Body Language

I'm curious about something - why did disco die? Almost forty years ago, club dancing existed in the form of disco dancing (or nightclub dancing). It was cheesy, fun, and uninhibited. No matter how young you are, I'm sure you've come across a re-enactment dance of Saturday Night Fever or heard the songs "Stayin' Alive" or "I Will Survive" at some point in your life.

The disco and funk era was something for sure. I'm a big fan of the two genres, pulling lots of elements of their dance styles into my own dance style, particularly locking (a street dance style). In fact, when I talk to girls, I often mention that I should have grown up in the 70's. I'm still throw in arm rolls and pointing left, right, and center in heaps while I dance.

More importantly, guys and gals danced and interacted with each other on the dance floor through lots of partnering work. You could either do it freestyle, or pick up some formal moves from disco schools and learn "the hustle", "cha cha", or "touch style". Obviously, if you wanted to dance like John Travolta and be one up on the other guys, you would take some lessons, and of course, learn how to point with confidence.

Somehow, through the 80's and 90's, disco died, the partnering dance patterns disappeared and only reappeared in the form of swing and especially Latin. What was left in the clubs were guys giving girls awkward turns, twisting arms, and later on, just dirty grinding. There was a disco backlash that killed the music genre in North America for a while, but why did partner dancing in clubs fade away?

Was it too hard to learn? Not everyone wants to or can pick up dancing. With formal steps, it also becomes too rigid - ballroom dancing doesn't need to be revisited in the clubs.

Is it not in men's natures? Obviously, women go out for girl's night outs to dance while most men would definitely not be doing that - rather, hanging out at a sports bar, strip club, or watching the latest UFC event at a friend's house is the preferred choice. If guys are at the clubs, then it's only to get drunk enough to muster enough confidence to either 1) approach a girl 2) grind up against a girl 3) forget that they're there.

Maybe it was due to the popularity of breakdancing? I was watching the 80's move Back To The Future the other day, and a breakdancing (or breaking) scene made me notice that the 80's started to give way to hip hop culture and breaking. Somewhat male-oriented, girls in high heels and short skirts can only dance on the spot and watch on the edge of the dance circle. They can't even squat like the boys.

You could be the best breaker and dance a storm for all the girls to watch, but what they really want is part of the fun and action. I've seen and heard it many times. Guys who break, pop, and lock asking me what to do. Nothing wrong with breaking. I love it, but it doesn't work so well in clubs.

There could be many other reasons, but simply, partnered dancing in clubs simply died. However, thanks to recent dance shows like "Dancing With The Stars", "So You Think You Can Dance?", and ""America's Best Dance Crew", a resurgence of dance interest, particularly from girls, has ignited. Girls have always wanted to dance, but now the pressure's on for guys to dance. All the partnering and flirting of dancing with the opposite sex is coming back and I want to be on the front lines making it happen.

I don't call it Nightclub Dancing anymore, so it's not confused with Disco Dancing, but simply Club Dancing. Club Dancing, or what I call the Club Dance Style, is simply taking basic street moves (which I mostly cover in my Level 1 DVD) and mixing it with some time-honored and some new partnering moves. For example, taking some cuban salsa turn patterns while doing lyrical hip hop movements.

We're not competing for a dance show, so I want to keep my Club Dance Style as freestyle as possible, meaning to minimize the formal steps while maximizing the fun factor. Keep your eye on it. If all the guys following my dance lessons pick it up, you'll see it show up in a club or social near you.

Someone told me something interesting this past Saturday night.  I usually wear a custom shirt with my URL embroidered on the back of my shirt when I go out.

After watching me dance, an intrigued girl watching me asked me about my business.  After I told her, she remarked that it was very much like the Will Smith's character in Hitch.

I've never made that connection before, but now that I think about it, what I do is a LOT like that dance scene from the movie Hitch.  I watch guys dance, correct their faults (including cheesy dance moves!), and advise them to stick to the basics at the beginning.  Of course, there is the exception that we go beyond basic moves and build  up to more advanced techniques and styling at a comfortable pace.

But here's the best part.  I feel like my students are like the great guys/students from Hitch - they're definitely the guys women want to meet.  If you're a guy who wants to make some change in your life and learn dance, it subcommunicates a lot to women.  By subcommunication, I mean that it's showing attractive qualities about a guy without being direct about it.

If you're direct about your "attractive" qualities, that is, you go on and on about empty bragging rights such as your fancy car, large house, high-paying job, etc., you might need to re-evaulate yourself and your ego.  For most women I've encountered - I'd say over 95% - bragging is a major turn-off.  If you dance, or even tell a woman that you're learning how to dance, then it subcommunicates so much more and leaves much to the imagination.  It tells her indirectly that you're someone who is interested in self-improvement.

If you dance, good or bad, it tells her that you have a healthy amount of confidence.  The funny thing about dancing and confidence is that if you don't have too much of it, the more you dance, the more confident you get.  This can be applied to pretty much any social skill.  For example, I had a similar experience with Toastmasters and public speaking.

Dancing also tells women indirectly that you like to try new things and have fun, which says a lot about a person's character.  Most guys who can't dance aren't afraid to confess that they're bad dancers - in fact, it seems like a macho thing to be a guy who doesn't dance - but the special ones do something about it.

Women complain to me all the time about not meeting the right guys.  Ladies, guys who love dancing are the ones you're looking for, and I'm not saying this to advertise myself.   Just watch out for the cocky dancer with the abnormally large ego.  These guys are rare though and easy to spot, because they're body language or insincere smile can be read like an open book.  This is a whole other story though.

I'm no Will Smith, but I do want the best for my students.  When I hear the feedback I get from my students, I know I'm onto something.  Thanks guys!

Dancing generic will get you, well ... generic results.  Your night out will be like all the other unmemorable nights out.  Unless you're a rockstar, you can make your club/lounge/bar/wedding experience much better for you and everyone around you with some  fun moves.  You'll need to muster a bit more confidence than usual, so leave your ego at home, and go out with a fun party attitude in mind.

Pointing

This is taken from my locking background.  Locking is a style of funk dance dating back to the 70's that's be revitalized and modernized thanks in part to dance TV shows and dance crews re-embracing it.  Pointing is a fundamental basic move.  Try it.  Point a little.  Then point a lot.  Point in all different directions.  Point at girls you like.

There is some technique involved to pointing.  To give it a funkier/disco look, start by pointing at your opposite shoulder (e.g. right finger touching left shoulder) and then point out.  Also, so you don't come off as a creepy guy pointing at people, you actually have to be pointing while dancing.  Ease into pointing by doing it in funk or funk-influenced songs (there are a LOT - for example, American Boy by Estelle/Kanye West, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley).

Hip Bumps

Another disco inspired move, hip bumping is a lot of fun.  It's a tried, tested, and true move I can attest to.  Rhythm is really important though.  Otherwise, it will feel off and hips won't bump. If rhythm is an issue for you, then get it dialed with my beginner lessons (upcoming) before trying this.  Start by bumping every second beat.  The first few bumps may be off, but after around 10, you should have a good rhythm with whoever you're bumping with.  Then move onto alternating your hips with each bump!

Clapping

Not just any normal claps -  I'm talking about the big hands-up-in-the-air kind of clapping.  This always identifies someone in a good mood.

Turns

Girls turn all the time.  They love it.  Turning the girls properly is a whole larger issue, but I'd like to talk about men turning.  Outside the Latin clubs, turning solo requires a heap of confidence - you're either getting down to breakbeats or a really good dancer.  For most guys, I recommend you reserve your turning when you're dancing with a girl.

Try this next time: After you turn a girl, keep your hand up and make a right turn after.

Body Rolls/Waves

If you've never done a body, this one's a toughy.   My best recommendation is to practice in front of a mirror.  I plan on covering this in an intermediate lesson.  Don't cheese it out by doing it too many times  - otherwise, you're doing an early 90's move known as "the snake".

If you've decided to become a better dancer and make going out to clubs or social events more enjoyable, starting out can be pretty intimidating.  You're more self-conscious and at times, feel like you'd rather hide in a corner.  Here are some tips to maximize your learning curve and get you moving forward.

1. Smile/Genuinely Have Fun

Standing around and looking tough is for bored tweens in a suburban skate park.  This is the easiest thing you can do that will get you better results.  If you're not in a good mood, at least you're faking it until you make it subconsciously.  You'll dance longer and feel energized to dance the next time around.  I wrote a full post about smiling here.

2. Don't Look At Your Feet

You hear this for any sport that involves your feet - skiing, skateboarding, tae kwon do.  The same applies for dancing.

It's easy to get self-conscious while dancing, especially if you've decided to move out of your comfort zone.  Looking at your feet averts eye contact with people who "might" be watching you fumble your new moves and shows lack of confidence.  The reality is that unless you're in a dance competition, no one really cares.  Practice your moves, fumble a bit, try again.  Feel free to ask friends or strangers how your dancing looks.  Just keep your head up.

3. Don't Bounce too Much

Often times a song is too fast in the night club and you can't do a basic two step to the song.  You have to dance to every other beat, or half time.  This is better explained in a video lesson, but essentially, suppose a fast dance song has 4 beats (1-2-3-4) repeated over and over again. 

For a basic two-step, you step left on 1 and step right on 3.  On beats 2 and 4, you're pausing or doing an inside kick, with the right foot then left foot respectively. 

What I see many of my students do is they bounce their heads and/or bodies on every beat, which for most night club songs, looks too bouncy.  For a two step, bounce only on 2 and 4, and the dance looks much smoother.  If you're bouncing to keep rhythm, try  subtly snapping your fingers or padding a hand against your hip instead.

Smile.

That's it.  Sound simple really, but it's something most guys miss, especially if you're learning new moves and trying them on the dance floor.  At other times, the music gets a little repetitive, and we lose momentum.  I know, I know - girls can dance the whole night with the same simple moves while we guys get bored.  The smile is the first thing to go, when in fact, it should be the last thing to go.  If you're running out of dance steam, do less energetic dance moves, but keep the smile.

Great Dancer, No Smile

This doesn't happen too often.  If you watch the show "So You Think You Can Dance", or any dance competition for that matter, you'll notice that all the performing dancers have a fixed smile the whole time, and frequently flash that smile towards the judges.  You won't be looking out at the audience, but your audience is the girl or group of friends you're with. 

I go salsa dancing often.  I've seen all the looks some guys do.  

I remember a few months ago, one of my dance partners was dancing with one of the best salsa dancers in the club.  He performed these incredibly low and dangerous dips and strong moves.

When they were done, I asked her,  "Wow.  How was that?", expecting a positive answer.

She replied, "It was weird.  Did you see that look he was giving me the whole time?"

I looked over.  The guy was giving this greasy suave look to the girl he was dancing with.

I've talked to many of my salsa partners who've told me that they get creepy vibes from some guys who don't smile, even guys who dance well.  They don't mind dancing with guys just getting into salsa, but don't like dancing with creepy guys.  You don't want to be creepy.  Once you're labeled creepy, it's an uphill battle to get in the good books of a girl.