SDL 003 : 8 Beginner Tips to help you WIN in Street Dance competitions and Battles

Episode Description

In the 3rd episode of the SS4A Podcast: Street Dance Life, I share 8 tips that will help beginners WIN in Street Dance competitions and Battles, taken from my experiences and observations studying battles since 2004 Show Notes: Tip 1: Listen to the Music I know this might seem obvious, but trust me it is harder than it seems.  A REAL Street Dance judges pet hate will be when people are off beat.  What ever you do, do it on beat.   It is better to do more simple move son beat than more difficult moves off beat.   simple is funky, less is more   Tip 2: Look Up/at the person who you are battling Again this might seem simple, but one common mistake that beginner dancers make is looking down - ALL the time.  I am not saying it is bad to look down, but in certain competitions it is about the dance AND about how you perform.  shows a lack of confidence. Tip 3: Don't use all your moves in 1 go: When you compete/battle you need to think like a winner.  A beginner will be nervous and most likely do all their moves in the first round.  Someone who knows what they are doing will pace themselves and not reveal all their moves.  That is why it is so important to attend classes/courses and keep learning.  Eventually create moves on the spot depending on the music   Tip 4: Save your Best move until the last round  If you don't make it through then at least you still have a move or some moves that no one has seen yet, so you can use them for the next competition.  You may find this hard as you just want to show all as soon as you can Tip 5: Use all the Space shows control the floor is yours own that shizzle Tip 6: Don't Suck Up to the Judges: For comps with more than 1 soloist dancing at a time, Pulling a cute face, switching hips, flicking hair, whipping head followed by a cheesy smile is just plain annoying.  Real street dancer Judges are listening to the music/watching the dancers to see how the connect to the beat and how they perform.  Forget cheesy stuff and bring your dance game. In the long run you will be pleased that you didn't go down that rout and concentrated on having your skills do the talking. The same goes for bigger solo battles where you may know of one of the judges and you do moves or styles because you know they would like it - keep it real, and do your thang regardless of who is judging.  Always bring your A game. Tip 7: Use different styles to different music in different rounds this is aimed at competityions with more than 1 soloist dancing at the same time,  To really show your expertise you should adapt to the music - if you hear music that is good to pop to - guess what?  Time to bring out the popping moves.  The same with Hip Hop and breaking and so on.  The music may not be great so just try your best.  This will also help you separate your moves out if you stick to individual styles rather than jumping from Hip Hop to Popping etc.  It also shows your skill and depth as a dancer. Tip 8: Remember it is about the dance: This is a hard one to comprehend if you didn't get it already.  Street Style dance is always about the dance first, using the music for inspiration.   That is how we as Street dancers create.   In a Battle it may just be that you don't connect with the music, and it may not be your time.  The more you stay true to yourself, the more you practice the dance, the more relaxed you will be under pressure, and in comps you will start to "feel it" more and more.   Don't sell out just to win.  If you hate the track, try one of your sets, but but don't be discouraged if you don't win.  Sometimes Judges can be biased.  Who knows.  But if you go out the to dance, you will never go wrong, as when you leave the dance floor and hear that music, you will be right at home again.   Links ss4a.com/3 ss4a.com/ask ss4a.com/special Click here for my Current favourite Battle clip