How to Dance – for Average Guys
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How to Dance – For Average Guys
Dancing is one of those inescapable facts of life. It comes up over and over again in social situations. You might was well learn to do it. Its smoother sailing once you know how and it tends to score you points in lots of situations.
You dont have to reach a particularly high standard
You just need to be good enough that you can get on the dance floor, blend in with everyone else, not look like an idiot, and not feel too uncomfortable while youre there (lots of people are at least somewhat uncomfortable with dancing, thats why they have to get a few drinks and wait for some other people to be on the dance floor first.)
When someone (read: one or more girls) wants to dance with you, all they really want is that
You are there with them
You are dancing with them
You are not dancing horribly
Being better than the minimum never hurts of course, but just knowing the basics will put you way ahead of all the non-dancers out there.
Girls and guys have different ideas of what a “good dancer” is
Guys often see dancing as a skill to show off. Being better than other dancers is important to them. Their typical image of a good dancer is a gymnastic break dancer doing a bunch of flips, or a guy doing a fancy, fluid Popping and Locking routine.
A girls picture of a good dancer is a closer to a passably moving guy who looks comfortable, confident, and like hes having fun. Lots of girls have told me Im a “good dancer” (i.e., Im actually dancing, and not like a total fool), but not many guys have.
Dont worry about what guys think. Sometimes guys will snicker and point to people who are dancing because theyre really just uncomfortable about doing it themselves. Random dudes sucking on their beer arent your audience.
Let me emphasize. I am not a great dancer if you compare me to the guys youd see dancing in a music video. Im not even great compared to lots of other people in whatever club I go to. But Im good enough to get by.
If theres one thing to keep in mind its to be toned-down and low-key
Dont be a spaz and try to pull off some crazy moves unless you 100% know youll look good doing them. Its better to reel yourself in. Over reaching and being that guy is worse than blending in and being a bit boring and unoriginal. Dont feel you have to pull off tons of new moves every second and put on a show for everyone. Its okay to dance in a simple, repetitive way and just enjoy your friends company.
If youre not comfortable dancing, do not take the route of dancing extra badly on purpose as a joke. Everyone sees through this and its not even that funny, just kind of embarrassing.
Basics:
Move to the beat. Dont know what I mean? Go get some music and listen for the underlying, repeating thump-thump-thump pattern. Every style of music has different speeds.
Bend your knees to bounce up and down to the beat.
Kind of move your arms around as you bounce.
Thats about as basic as it gets.
The best way to learn is to just practice
Get in front of a mirror, put some good music on, and start dancing to it. Remember, if your instinct is to jump around a lot or be a bit spazzy, consciously tone yourself down. A lot of the time on actual dance floors you wont even have that much room anyways, so if you only practice moves that requires a lot of space youll be put in an awkward spot when you end up somewhere a lot more crowded.
Whenever youre bored and hanging around by yourself, just put some music on and dance around. One way to practice at first is to try working on one aspect of dancing at a time, then putting the pieces together:
Keep everything else still and just bounce on your knees in different ways.
Try bouncing up and down on your toes in different ways.
Keep your legs and arms still and move your torso up and down, back and forth.