How do dancers train?

amusedmonkey · January 2015

I've always admired dancers, all kinds of styles. Their strength and the control they have over their bodies is how I see myself in a perfect world. Now that ship has sailed for me, and age is not the only culprit. I have zero musicality, zero rhythm and -100 coordination.

With that out of the way, what do those who study dancing start with? Surely they don't jump right into choreography? I believe they need to build a certain base of strength and flexibility before moving on to more advanced stuff, and I'm really curious about those routines. It would be nice to achieve at least some level of the control and strength they have.

Any good books or videos about the bare basics, the fitness backbone of dancing? Now I'm not looking for those workout dance DVDs. Like I mentioned I can't follow the simplest dance steps to save my life, and the "act" of dancing isn't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for that control, balance, flexibility, moving effortlessly and so on.

KarenJanine · January 2015

Dancers often train across a range of disciplines - strength training/conditioning, cardio, and stretching/flexibility - yoga and/or Pilates.

If you're looking for flexibility, balance and control then yoga would seem a good place to start. Weight training alongside this can help with the strength.

TheVirgoddess · January 2015

I did jump right in, but at a young age.

If you're starting later, I'd highly recommend yoga. It focuses on strength, balance and flexibility - those are all integral skills for dancers.

Nony_Mouse · January 2015

Yep, based on what you're looking for, I'd recommend yoga. Check out Yoga With Adriene on YouTube. She has heaps of vids, including a beginner's series and a weight loss series. I'm just coming up to the end of her 30 day challenge and I feel amazing!! (ok, a little sore from doing strengthen and lengthen last night, but in a good way!).

TheVirgoddess · January 2015

I'll echo Adriene, she's a great place to start.

amusedmonkey · January 2015

Thank you. Yoga does make sense as a starting point. I was actually interested in it a while back but got overwhelmed by all the types and practices. I had no idea what to choose so my enthusiasm tapered and I seem to have forgotten about it. Looks like I need to look into it again.

GiddyupTim · January 2015

My sister danced professionally. Ballet. She likes jazzercise classes now to stay in shape. As far as training their bodies, I think most just take dance classes and practice, practice, practice their dance moves. There isn't much energy left over after that. (I have heard of some professional dancers who claimed to spend time in the gym, lifting light weights. But I seriously doubt it is very common.)

Makhai_ · January 2015

Yoga, definitely. Tai Chi, Qigong are other disciplines to look into or mix in.

azulvioleta6 · February 2015

I agree that yoga might be a good place for you to start.

Most of the professional dancers that I know (Latin) don't do much or any training outside of dance but they are ALWAYS moving in one form or another. I know a couple of world-class dancers who lift weights and a couple who also run. Both of my grandmothers were professional dancers--one was a big swimmer in addition to dance, the other was generally active, but didn't do much other formal exercise.

People learn to be dancers in many different ways. As a small child, I was declared "the wrong shape to dance" by my grandmother who was a ballerina and tango dancer. My legs are very short, totally wrong for tango, and my frame size is just MUCH too big for ballet. This was evident from age 4. I did take several years of ballet and some jazz dance as an elementary-aged child. Because I was not supposed to become a dancer, I got an excellent education in music, which I think has helped me hugely in dance as an adult. I discovered other types of Latin dance (salsa, merengue) on my own as a teenager and went on from there.

So what if you have no musicality or coordination? Take a casual dance fitness class (Zumba, hip-hop, jazzercise, whatever), stand in the back where you won't annoy anyone, and enjoy it.

Cherimoose · February 2015

amusedmonkey wrote: »

what do those who study dancing start with? Surely they don't jump right into choreography?

Yes, most started with dancing, years ago, when they were uncoordinated. To get good at dancing, you will need to practice dancing, often, for years. If you can't work with a dancing coach, search Youtube for "how to" videos and practice daily.

tomatoey · February 2015

Years ago, I had a roommate who was (is) a dancer. Classes all day long, like 5-8 hours of dancing every day, in different styles (ballet, contemporary, contact, what have you), plus rehearsals into the evening and weekends. They definitely start young (think 5-6), as well.

BUT most dance companies and schools offer beginner - advanced classes to the public, just google "dance classes adults [your city]" (without the quotation marks) to find them.

Hardenton · February 2015

I'm a personal trainer and can teach dance lessons. It's best to find a teacher or join a dance class. The best dance style is dancing alone by yourself expressing your interpretation of the music through movement

Hardenton · February 2015

Yoga is the worst place to start. I would start with jumping and hip movement

azulvioleta6 · February 2015

Hardenton wrote: »

Yoga is the worst place to start. I would start with jumping and hip movement

Why? I would think that establishing good balance and flexibility would be useful...plus things move slowly and musicality doesn't matter.

Hardenton · February 2015

Usually people trying to learn to dance already know how to dance. Their energy is just dormant. So doing things like jumping, HIIT cardio, boxing, circuit training and having good sex (hip movement) will bring their energy to the right frequency.

Headtothemountains · February 2015

Barre classes! Ballet dancers reality

nam985 · February 2015

*raises hand* I'm a dance teacher, have danced for 25 years and have been teaching for 15 years now.

How do dancers gain the strength and flexibility? Simple, they dance. For example, in a ballet class we will spend a good 30-45 minutes just at the barre. Plies, tendus, releves, etc. are all exercises to build strength and flexibility. There really isn't a substitution for gaining the mobility needed. Yoga is nice but not necessary, it uses the muscle groups differently and develops a different sort of flexibility and strength.

Do students jump right into choreography? Yes, sort of. When I'm working with a group of beginning students we go over a few steps at a time (2-3 for young children, perhaps as many as 5-6 for older students) and once the mechanics of each step have been gone over they are assembled into a combination that can be added to as more skills are developed.

That ability to make the difficult seem effortless only comes through continued training and practice. If you want to develop some of this, why not look into taking an actual dance class? Most studios have adult classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Patience_Child · February 2015

Reminds me that I recently watched a video on youtube to see what the daily class for the Royal Ballet in London looked like. I thought it was interesting to see.

It's their warm-up for the day.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5EVMjnHFg-w

JoRocka · February 2015

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Hardenton wrote: »

Yoga is the worst place to start. I would start with jumping and hip movement

Why? I would think that establishing good balance and flexibility would be useful...plus things move slowly and musicality doesn't matter.

Yoga and a good stretching routine is crucial for for dancer. But you don't start learning how to dance by doing yoga.

The first thing that learn is that dance know no age. All f the girls stayed dance with have no 'young' training. We all came to this as adults And we are all serious professional level and competent dancers and performers.

Step 1.
What kind of dance do you want to take?

Step 2.
find some studios.

Step 3
dive the *kitten* right in.

I started in college almost ten years ago dabbling and now I'm I'm a professional performer who trains 4-5 times a week. I taken workshops. I study with the best way I can afford and put myself out there and I work really effing hard every say immersed in music, movement, techniques and musicality.. . I everything I do is dance.

You can do it. Just figure out what you want to do with an adult class.

Makhai_ · February 2015

We completely misread the question, disregard our comment. Sorry.

tomatoey · February 2015

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Like I mentioned I can't follow the simplest dance steps to save my life, and the "act" of dancing isn't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for that control, balance, flexibility, moving effortlessly and so on.

Ahhh, sorry. If you don't actually want to dance, you can improve control, balance, and flexibility with yoga and pilates, yes. As someone above said, dancers learn to "move effortlessly" by moving in space, in all kinds of ways - that would be explored to a lesser degree in yoga or pilates. If you did want to try a dance class to work on that, though, I think you might enjoy contemporary styles. My limited experience (classes as a kid, some for fun as a grownup) tells me the movements are often more natural / accessible than in e.g. ballet. And you get to make pretty shapes and so on.

How do dancers train?

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