at has huge mirrors. Never use them in smooth because I'm too focused on my head positioning but since I started training to compete in rhythm as well find working in front of mirror quite helpful to check my posture & the dreaded shoulder movement.

 

[Cal]

In the studio where I practice, the mirrors are usually covered in junk and decorations and are not usable. This week, however, the mirrors have been clutter-free and pristine-clean. I discovered that there is one "sweet spot" on the floor, where I can see myself in the mirrors from the front, the side, and - through a reflection of a reflection - from my back. So, with the back view, I was finally able to locate the spot in my shoulder that is uncooperative with regard to my frame, and worked at it. And for one brief and glorious moment, I saw my topline EXACTLY the way I want it to look. I tried very hard to "get" the position in my muscle memory, because I have no faith that the mirrors will remain clutter-free so that I can use that "sweet spot" again to check my position.

 

[fascination]

can you isolate how it FEELS in that moment so that you can retain it regardless?

 

[Cal]

The "feel" is partly what I mean to incorporate into muscle memory. Alas, it usually takes me several practices using a mirror to trust that the "feel" of a position/movement produces the correct "look".