The last thing you want to be doing is trying to memorize the material from your dance class and struggling with it. That’s why we’re going to help you out! In this blog post we cover five ways to make remembering the material easier. Let’s get started!
1. Use a dance journal. It’s a simple yet effective tool for any dancer.
2. Breakdown the steps into smaller parts – make it easier for your brain to process and remember.
3. Visualize your learning, practice and performance experience.
4. Practice, practice, practice! Dance is a skill that needs to be developed over time just like any other.
5. Record yourself dancing, then watch it later! You’ll be amazed by how much progress you’ve made.
1. Dance Journal
A dance journal can help you keep track of steps from class. It’s a great way to do it right after the lesson or if there isn’t time, just write them down during the session and then go over your notes later!
Before leaving class, write down the steps you learned in your notebook. This will help solidify the movements and words into memory better than if you just danced them during class. You can also record yourself dancing these moves for future reference to make sure that they are accurate!
2. Breakdown the steps
Break down the steps into smaller parts and practice them on repeat. This will help you understand the step, like a muscle memory in your body. Once you have practiced the small movement, put them back into the whole to get better results!
Breakdowns help with overall understanding by breaking up large sequences into less intimidating chunks which allow us more easily place new information in context while still retaining previous knowledge.
3. Visualize
When we dance in our heads or visualize ourselves flawlessly executing choreography, there are two things happening at once: We’re practicing technique without putting wear-and-tear on our body like when doing physical exercise. Most importantly, we are learning new material! This visualization process works any time during your day. Also before you practice, visualize the last lesson, who was there, what the teacher was wearing and what you learned. To help me with this I often write that information in my dance journal.
4. Practice, practice, practice!
Practice makes perfect! It’s the saying that has been repeated over and over again. And for good reason too – it is true. Dance, like any other skill, needs to be practiced in order to get better at it with time. When practicing dance you can’t just cram a bunch of hours into one day; instead, plan what moves or routines you will practice each day so they are spread evenly throughout your routine schedule (i.e., 5-10 minutes every weekday).
5. Record yourself
Practicing a new dance move? Record yourself dancing, then play it back! You’ll be amazed by how much progress you’ve made. After practicing for 5-10 minutes a day just record yourself at the end of the week before your next class. This will show your progress and you can have an easy reference to jog memory if needed later on. I also like to record myself right after class for memory and reference.
I hope these Five Ways to Remember the material from your dance class quickly and easily will help you. They are simple yet effective in the challenge of remembering choreography or routines in classes!
