New to dancing (specific question)

[Jopedrod]

Hello, first of all I don't know how forums work, I don't know if this is still active, I just want to ask a question and hopefully someone will answer )

So here's what's going on, I'm new to dance, I had some dance activities in physical education in school and I was really bad, I never thought I'd like dance, but the other day I was looking up some Britney Spears songs and she dances a lot in her videos, and I completely fell in love with her choreography of "Oops I did it again", I found myself wishing I could dance that, later I found a video with the full official choreography and now I'm convinced I want to learn it.
But only this choreography, I don't want to learn the basics or other dances, I want this one and I want to learn it the hard way! With that said here are my questions:
Am I dreaming too high?
Is her choreography just for girls?( I'm a boy)
Through my contacts, is it likely I'll find someone who dances really good to teach me ?

 

[fiesta0618]

Hi @Jopedrod, and welcome!

I can't answer all of your questions, but I can offer my thoughts on a few of them.

Is her choreography just for girls?( I'm a boy)

Anybody can dance anything that they want to.

For full disclosure, though, there are folks find it unusual or "wrong" when someone dances a style that doesn't align with their gender expectations. Those people's opinions are best ignored.

Even in partner dancing, which is traditionally extremely gendered, there are men and women who dance the "opposite part." Or even both parts! So should you do whatever makes you happiest.

But only this choreography, I don't want to learn the basics or other dances, I want this one and I want to learn it the hard way! With that said here are my questions:
Am I dreaming too high?

Two answers to this.

First: in general terms, you are not dreaming too high. Mastering a skill is primarily a question of the time and energy you commit to it. If it is incredibly important to you to dance like Britney, and you're willing to spend months and years practicing and learning to do so, then you can. Britney herself had to learn through tons of practice--she wasn't born dancing!

Second: your specific desire to learn just this choreo, but no other dance basics, is probably not realistic. It is akin to saying you want to learn how to drive your car somewhere, but not how to use the wheel and pedals and gearshift. You need to learn at least some level of basics to do almost anything.

That said, it is theoretically possible to do very little basic work. One great example of this approach is what you see on Dancing with the Stars. The nondancer contestants there don't have the time to learn how to be truly skilled dancers; instead, they spend hours and hours learning how to "fake it" on a limited set of moves with lots of shortcuts.

The reason I think this isn't realistic for you is that there are huge incentives for the teachers on that show to use this shortcut strategy to create something flashy-but-flawed. Those incentives are not there for you and your Britney goals. In addition, DWTS contestants have a highly skilled professional partner to help them in the performance, which isn't true for solo dancing.

Through my contacts, is it likely I'll find someone who dances really good to teach me ?

Unfortunately, I can't answer this, and this site is maybe not the best place to ask. This site is devoted to partner dancing style, and Britney's style is not that. But maybe someone else here can offer more insight.

In any event, I'd guess that you're unlikely to find a great teacher just through your network. In order for that to be likely, you'd need someone in your circle to be a dancer, and then you'd be asking for their advice instead of ours. I expect you'll need to reach out to other networks. That was certainly true for me when I started dancing.

 

[Jopedrod]

Very helpful thoughts, thank you, fiesta 0618

 

[open_mind]

Hey Jopedrod.
I know how you feel. I once saw a show on PBS on ballroom (a very well-known show about 13-14 years ago or so, but I forgot the name) and sat through the whole thing with my jaw dropped. It was like magic. That was before Dancing with the stars and I never saw ballroom dancing before. I wanted to learn to dance like that. I was determined to work hard. I was lucky to have a few good studios in my area and I paid good money to learn to dance like that and I worked hard. However, if you watch my last video from a competition, you will see that my dance quality is so far far away from those world level dancers I saw on PBS, not even remotely close in spite of all the time, money and effort. But did I have fun learning? YES. Did I dance like them in my imaginary world. HECK YES.

My point is that it takes time to become a good dancer and if you start later in life, you may never dance like Britney Spears, but you will have great fun learning. You should go for it if you find a teacher.

Finding a teacher will be the most difficult part for you. Learning one routine without much previous dance experience will be hard for you and your teacher and I personally don’t know any dance instructor who would agree to teach a complete beginner one specific (and I assume relatively complex) routine. You will probably have better luck finding some college student with dance background and need for money rather than a traditional dance teacher associated with a studio.

Anyway, good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[opendoor]

.....I'm new to dance

Hi Jopedrod, welcome to dance and to DF!

......found a video with the full official choreography and now ..want to learn it.

Sorry for spoiling, that is no full choreography. This performance was created with a mouse at the cutting table. Its an illusion. Britney only recorded a few movements, the rest is montage and repetition.

......don't want to learn the basics.. want this one.. dreaming too high?

No, I did it the same way several times, hired a dance teacher for the purpose of only learning one specific choreo, step by step. Didactically seen its an equal approach to take up the basics on the way. But this variant can be dangerous for your musculoskeletal system. Basics not only mean dance basics: basics also is stretching, muscle building, coordination training, balance, and so forth.

......Is her choreography just for girls?( I'm a boy)..

You can't dictate any aesthetic feeling. Only your taste counts. But I see that the body language and the vocabulary of the moves are clearly taken from the courtship behavior of a human female.

.....likely I'll find someone who dances really good to teach me ?

It only depends on money.
All the best, and please report!

 

[Steve Pastor]

First…Quickly and briefly answering your questions…

Dreaming too high? There’s a good chance you can do it, just know that it’s most likely going to be a lot of work. Learning to do dance moves that you see in a video or movie isn’t that much different than learning a line dance from a step sheet or a video. I’ve done plenty of both.
If you want to learn something the hard way, you've come to the right place.

Just for girls? There are guys in the group of back up dancers.

Find someone to teach you? Possible, but I’d be surprised if you found someone.

Now the blah blah blah.
Well, maybe later.

 

[Steve Pastor]

I'm resisting the blah blah blah, which has to do with personal history, but there are some interesting things about what she (and her Choreographers ) have set out for her (and the back up dancers)...