If you have already started taking dance classes (most likely ballet, jazz, or salsa), you may be concerned about how to dance with more grace. Perhaps you are having a hard time dancing like the other dancers in your dance class and you are concerned about being as graceful as they are. Here are a few important tips to keep in mind while you are dancing or practicing that will teach you how to dance gracefully.
First Tip: Be Energetic!
This might not seem like the first thing that you should keep in mind to improve your grace, but it really is an important, and often overlooked, fact. Dancing is about movement and expression. If you lack energy, that movement and expression is going to look dull, boring, and possibly embarrassing. By using up as much energy as possible (and hydrating and snacking while you practice, of course) you will be able to utilize the other tips in this article. Without energy as your most important component, there can be no improvement in your grace. Believe me.
Second Tip: Lengthen Your Body As Much As Humanly Possible
If you have heard of or practiced Pilates, you will be familiar with the concept of lengthening your body away from your center. What this means is that you lift up your chest, extend your neck and head, reach your arms out away from your core (by sending your energy all the way through your fingertips), and lengthen your legs away from your core as well (by sending all of your energy out through your feet). Imagine an image of a sunburst. There is a circle in the center. Visualize that as your core (your abdomen and back). The sunburst has lines or rays of sun coming out of the center and reaching away as far as possible. Imagine that these rays are your head/neck, your arms, and your legs (placed in the proper position, of course).
While you learn how to dance, remember to concentrate on lengthening your body. If it is difficult for you to maintain concentration on all of these parts of your body, instead place your focus on the extremities: head, hands, and feet. By concentrating on these extremities, you will be forced to extend all of your limbs as well. What is especially important in ballet is extending and pointing your feet whenever possible. Additionally, you must lengthen your fingertips. Imagine that you have a small roll of quarters between your thumb and middle finger. Your other fingers will reach and lengthen away from your hand.
Third Tip: Try Not To Bobble
This might be difficult to explain, but some new dancers experience a bobble effect. What I mean is that they aren’t really bending and they aren’t really straightening. Instead, they are a bit nervous so they tentatively bobble up and down in the mid-range between these two placements. You don’t want to be constantly locking out your knees or overdoing your squats, but you also don’t want to be bobbling around either. Try to imitate your instructor in this regard whenever possible.
These three tips are a simple basis for improving your grace. It is difficult to learn how to dance gracefully, but by incorporating these simple tips on top of your instruction and routine, you will become more graceful immediately.
