How do you dance?

Jus let the music take control or watch other people for a bit…

Um yeah. I don’t do the bump and grind, nut to butt stuff. But I’ll shake my ass all night to some soul/funk, blues and rock, or fun electronic stuff. I just do what my body does naturally. I used to care how I looked, but once I realized nobody was looking at me, I just do what comes naturally and have fun!

watch youtube videos for inspiration

k-pop is great dancing for in your home and such

but since you’re in a club, it is suggested that you just move your body to the beat.

perhaps get some alcohol and drugs in you if that helps.

Badly.

Just move your body to the music. Don’t worry about what others are thinking. Enjoy yourself like this boy. :)

“With the devil in the pale moonlight!” Hoo hoo haa haa.

@warribbons No drugs enter this body.

@jonsblond I think I found someone I dance better than…. Too bad hes like 6…

Like my feet are on fire!Wooo hooo….

I dance like an idiot.

I dance when I’m home alone so as not to embarrass myself. Or others.

Ever heard of “dad” dancing? – That’s me! just like This Guy

Unless you are going to be on stage with people watching, dont fret it, just try step side to side with the music and wiggle them arms about a bit and look happy!
if you know the song and can mouth the words while looking like you have a zuccini up your rear end, that helps too. :0)

I was in Germany and hooked-up with a lovely lady from Ireland. We were dancing and she whispered in my ear that I was the worst dancer she had ever seen.

I guess my point is that even if you are bad I will always be worse. But I like dancing, and will continue to horrify people all over the world with it.

I could never do the free-form stuff. Meg and I were serious ballroom dancers though. We won a contest on our honeymoon, not even knowing that there was a contest.

I learned to dance from my Colombian friends, so I just move my hips a lot. A lot.

Are you a guy or a girl? I don’t know why, but I think it’s harder for guys to look good dancing.

Just don’t try to do any “moves.” That’s the worst. Ugh.

Well, this guy has a few pointers:

“First I limp to the side like my leg was broken
Shakin’ and twitchin’ kinda like I was smokin’
Crazy wack funky
People say ‘Ya look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty!’
That’s all right ‘cause my body’s in motion
It’s supposed to look like a fit or a convulsion
Anyone can play this game
This is my dance, y’all, Humpty Hump’s my name
No two people will do it the same
Ya got it down when ya appear to be in pain
Humpin’, funkin’, jumpin’,
jig around, shakin’ ya rump,
and when the dude a chump pump points a finger like a stump
tell him step off, I’m doin’ the Hump!”

OK, in all seriousness? I move my bottom this way and that in time to the music and then the rest of me just follows suit.

I grew up with ballet and tap dancing, but never felt comfortable on the dance floor. I recently started taking Zumba and belly-dancing classes at the gym, and that helped me loosen up and feel more at ease. Friday night was the fort time I went out on the dance floor with my girlfriends with a bit of liquid courage… I had a blast! and I won’t be self-conscious anymore!

Feel the rhythm!! Let the beat take control :) Even close your eyes if you must, your feet and/or will take care of the rest! Or you could learn like this!

The point of dancing is to enjoy it. If you’re too self conscious of what people think about your dancing then you’re probably not enjoying it. Just listen to the music and if it moves you.. just dance. I don’t dance unless I like what i’m dancing to. I’m latin.. so when it comes to dancing I’m more drawn to latin rhythms. But different people like different things. My boyfriend is not the dancing type and I respect that. I just think you should be able to enjoy yourself whether it be dancing or just listening to good music.

Me and my dog dance. I have not got any complaints.
At least from him.

I dance like Carlton from the Fresh Prince… LOLZ

@LethalCupcake Lol! Lurve.

I find bad dancers then do what they’re doing just with more energy and more gracefully.
Also helps if I have a drink in me.

I can’t dance either. When I am forced to, my goal is to be completely unremarkable. i.e. competent but not especially great. To do this, I sort of just pretend I am boxing except I keep my hands loose and I don’t throw any punches (obviously, or at least I hope). Anyhow, I know this sounds kind of ridiculous, but it solved what was for me always the trickiest part of dancing: figuring out how to move my legs and torso together in a natural enough looking way. Just sort of shuffle, bob and weave with your hands up and active but relaxed. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself actually moving with the music. Probably no one is going to say your a great dancer, but no one is going to remember you as bad either. Again, shoot for unremarkable but competent.

Reading about how to dance is kind of like trying to learn how to read using your nose.

People often have a hard time dancing because they are self-conscious. If you believe dance is a competitive thing (the best dancers get to go home with each other), that can really mess with your head. It’ll tighten you right up. It’s impossible to dance if you are tense and self-conscious.

Some people put on music at home, go into the closet and dance where they no noone can see them. This is the right idea. You have to move as you feel. You have to let your body tell you how it wants to move. Just move so that you make yourself comfortable. That means allowing your body to respond to the music and the air and your feelings and to move to express it. Expressing all those things causes your body to dance.

You can’t afford to pay attention to anyone else there, nor think about what they might be thinking about you. You can try to be in your own little world, and that might help you stop thinking about how others see you.

There are dances where things are much more relaxed. It’s not a club/socializing situation. If there are any Barefoot Boogies in your area, they have a much more relaxed approach to dancing, and there are few if any judgments made about how people move.

Well, there you go. Can you sniff up that print now? ;-)

Probably it helps if you ever listen on your own to the type of music you are going to face dancing to. If you never turn on the type of music they play in clubs and don’t even know what it is, what to call it, or how to look for it, you won’t have a feel for it, right? This is pretty much what always stopped me right at the starting gate: it was an alien sound and did not speak to me.

I suppose a radio station could help out here if you’re motivated. A nonjudgmental and very patient friend might also do.

I can do a little salsa (an ex. taught me), and I shake my groove thang when I’m out with my lady. My girl on the other hand worries that she’ll look like a tool dancing. I would always encourage her to get out on the dance floor. No one cares how you dance. Get up there and have a good time.

Just don’t give a shit. Like this guy.

I think Jeruba nails down the central point to all this when he says no one cares how you dance. If you can find a way to put that in your mind and believe it, you’ll be able to have fun with it and do your thing, and if you can do that, you’re well on your way. It’s kind of along the lines of living a lie until you become it. Tell yourself you are a good dancer and act like you believe it until you do. My earlier answer is just a way I figured out how to stop living so much within myself and how I’m dancing so that I could enjoy the moment. If you can figure out how to stop thinking about the mechanics of what you are doing and how your moving and just move you’ll be fine.

Spend some time watching people on the dance floor. Sounds like you have rythm, you just need to see what they are doing at the clubs. Club dancing is generally in a tighter space than tango or waltz, more moving your feet directly beneath you than long steps.

Here are the rules for crowded clubs, because honestly what I notice most when I am out is not that someone is not dancing well, but they are dancing like they have never been out to a club before:

- do not dance side to side.

- do not lift your feet way of the ground (you could come down on some girls foot)

- Don’t wave your arms too far from your body (you could hit someone)

- No drinking or smoking on the dance floor.

- Don’t dance in a circle with friends on a crowded dance floor. It is obnoxious, you are taking up extra space, and I will be taking my dance partner to the middle of your circle if I am being squished off the dance floor.

If you you are not in a big city, people might break these rules, but good to know them if you ever find yourself clubbing in NY or Vegas

@jeruba made a good point to be familiar with the music, it is easier to dance if you can anticipate the music.

@aprilsimnel haha so does he…
First, I do like this
Put a look on my face like I smelled some piss
Bounce to the beat till it start to hurt
Then I dust all the smirk off mi shirt
Dip to the ground as I catch the bass
Then I wipe all the sweat off mi face
Hop back up then I start to slide
Poping my collar as I glide
Then I break the thang down and do the bird
Dust myself off like I just stole third

Can I look like a fool with my pants on the ground?

When I was younger, I used to dance like this. But now that I’m thirty-something, I’ve just added waaaaaaay more subtlety to the mix.

“It’s just a jump to the left,
and then a step to the right,
then put your hands on your hips,
and bring your kness in tight…”

i don’t dance, i slice and dice.

@LethalCupcake I’m proud that I can do a decent Carlton dance. :)