10 Essential Tips You Should Know As A Beginner Dancer

Matt Steffanina

August 13, 2024

Starting your dance journey can be both fun and challenging, no matter what style of dance you’re going for. Whether you’re learning online or in person, these beginner dance tips will definitely help you begin your journey with confidence.
So without further ado, here they are:

1. Set Clear Goals

Before you begin, think about what you want to achieve with your dance lessons. Make sure to be clear about what your end goal is.

Do you want to just learn some cool moves to show off at parties and in front of your friends?

Do you want to start a career in dance, go to competitions and even teach others?

Whichever your goal is, setting it in your mind will help you stay motivated, consistent and track your progress.

2. Choose the Right Dance Style

I would say step is the most important of them all – picking a style that you’re passionate about.

Whether it’s hip-hop, shuffle, freestyle, animation, breakdance and the list can go on, choosing a style you love will make practice way more enjoyable.

So look into dance studios and even look at their teachers and find out which studio teaches your preferred style.

And you can go even further and do some research on the actual teachers. Maybe they post their choreographies or classes online and you can get a better feel of their teaching style.

For example, you can try DNCR Academy, where you can find routines for a ton of different styles, like hip-hop, shuffling, animation and more!

3. Start with the Basics

I know that you would love to pull off some of those crazy moves that you see at competitions, on YouTube or on TikTok.

Who wouldn’t want to dance like that, right?

But you have to take it slow at first. Focus on mastering the basic moves before attempting more advanced techniques. 

Building a strong foundation is crucial for long-term success and for being able to master those crazy, insane and jaw-dropping moves that everyone loves.

4. Create a Practice Schedule

Consistency is key in dancing. The more you practice, the quicker you’ll advance.

Create a regular practice schedule that fits your lifestyle and stick to it. If your scheduled classes are only a couple of times per week, you can set some time aside on those off days for a couple of minutes of practice.

Whether you want to practice the moves you have already learned, or even learn some new ones, like this easy hip-hop dance workout:

Even short daily sessions can lead to significant improvements.

5. Use Online Resources

You have access to all the information you need at the click of a button, so you should definitely take advantage of that.

You can look up different classes on YouTube – even more advanced ones and just study how the students are moving.

Or even look up different tutorials on certain moves, like footwork, arm movements, coordination and even some tips on picking up choreography faster.

We also have a good number of great tutorials for beginner dancers inside DNCR Academy which would definitely help you improve a lot!

6. Warm-Up and Cool Down

This is one tip I always tell my students.

Make sure to get a good 10-15 warmup in before your class starts, so you can reduce the risk of injuries and avoid having a bad time.

Also, as effective as a good warmup is, the post-class cooldown is also important.

Stretching a bit after the class will help a lot with recovery and flexibility.

7. Record Your Progress

This is a fun one.

After a little bit of time into my dancing journey, I began recording myself practicing, and I was having a blast!

Watching yourself fail is both fun and it can also help you get a better view at the parts you need to work on.

This step is something I would definitely recommend trying out, even if you’re recording yourself practicing at home.

8. Stay Patient and Positive

Making progress in dance varies from person to person, so there isn’t a timeline I could give you, like:

“After 2 weeks of practice you will become an intermediate dancer and after 2 more months you will become a pro”

It takes time and effort, but it’s important not to let that stop you.

Pro tip: To help make learning easier, enjoy the process, don’t rush getting to your goal!

Be patient with yourself, stay positive, and don’t be too hard on yourself when you encounter challenges.

Take things slow, step-by-step and you will overcome every obstacle. Trust me.

9. Join a Community

I think I can talk on behalf of every professional dancer when I say this.

Joining a community of dancers will make everything 1000 times easier. 

You’ll be able to get some really good feedback on your dance videos that will definitely help you improve.

Besides that, connecting with other dancers can provide you with a bunch of support and motivation, and even some new friends!

This is why I focused on building a community around DNCR Academy. To have dancers from all over the world come together and help each other improve.

10. Have Fun!

Remember that dancing is supposed to be fun, so make the learning process enjoyable.

Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem, and laugh at your failures.

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Starting your dance journey as a beginner can be challenging, but with these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a confident dancer.

Keep practicing, stay motivated, and most importantly, have fun.

Ready to start dancing? Sign up for a free week inside DNCR Academy and try some of our beginner classes.