How to Boost Your Memory Off the Dance Floor
Learning new choreography is exciting, but sometimes our brain seems to be not as willing to learn as we would like. Your memory is one of the most critical tools in dance. You could be executing every move to a T, but if you end up forgetting everything between the first class and the next, it can be frustrating.
The brain is a muscle, and it needs to be trained, the same way you train your body to perform. For some people, this might come a bit more natural, for others, it’s something that needs a little extra work, and that’s fine.
Here are three ways you can train your memory when you’re not in dance class.
Work on One Movement at a Time
Your brain needs time to process things. When you’re trying to feed too much information at once, you can slow down the learning process. Instead, give it time to absorb what you’re trying to teach it. One way to do this is to go movement by movement, or maybe break them down by body part. Practice what you should be doing with your feet first until you nail it, then practice what your arms should be doing. When it’s all clear on its own, then you can put them all together.
Practice, Practice and Practice Some More
Practicing at home is essential. It can also be the difference between being able to successfully perform what you learned the class before and not remembering anything, Take time to go over your movements at home —and do it several times— considering all the details like footwork and timing.
Watch Yourself Perform
Weightlifting athletes perform very complicated movements and doing them right is all about technique, but the funny thing is weightlifting gyms don’t have mirrors like dance studios do. So, how do they check whether they’re doing things the way they’re supposed to. Repetition is one way, but recording themselves is also a tool that’s often used to help them improve. The same applies to dance. If you record yourself, you will be able to notice things you might not notice in the mirror, and it will make it easier for you to correct them.
Not all of the work in dance is done on the dance floor. Do you have any other tips that help you remember choreography?