Freestyle dance tips

Do you feel like you are repeating yourself too much while freestyling? 

Let's see how you can fix this. 

I recently had a new student in the BTM program, and he told me that one of his weaknesses is that he feels repeating the same moves too much when he dances. The moment he said that to me, I asked him this question. 

What do you do at the moment when you have this feeling? 

He said that he starts thinking about not repeating the same movement when this happens. But because he starts thinking about it, he repeats it and starts panicking. So unconsciously, he's attracting the things he doesn't want to do because he starts thinking about them. 

Most of the time, this is exactly what happens. When you catch yourself repeating the same movement, you keep thinking about it because you want to change it. And the fact that you want to change it, you are putting more focus on it, so you are attracting what you don't want to do.

How can you fix this? 

What I'm going to share with you is simple but not easy. It will require you some time before you do this. And to be honest with you, even if I don't master it the way I want to, I'm still practising the same principle I will share with you. 

I don't know if I will be completely free of it one day, but I'm getting better and better.

Here's how to fix this. 

• STOP JUDGING YOUR MOVEMENT 

Movements are like words. We use words to express ourselves. But when we talk, we use the same word repeatedly. What makes the difference is the context. The subject you are talking about will make you use the same word but in a different context. 

We are using the same words but not saying the same thing. It all depends on the context. 

Movement is the same thing. Movement is a tool that we use to express ourselves as a dancer. It is our word. You can create so many movements, but your body is limited at the end of the day because you've got two arms and two legs, so you are quite limited with your body parts. So the only way for you to come up with unlimited movements is to stop judging your movements and understand that over time you create a pattern, a way of moving. And these types of things are your identity, and most of the time, certain movements will come back repeatedly. 

You can do the same movement, but what makes the difference is what comes after. 

Example: You always start dancing with a specific movement. Now in this performance, you start with your movement and then carry on to something completely different. But when you think of not doing the same move again, you start doing it over and over. 

Instead, understand that this is the beginning of a sentence that will lead to something different. So even if I repeat a move I had already done, it comes in another context and is also part of my pattern, so I'm not judging it. 

Movement is movement. It's all about what you do with it. And the best way to use movement and be creative is not to judge it. 

Why do you think sometimes you've got two people doing the same movement, but for some reason, you can't take your eyes off one guy rather than the other, but they are doing the same movement. 

If this is the case, then movement is not that important; it is how you do the movement, it's what you create with the movement that will make the difference. 

Understand that when you dance, even if you have a lot of vocabulary, certain movements will come back and don't judge them when it happens. Understand that you are starting a new sentence; you are introducing what you are going to do after. 

If you manage to develop something after that, then it will not be that obvious; you did the same movement. Because we all do the same movement over and over, it's just how we present it today or tomorrow. This will set you free and help you understand there is no good or bad movement; they're all equal. It's all about how I use them. 

Repeating movement is no longer a problem for you when you have this mentality, repeating movement is not a problem for you anymore. As I said at the beginning, this method is simple but difficult. It requires time to have the right mindset to do it repeatedly. The more you do it, the easier it will be.