hiphop dancing (1 Viewer)

[xinxin89]

does anyone do it? if so, wat do u think is the key to becoming a good hiphop dancer?

 

[glitterfairy]

a) yes, and b) good training, experience and learning about the dance itself instead of trying to buy into the "GANGSTA!" thingo. I've seen a number of "hiphop" people (baggy pants, lingo and bling etc) come into hiphop dance classes with so much attitude, as if they're 10 times better than the rest of us because they're "real" etc etc. But since they can't take critique and accept the fact that OMG they might not actually be all that good (at first, anyway) they tend to suck and just look really stupid Even those "real" hiphop folks had to learn their stuff from somewhere, you know? If you think you're perfect from the get-go, then you'll never be good. Accept the fact that you have much to learn, and will ALWAYS have something to learn. It never stops!

My favourite teachers for Hiphop are Juliette Verne and Yolanda Thomas (I think they teach at SDC and Mango?). They've both lovely lovely people with slightly different styles - Juliette has a accented style (which can look a bit sharper) whilst Yolanda has a looser style and is probably a bit closer to what you see on MTV. Both do great choreography and will take the time out to help you perfect your style during combos etc

Be careful of "faux hop" or "wannabe hiphop teachers". A lot of jazz teachers assume that hiphop is a lot about "walking with attitude" and hitting various poses - but it's not. Most of the reputable hiphop teachers in Sydney have either been trained in the US, or have danced over there professionally (these details will be avaliable in their bios, usually avaliable on studio website).

 

[Steven12]

cool, I think i am going to take a hiphop short course in sydney uni, just for fun, but like I dont really have any hip-hop dancewear, does anyone know where you can buy them from, if so, what kind of clothing should I look out for?

 

[Serius]

The key is being black. You should look out for clothing that makes you look black, use movies such as "you got served" and "8 mile" for inspiration

 

[PatG]

So my black pants, jacket and balaclava won't make me look black then?

 

[glitterfairy]

ahahahahaha *holds tummy whilst laughing*

You're actually better off wearing something similar to what you'd wear to a gym - trackpants and some sort of fitted top (and most people will wear something like this - both because it's easy to move in, and because it allows the teacher to see whether you're doing the right thing with your body or not). Sure the whole baggy jeans/chains etc thing will look great walking into the studio, but I bet you won't be feeling quite so good when you're doing situps, pushups and stretches

Here's a taste of the stupid stuff that can and will happen in class if you are dressed innappropriately:
* chunky chains digging into your flesh in floorwork
* unzipped/open jackets half falling off in the middle of combos, and since you can't stop and put it back on you look like a fool
* chunky necklaces/zippers of open jackets whacking you in the face during turns/some movements
* baggy pants FALLING DOWN whilst you're dancing, hahahaha
* Long pants that need to be hemmed getting caught under your heel and making you fall on your butt in front of the whole class
* the relatively thick waistline/hipline of denim jeans digging into your lower spine when you're doing your ab track (situp combos), ouchies, especially for the belt loops/belts digging in

ALL dancers will pull out the cool stuff for performances. So this means tutus for ballerinas, feathers and leotards for showgirls, streetwear for hiphop dancers... but trust me. When you're in the studio, you wear stuff that you can actually move in.

 

[xinxin89]

If someone was really slow at picking up the moves, woul dyou say they simply just don't have the talen for hiphop? I mean if everyone else in your class seems to be keeping up, but u always seem to be the one who's one beat slower than all the others and when u do ur moves, u somehow just don't look as funky as the rest.

Do you think everyone has the potential to do well or is this type of dance only suited for certain people?

 

[glitterfairy]

Hmm. Speaking as both a dancer and a dance teacher, there will always be some that have to work so much harder to get half as good as others (and similarly, some people who will be at a natural advantage). But that doesn't mean that you can still become a decent dancer - it just takes practice and good training. It is definately NOT 'just suited for certain people'

Some teachers will mentally dismiss dance students that look like they have 'learning difficulties' but in my opinion this is because they don't have the patience to work with the basics. You gotta start with a good foundation, you know?

For example, most great dancers are blessed with an excellent sense of rhythm/musicology - most 'normal' people have varying levels of this (very few are totally tone/rhythm deaf). So what you teacher should do at this point is just work on your musicology - start by knowing how to pick out the rhythms, then doing simple choreography that basically goes beat for beat (eg stepping). As you get better and have to concentrate less on the music, you can learn to start layering and mixing up steps (eg choreography that accents/travels on off beats rather than on the beat). The trick is ALWAYS to start off simple. Then work with that will you're 100% comfortable with it - then you go up a notch on the challenge meter, work with that till you're 100% comfortable, go up another notch etc etc.


Musicology aside some people just have issues picking up steps within a short period of time. There are more or less two types of choreography learners - 'Audio Digital' and 'Kinesthetic". The former are those nutty people who can watch something once and do it perfectly. The latter has to do it over and over again and ingrain the choreography into their body memory before they can perform it as comfortably.

That being said, even a kinesthetic learner (I'm kinesthetic too btw ) can improve their pickup speed by being challenged over time, and 'raising their bar' so to speak. This is going to sound totally stupid but I'm going to relate it to maths - you start off with 'simple' algorithms which seem hard. But then when you start learning harder ones (and being pushed to get the right answer fast) those earlier ones seem easy, yes? Also, the more experience you have the easier it will be for you - of course someone who has been doing classes for a longer time than you will (at the start, anyway) be better at picking up choreography because they've had more experience at that sort of thing. We all start with nothing

As for style, this is something that will come with time. I have always felt that a dancer will ONLY really put their style in when they are comfortable with a step - so if it just means that you're not comfortable with it yet, don't worry! You soon will be Keep working hard and just let it develop naturally - it won't happen overnight but it does happen

 

[sunjet]

bboy.org

 

[totallybord]

any good beginners dance studios?

 

[glitterfairy]

Sydney dance company (http://www.sydneydancecompany.com) has some great beginner classes I highly recommend both Robyn and Yolanda

 

[snowbunny]

the key is, practice practice practice

and trying out lots of different classes becuase every teachers style is so different!


definately dont try and dress "the part" especially if you're a beginner people will just think you're wierd.. just wear normal dancing clothes like singlet top and short shorts with 3/4 stockings or another form of pants

 

[lengy]

You're there to learn to dance not look like a poser. Dress in comfortable clothing that you can freely move around in. Thinking of taking classes.

 

[hotChoklat]

yeah baggy pants, fitted top = good + the biggest thing is not gettin hot and uncomfortable
There are still beginner classes/courses starting and on at Urban Dance Centre near central station - seirously that place is tha best and you should check out them on youtube if ya want proof - even people from brent street practice with us.
All you need is some kinda rhythm or be prepared to develop it, and dont think too much about the moves - just copy your teacher and let it flow. Good dancing looks effortless.

 

[lengy]

I was interested in hip hop so I wiki'd it and realised there are so many styles which is why it's hard to categorise 'hip hop'. Do they tell you the styles the teach?