Monday, January 31, 2011

Tips for Beginner Jazz Dancers

Written by a Yahoo! Contributor.

Jazz is one of most popular dance styles of today. It's fun, energetic and consists of fancy footwork, big leaps and quick turns. So as a dancer with 15 years of experience, here are some tips that every beginning jazz dancer should know.

1) Take A Ballet Class First It is important that beginning jazz dancers have a good sense of balance and grace before starting. The best way to achieve these things, is by having a strong background in ballet. Before learning jazz, I took ballet lessons for several years. So once I took jazz, I already had some of the basic skills and techniques needed to excel in class. So that is why I would suggest enrolling in a ballet class before starting or even taking the two dance forms simultaneously.

2) Jazz Clothing Is Important As a beginner jazz dancer, it is important that you wear the right clothing. Form-fitting tank tops, t-shirts or leotards are typical jazz clothes. As for pants, I would recommend wearing flared jazz pants, as tight pants will only restrict ankle movement. When it comes to picking buying jazz shoes, consult with your dance teacher for preferences or recommendations. Most importantly don't wear baggy clothes. As a beginning jazz dancer, you may be feeling a little self conscious and feel more comfortable in loose clothing. However, your body lines need to be visible, which cannot be achieved with baggy clothes.

3) Maintain a healthy lifestyleHaving a healthy lifestyle is important part of being a successful jazz dancer. Eating right and not drinking or smoking, will give you more energy and help your overall health. Jazz dancing is a wonderful form of exercise that will make you feel good and look good.

4) Practice Makes Perfect Another important tip that beginning jazz dancers need to know, is that practice makes perfect. The more I practice the jazz steps I learned in class, the better I got. So practice at home and before you know it will notice improvement.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing these tips. I'm just starting jazz dance classes in Decatur IL, and this will be really helpful, I think.

    ReplyDelete