What kind of dance lessons will make me a better poser?

[SteelWeaver]

I've been thinking since Sunday ... the people who move the best are dancers. In particular, their transitions between poses are so much more graceful than your average lumbering lug. I think, to improve my posing, I need dance lessons.

But what kind????

I'm not a two-left-feet type - I DO have a little co-ordination, but I'm not your "wow, she's so gracefully elegant and look how well she carries herself" type, lol, I WISH. At my height, and having a bit of a reputation to uphold, I can't afford to be TOO graceful, ho ho.

Anyway, ramblings aside, what form of dance would help my posing best? Modern? Salsa? Latin? (Are they the same?) Not ballet, too late.

Or, what else would be good? Any suggestions?

 

[magdelana]

Perhaps ballet lessions? Ballet enphasizes poise and grace as well as great balance. This can make you look a lot smoother and entertiaining on stage.

 

[The_Monster]

Yep, Id say ballet. The flexability alone would be worth taking classes for!

 

[Hannibal]

Also, try Lambada. It won't help your posing, but you won't care.

Lambada??!.....THAT'S the forbidden dance

 

[Gladiola]

It's not too late for ballet! Supposedly ballet is like the base knowledge & skill on which other dance disciplines rest (or something like that).

It's the ideal for poise & it's good for flexibility as well. I took it as an adult (age 24) - never had it before AT ALL. I posted on it once - but I'd be happy to share more of my experience as an adult ballet-newbie if you like.

Yoga & tai chi might help with grace as well.

 

[poohbear]

Ballet, salsa, mambo, hula, belly dance and that other sexy Indian dance

 

[Sassy69]

Let's not rule out experience and also comfort on stage!

I can tear up the dance floor in a pair of 4 inch FMPs and even do it on a 2x2 raised platform, but me doing my first competition routine had to be painful to watch. It wasnt' too bad but I was so self conscious I just couldn't relax. Even w/ 1/2 a bottle of red wine in me! Second show was a little better, but consider I didnt' get my complete posing routine until AFTER the morning show (ahem.... trainers please plan ahead....). For the show I was beginning training for, I already had the music and 9/10 of my routine down at week 12. Just more practice and comfort w/ your routine will improve your transitions. And doing it in front of audiences, including an impromptu show for the gym groupies will help.

And do you notice the people who pull off the best routines (well sometimes excluding body preparation) are those who are the most comfortable and having the most fun on stage? If you have stage fright or are not a ham it takes a little more-- but also remember what you put in to get to that point to go on stage. LIVE IT UP! THE SPOT LIGHT IS ON U! SHOW OFF DAMMIT AND LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. (Or just have some more red wine )

 

[SteelWeaver]

Let's not rule out experience and also comfort on stage!


And do you notice the people who pull off the best routines (well sometimes excluding body preparation) are those who are the most comfortable and having the most fun on stage? If you have stage fright or are not a ham it takes a little more-- but also remember what you put in to get to that point to go on stage. LIVE IT UP! THE SPOT LIGHT IS ON U! SHOW OFF DAMMIT AND LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. (Or just have some more red wine )

Oh, sassy, believe me, NOOOooo problems there - read my "I did it!" thread - I absolutely loved every second I was on stage - I had the most fun I've ever had - it was a huge thrill - I wasn't nervous at all. I haven't seen the video yet, but I don't think my posing routine was bad at all, for a first-timer, and considering I put it together myself. I just want to be better, always better, and transitions definitely seem to be the place where, posing ability being equal, the difference counts.

I guess you folks are right, though, about poise and balance and flexibility. Darn! Ballet! Oh, well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Ballet? Argh, really?

 

[Gladiola]

Ballet? Argh, really?

Well, if you're really going to hate it, it might not be beneficial enough to torment yourself AND dump money into it. BUT - compared to a very few other brief dance lessons I've had, ballet really focuses on poise & how you're carrying & presenting yourself, rather then just doing the movements.

Man, I felt silly in that leotard though - & MASSIVELY huge compared to my teeny tiny stick-thin class mates.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Man, I felt silly in that leotard though - & MASSIVELY huge compared to my teeny tiny stick-thin class mates.

Bwwaaa haa hah haaa ha - no kidding! Can you imagine me - a 5'11" bodybuilder in a class full of Japanese ballerinas? This is gonna be hilarious! Japanese women are some of the most petite women in the universe, and I can guarantee those who take ballet are gonna be the most petite of them all.

I'm tempted to do it just to cause an upset hee hee.

I guess I just have a kind of negative impression of it because as a young girl I was always bigger and taller and more lumbering than all the other girls, and was viewed as not having the, er, genes to do ballet, even if I'd been interested in it.

OK, it can't hurt, and can only help - tell me what you know Gladi, and I'll go get some toe-shoes.