Many people learning to dance find it hard to remember dance routines. In fact even dancers who've been dancing a long time can have this problem.
Like most aspects of dance, movement memory and recall of choreographies improves with time. Is there a way to improve your memory quicker though?
Well I think an important part of being able to remember routines is being able to replay them in your head. Imagining what the routine looks like in your head without actually doing it.
You need to be able to get the routine in your head before you can actually physically perform it. In remembering routines it also helps to know how the moves link up and to spend time making sure you are able to move easily from one move to another.
Many times there'll be a specific bit in a routine that a dancer will have trouble with. It may be that the timing is tricky or maybe they just have trouble putting the moves together. It is important to spend enough time going over these parts of the routine.
If you're able to get a few of these tricky parts out of the way, many a time you'll find you have quite a larger part of the routine than you'd imagined. Also practice the section of the routine before and after the tricky part and link them up so you know what comes prior and after and can do this section of the routine.
When you're unfamiliar with certain dance moves or are learning a new style of dance, naturally it will take a while just to get used to the dance moves themselves before even linking them up in routines. Give yourself time to learn and do not beat yourself up about what you can or cannot do.
Another thing which helps a lot with routines is just knowing the rhythm and timing of the choreography without actually counting the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 counts. Just using sounds in your head (or out loud) such as "boom ska" or whatever sounds seem to make sense to you.
And when you do get a routine perfect or even pull off a section which you were having trouble with, give yourself credit for it instead of having an attitude along the lines of, "Finally! Whay the hell did it take so long."
Use these techniques and with some time and practise you'll be able to pull off whole dance routines no problem!
Gel Man writes for , a dance portal and directory that answers many of dancers most pressing questions and features the latest news in the world of dance.
