Styling

I've recorded and released a web lesson and dance practice to give you guys something to work with while I work furiously around the clock putting together my jam-packed Level 2 DVD!  In the web lesson, I cover basic musicality to the song "Dangerous" by Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon.  I've covered transitioning moves in my Level 1 DVD, but here it is put to use dancing to a real club song.

If you have a Youtube account, please show your support by rating my videos generously!   Click here to visit my Youtube channel.

Also, at the request of some students, I've put up a forum.  It's empty right now because I'm super busy making a quality video for you guys (and girls), but I intend to get active on it once I release my Level 2 DVD. 

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Again, thanks for all your support!

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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.

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.