How to Be a Good Hiphop Dancer

Co-authored by Marilin Karst

Last Updated: February 18, 2023 References

Through dancing, you want to express your feelings, but your body won’t let you?! You want to dance to make yourself look good? With enough confidence and patience, you can do anything!

Steps

1
Love it. If you want to dance, you have got to love it. Your heart must be into it. Maybe you want to dance to look good in front of boys or girls. However, to look good, you must ignore how other people view you, and concentrate solely on yourself. Your heart must be ‘fully’ into it. If your heart's not into dancing, you will most likely give up when you cannot do certain moves, because it will stress you out. But if you have a desire, you will stick to learning one move until you get it down.
2
Research some well-known dancers. There are many legendary dancers who encourage many amateur dancers. It is good to look up to them and learn how they learned how to dance.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Of course, you should not try to imitate moves that the professional dancers do. It is very hard. But let me remind you of this; pick one of your favorite dancers, and whenever you dance, think of him/her and imagine yourself as if you are him/her. Let him/her be your invisible teacher!
Advertisement
3
Learn the moves. You can either take classes or learn it by yourself. A lot of people watch videos and try to follow along, but most of the time it is difficult. You need someone who can take a look at your moves you have taught yourself, someone you look up to, and he/she can fix your problems.^{[2]
X
Research source}
4
Learn some history. Dancing is one of the ways to express one’s feelings. It is artistic, beautiful, and sometimes indescribable. Also, there are many types of dances. For example, there is breakdance, popping, tutting, locking, etc. These sorts of dances are generally in the Hip-Hop category.^{[3]
X
Research source}
5
Dance with your friends. Practicing dancing alone may be boring. And you might want to learn moves from other people too. After assembling your group, look for a nearby dance studio, gym, or even on the streets! Hit your friends up, get speakers, and jam!
- Even though you might think that you look bad in front of other people, there’s always something satisfying after the hard work right? Ignore the others, just practice and freestyle with your friends, and who knows? Maybe you and your friends can be the world-best dancing group in the future.
6
Don't be hard on yourself. Maybe your friends would tell you that you are bad at dancing. Just ignore them. Even though you think you are bad at dancing, stand in front of a mirror and look at yourself. Why not? Why would you think that you cannot dance?
- Never say never. Tell yourself, You can do it man! You’re just either too scared to show off or too lazy to practice! Of course I can do it! I’ll get the moves down and show them who I am. That’s right!
7
Choose your preferred style. Be specific. If you want to breakdance, also known as ‘b-boying,’ you first need to know what kind of dance it is.^{[4]
X
Research source} It involves a lot of strength, along with your own creative styles. For this, you have got to be into it. You may feel like the moves you want to learn are so hard, that you just want to give up, but have faith in yourself.
- There are lots of different moves for breakdancing. Remember, you can learn any one of the moves, and transform it into your own style.
8
Be aware of your skill level. Popping, which is one of the common dances along with b-boying, requires some natural skills, as in skills you naturally have, because as you get older, your body’s flexibility tends to become stiffer and stiffer. So you should start practicing when you’re young, or have natural skills.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- If you do not have natural skills and didn’t even know about popping when you were a kid, it will require a lot of practice, for popping is literally popping your body on beats. It will either look good with the music or make the audience want to just leave you.
9
Keep practicing. Practice every day. It doesn’t have to be a harsh practice. Let’s say you’ve been practicing hand-stands, then before you eat dinner, as you wait, just practice little by little.
- When you have free time, practice anywhere around your house. As you walk around, do some moves, keep doing them, keep practicing, because if you practice certain moves a lot, it will become natural.
10
Perform. Audition for performances! Work hard for it, and make it a good memory. Throw out everything you’ve learned. You can do it individually or with your friends. Put every single move you learned in a song and make a dance! Listen to the audience’s reactions, listen to their advice, and make it better next time! Dancing on stage will encourage you a lot. Be proud of your work, but do not let go, keep working until you reach your goal!^{[6]
X
Research source}
11
Be prepared for the commitment. Dancing takes time. You need to learn the moves, feel comfortable with what you're doing, and try to practice the moves into something new.
12
Remember that no matter how far you want to go with dancing, keep going. Even though you're not going to be a professional dancer in the future, but still loves dancing - don't quit, if you love that hobby keep it up and never give up.^{[7]
X
Research source}

Expert Q&A

Question

What are the good qualities of a good dance instructor?

Marilin Karst
Fitness Choreographer
Marilin Karst is a Fitness Choreographer, Health and Fitness Coach, and the Co-Owner of Fiesta Fit Sisters. With nearly 15 years of experience, she specializes in wellness coaching and fitness instruction. She studied fitness, nutrition, and leadership at the Instituto Peruano Del Deporte. Marilin is certified by the American Council on Exercise as both a Health Coach and a Personal Fitness Trainer-Health Fitness Instructor. She’s also certified to teach Zumba Basic, Zumba Toning, and Zumba Kids.

Marilin Karst

Fitness Choreographer

Expert Answer

If you are looking for a hip hop or dance instructor, make sure to look for a teacher that makes every student feel comfortable about themselves and their skills, no matter the level of proficiency.
Question

My mum doesn't support me in dancing. Should I quit dancing?

Community Answer

If you enjoy dancing, then keep at it. It would be nice for your mother to support you, but you can't control her actions. If you quit because of her, you will resent her and your relationship with her and your own happiness will suffer.
Question

How can I be the best dancer?

Community Answer

Learn the easy steps and remember them all. If you're dancing to a song learn the words because it helps you in performance. Practice as often as you can before any performance.

Warnings

Do not get hurt while either practicing or dancing on stages! Some of the moves can be dangerous, so get some help if you desperately want to learn it.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 5 Not Helpful 0
If you’re going to show your moves off to guys/girls, do it right. Don’t embarrass yourself. Also, you have to be good if you want to show off, or else they will just think that you are one of the cool-dancers-wannabe’s.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 5 Not Helpful 1
If you have stage fright, practice, so you can be your best.^{[8]
X
Research source}

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0