She broke my heart 'cause I couldn't dance

2

2leftfeet

New Member
Hey gang! I'm new to this site, and to the idea of learning how to dance altogether. But now I am determined more than ever. I invited my xgirlfriend to a wedding last month (in an attempt to "get her back") and I felt humiliated when she told me that I CANNOT DANCE.

It isn't that I don't have rythm. I play the piano quite well, and I can "air drum" on my steering wheel when I drive, things like that. I can "feel the beat" when I listen to any type of music. But I don't know how to dance. I never went to dances in high school, and I feel very uncomfortable when I dance.

I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DANCE FREESTYLE, AND TO TECHNO AND OTHER CLUB MUSIC. I want to reach the point where I enjoy dancing.

Please help me!!! Any advice is appreciated, but in specific, ARE THERE ANY DVDs THAT YOU RECOMMEND TO TEACH ME HOW TO DANCE TO MODERN-DAY FREESTYLE OR TECHNO/CLUB MUSIC? I looked on the web for suggestions, and bought a few tapes, but they are so outdated. And there are so many to choose from, I don't want to waste my money on the wrong ones.

Thank you so much. I must learn how to dance freestyle!!!
 
Welcome to the forum 2leftfeet!!

Man that's rough, but let me tell you, dance for
you...not anyone else.

I don't know where to guide you for techno or club
but I'm sure someone will.
 
Hi 2leftfeet! Welcome to the forums. :D

Wow. It is rough to have her say you can't dance. Beyond cruel. And you're just like many of us who were motivated to dance because of relationship issues. The cool thing is that, by learning to dance, you'll open yourself to a whole new world of people, not just this ex girlfriend of yours.

That said, club freestyle is my absolute favorite style of dancing -- it comes pretty naturally for me, so I can't recommend videos. What can a I recommend? Hmm.


Well. First things first. The nice thing about club dancing is that it belongs solely to you. The stuff you learn on tapes is just a starting point for your own interpretation. But you have to start somewhere, so have a plan. You can use videos, if you want. Or, at home, put on some music, and practice some basic dance steps. Touch step, back and forth -- side to side, front and back. The add some walks back and forth, or some sways back and forth to the music. Nothing fancy is required. At this point, you're just trying to get comfortable with your body moving to music. And the reason to do this at home is that you don't have to feel self-conscious. Nobody's watching. Just relax and move to the music. By the time you do this, you'll be better than ninety percent of the club freestylers out there, already. :lol:

In my own personal style of club dancing, I use a lot of isolations and ripples. So if you can find a hip-hop dance class, go to a couple sessions and see if anything appeals to you.

The goal is to 1.Hear and feel the music 2. Have a basic plan of what to do with your feet. For club freestyling, you really don't have to move your feet much, so don't worry about fancy moves. Just move your body. 3. To come up with your own personal style. This one will take quite a while, but it will happen if you relax and let yourself move.


The good news is that, with your musical training, you already have a huge advantage. There are intricate rhythms and syncopations already inside you, waiting to pop out when you least expect it. :D

Good luck.
 
Another warm welcome to you 2leftfeet!!

I can definitely feel the pain you were going through. At most weddings that I've been too there hasn't been that much club/techno dancing. Quite a bit of partner dancing though and that is a completely different animal. Having said that, let's see what I can offer you for club/techno dancing.

I almost feel like repeating what saslarhythmns said, as I personally learnt to club dance by just going with a group of people and moving to the music, but I don't think that necessarily will be much help to you now.

I think that it is a matter of feeling the beat, but getting your body used to moving in a different way. If you haven't done dancing then the way dancers move can feel awkward/ odd/ contrived. It is a matter of getting your dance vocabulary, i.e. your body used to moving in a different way.

One option is get music videos of the songs you like, see what moves you like that are done and imitate them. Another is go to the clubs and see which dancers are dancing the way you like to dance and figure out how they do their moves. Then practice in front of a mirror at home, playing the same songs. A lot of imitation over here, but when doing the moves don't try to copy the moves 100%. Adapt the moves so that they become your moves.

Hope this helps!! :)
 
welcome to the forums 2leftfeet...

Let me start by saying that I would like to corrupt your mind right away and ask you to take salsa classes, then take your ex out for a night of latin dancing then in the middle of the song tell her. Girl, this is dancing and you can't do it. Nahhh, just kidding, but do learn salsa. salsa, salsa, salsa...

Ok, on the club dancing thing. Here are a few pointers.

At home alone, put whatever song you would want to dance too. You are musically inclined so, go ahead and move your body side to side to the loud bangs. Get your body grooving side to side and back and forth without moving the feet, then, my man, if it happens to be hip-hop, think of it like you are having sex and move that body and especially the hips very sensually. Club hip-hop dancing is really all about getting your freak on. :shock: Before you know it your ex will be in line waiting to dance with you. At first keep to the loud bangs of the music. Every move you make, do it to the bangs, as you get better try moving to the sounds between each loud bang. Move at their speed, meaning that you never move any body part faster than the music. Eventually you'll be grooving to the music, and dancing to club stuff.

For techno... Jump around, not even falling down looks out of place in techno.

Lastly, don't think, react, let your soul freeeeeeeee
 
Welcome 2leftfeet...
I agree with Borikensalsero. LEARN SALSA!!!!!!!! Especially if you want to make that ex jealous...she'll go crazy when you're groovin' with all those sexy ladies out there. What's more, I've found that I am 10x better at club freestyle now that I've learned a few different partner dances.

By the way, did I tell you to learn salsa?

Sometimes I find it fun and useful to dance in my bedroom in front of a mirror. No one's watching so just let loose and shake it!

Oh, and you should learn salsa!

Salsa!

S
A
L
S
A
!
!
!

Good luck!
Jeni :lol:
 
Since we are talking about salsa, and incorporating other dance moves into what you're doing learning salsa shines is useful:

http://salsamoves.tripod.com/

This site provides FREE video clips and is detailed enough to learn how to do the 4 or so shines. Similar moves can be done in freestyle club dancing, when dancing to club music. I have used them myself with personal modifications. :)
 
Ok...

1. Learn salsa.

2. Don't sweat that girl too much. In fact, while you're learning
your salsa dancing they'll be way too many women for you to
even worry about this one.


Remember, women outnumber us and she's not the only one
out there...in fact, you've got about another 6 to go if you want
to go by the ratio... :D
 
salsarhythms said:
Ok...

Remember, women outnumber us and she's not the only one
out there...in fact, you've got about another 6 to go if you want
to go by the ratio... :D
Click to expand...

And what ratio is that from? :? :) Generally gals outnumber dudes, but 7:1!! Where are these places?
 
Wait one hot second, here. 2leftfeet said he wanted to learn club dancing and techno. So let's help him do that, not bombard him (too much) with salsa. :wink: :lol: :lol:

2leftfeet: Salsa is a WAY FUN club dance, where you'll meet lots of beautiful women. And club/techno dancing is way fun, too, also with beautiful women. So feel free to make your own choice, no matter what the salsa addicts on this site say! :lol: :lol:

That said, jennibelle is right. Partner dancing/dance technique can add a heck of a lot to your club freestyle dancing. I've seen this in myself. Club freestyling has always been my favorite, but since I've started seriously studying partner dancing, the techniques I'm learning have spilled over into my club freestyle. Now, woa! I'm having SO MUCH more fun in the clubs! :D
 
Hey club dancing is fine, but...

...nothing beats being in an area with dim lights,
people all around you, and dancing close to a
pretty girl...

Let's see u do that with club music!! :D
 
Hey, how about being able to hold hands look at each other and completely get lost in a world that only you two can be. Where you hold your right hand close to her lower back gentely and seductively move her around just where you want her to go.... at the end of the dance you happen to run your hands throw your forehead and catch a smell of her perfume still left in your hands... AHHHHH

2leftfeet... listen to us, listen to us... :wink: :wink: :D :D
You wanna salsa, you really wanna salsa... But if you wanna do techno and hiphop, well, you can still salsa to it. lol
 
Is there any way of incorporating salsa INTO club music? It's 4/4 anyway...just add a conga or two, clave, wild trumpet....LOL! :lol:

That's a really idea about learning shines. So when you're climbing the salsa ladder, you can practise your shines in the nightclubs :-)

Jeni
 
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