If you are looking to start dance from ground zero, well you’ve come to the right place. I took my first studio dance lessons when I was 17 and I was clueless. The movements were too complicated, the class was taught too fast, and everyone in the class seemed to pick up the choreography except for me. The class was at Millennium Dance Complex which, years later, I now teach at. That first class sparked a determination/drive to get better because I saw how dope other dancers were in the class. Two of these dancers in particular were Will Simmons (@bigwillsimmons) and Gabe Deguzman (@gabedeguzman). These two are now friends of mine and I remember upon first impression I thought to myself “How are they moving their bodies so fast? How do they have so much control?” In this article I will be covering 3 main things I wish I knew when I started dance.

1. Foundations/Basics

Although you may not see your favorite dancers posting about foundational classes, I promise these great dancers took foundational classes. A lot of first time dancers will skip the foundational/basics classes because they seem “boring”. These classes are not going to be the flashy choreography classes that you see go viral on social media. A foundational class might have you do something simple like “bending your knees to the beat” or “nodding your head in different directions”. These classes will teach you how to gain awareness in your body. I personally have foundation in hip-hop, house, krump, popping, waving etc. I STILL take foundational classes to this day because it’s a great way for beginners to learn dance from ground zero and a great way for advanced dancers to sharpen their tools. Here is a link to my foundational course: Intro to Dance Course: Class 1

2. Balance advanced classes with beginners classes 

When I first started dance, I took TOO many advanced dance classes. I could never remember the full piece of choreography and always blanked out somewhere in the dance. I could never execute the moves the way that I wanted to. I was always stressed!!!! I thought that by always taking advanced classes, I would get better FASTER. This was not the case. I could’ve saved myself a lot of time if I just took more beginner's classes. I think it's great to challenge yourself with an advanced class if you are a beginner but you should take roughly 1 advanced class for every 10 beginner’s classes you take. Beginner’s classes allow more time to focus on your quality of movement. Think about it like lifting weights. If you are a beginner in the gym, you might see someone benching 135 lbs with ease and they do it for 10 reps. If you try that same

weight, you might only get 1 to 2 reps. If you know anything about muscle growth, you don’t get big by just doing 2 reps in each set. Lower the weight a few pounds so that you can get more reps in and experience more muscle growth. The same concept applies to dance. If the class is so advanced that you can only pick up a couple of the moves, try and master an easier paced class. Visit here for a beginner’s class: After Hours - Kehlani (Beginner’s Tutorial)

3. The goal of the dance class is not to get selected by the choreographer.

I used to think that if I was chosen by the choreographer to do “groups” at the end of class. But this is simply something that is not in your control as a student. It is

exhausting to dance for other people’s approval. There were times that I’d leave a

dance class after not getting selected for a group thinking that I did horrible. And then

there were other times that I’d leave a dance class after getting selected thinking that I had it all figured out. There are too many factors that go into choreographers choosing groups. They may be looking for dancers who will be able to match each other’s styles, dancers who are their friends, dancers who have a following etc. Every teacher does groups differently. There were even times where I wasn’t selected for a “group” from a class but later that same choreographer would message me to hire me for a job. Do not let “select groups” destroy your confidence! There are definitely more than 3 things that come to my head when I think about things I wish I knew when I started dance but these are the main tips I would give a dancer that is just starting and experiencing studio training for the first time. If you have any other questions feel free to message me @IsaiahSouthallTutorials
on instagram and sign up on my website for tutorials to help you in your dance journey.