How long did it take to learn your first routine?

Dancing was completely foreign to me when I started, but medal tests? They're still completely foreign. All I've heard are stories and rumors...

But good luck with it, Lynn! I havent heard of any ballroom-related heart attacks lately (that would wreck the good publicity ballroom's getting now!). Closest I could possibly think might happen would be some old man having a heart attack after watching a latin routine done with the lady in a skimpy costume....but never the competitor! Good luck with it!
 
Aren't medals tests syllabus materials? It might help to review each element, so that if your teacher says "double reverse spin" or "open telemark" you can just crank one out. That way, learning a new routine becomes a matter of stringing together patterns you already know, rather than having to remember it as a series of individual steps around the room. That is what has helped me learn new choreography quickly -- knowing a whole bunch of component parts well enough so I'm not remembering them, but rather remembering the order I dance them in.
 
okay, Im going to give a shot at this...and my anwswer is based only on my own availability to take lessons and practice...and we all have different capactities for both of those, and different goals....


laura made the most cogent points thusfar, IMO...that is...it takes longer when you are newer....


the first 8 routines I learned, I was obssessed with "nailing the footwork" and not at all focused on technique...I felt I couldn't possibly execute any technique until I got the footwork ...and b/c I am an obsseessive compulsive type....I practiced several times a day everyday til I got them....I was introduced to them 4 at a time so I always practiced them evenly...I also taped them and watched them as well as wrote them down myself in my own language which always helps me retain them....

now I dont worry about learning the pattern much at all ...I focus on keeping my posture and following my lead....and knowing it by heart will come ....
 
Keelzorz said:
Dancing was completely foreign to me when I started, but medal tests? They're still completely foreign. All I've heard are stories and rumors...

But good luck with it, Lynn! I havent heard of any ballroom-related heart attacks lately (that would wreck the good publicity ballroom's getting now!). Closest I could possibly think might happen would be some old man having a heart attack after watching a latin routine done with the lady in a skimpy costume....but never the competitor! Good luck with it!
Click to expand...

Goodness, hopefully there's no international ballroom literature available, or you might see me on the front page - student had heart attack in the middle of a medal test :shock: !! But honestly, my teacher mentioned that if i were 80 y.o. (like one of her other student) - the adjudicator might cut me some slack, but since i'm still quite far from 80, all i can do is maybe put on some fake make-up and maybe a wig :raisebro: ??
 
By my first comp, six months after starting from no dancing background at all, I had learned routines in six dances. But it was all I could do just to remember the routines during the comp--nothing left in my brain to pay attention to technique or anything else. And I made some mistakes. After 3 years, I can get the steps of a comp-length routine in a couple of lessons. Of course, learning to dance it never ends.

I've rarely spent even an entire lesson on only one dance. But I guess it depends on your goals. If your foxtrot medal is your sole objective at this point, it might be worth it to do nothing else. But, personally, I would always want to keep up with my other dances.
 
With my first teacher, once we got into choreography that's pretty much all we ever did--even in coachings.
The teacher I have now is so good about about striking a balance between choreography and keeping up the various sequences for comp (pro-am). Even if we spend a few weeks at a time on choreography, we always come back to the comp stuff to dust it off and (hopefully) add a new layer of good technique to it.
 
My regular trainer always warms me up with basics first keeping my technique in check, then we work on open choreography. While I can learn my latin routines and memorize them in a few minutes, the standard ones seem to take me longer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top