A Guide to K-pop Dancing | How to Learn and Improve + 10 TIPS!

can you tell that I'm wearing pes's underneath okay hi everyone it's Fuji today I want to talk about some basic things to know about learning kof dances I'll be sharing some things that I learned over the course of about 6 years of being a K-pop cover dancer now I'm still trying to get used to talking to the camera like this so please bear with me I broke this video up into three sections where I'll be going over how to learn K-pop dances and how I personally learn K-pop dances and tips on how to learn K-pop dances and then tips on how to improve your dancing in general I really really hope this video helps if you're kind of struggling to improve a little bit or even if you're just starting out and you're trying to figure out how to start and what to expect and this is more of an overview because I feel like there's so much to talk about that I will not be able to fit everything in this video so I'll definitely be making more videos like this in the future going more in depth so make sure to hit that subscribe button Please Subscribe oh my God feel like a you okay so there's a couple ways you can learn K-pop dances and I get a lot of questions asking how I learn K-pop dances and what the process is like so let me kind of show you I say kind of because the way I learn specific song changes depending on the difficulty and how I'm feeling that day how lazy I am but typically this is how I learn dances and I'll also touch more on this a little later but it is super important to find learning style that best fits for you so that means my learning style might not be the best for you and also my learning style kind of changed As I Grew as a dancer so there are some things that I did in the past that I don't do anymore and there are some things that I do now that I didn't do before the very first thing I do is stretch it's super super super important like you don't know how many times I pull the muscle or I woke up the next morning with a sore neck and that's the worst the sore neck is a worst having zero mobility of your neck is just definitely not fun and you don't want to get hurt I got to admit though cuz a lot of times I do get lazy your body will thank you later also when I stretch I blast my favorite upb music which helps me get more hyped up and more motivated to dance after I'm nice and warmed up I find a mirrored version of the dance on YouTube I also get questions on why it needs to be mirrored and also like what does mirrored mean it basically means when the video is flipped so right now the video is not flipped so my camera shows exactly what it would look like if you stood where the camera is so my right side is your left side and now let's mirror it so now my right is your right as well you can directly copy what the person does in a mirrored video as if the person on the screen is your mirror I don't know why I did that there's a variety of things you can learn off of the first and the best option being the dance practice and your second option would be like a clear fan cam and other not so frequent options are music videos if you really want to learn it fast or variety show fan cams or sometimes music show performances and Tik toks you could search the name of the song artists and then mirrored and it should pop up a channel that really helps me a lot is called Black Cat and they're super fast at uploading Mirror Dance videos so they are my go-to but sometimes there are specific videos that I want to learn off of that don't have a mirrored version on YouTube so I use this extension called Mirror tube and basically you can mirror any video that you're currently watching and you can adjust the speed and also has a repeat function which is super helpful and if the reference video is not from YouTube for example a Tik Tok I would just download that or screen record it and mirror it on my phone directly after finding a suitable source to learn from I watch the video over and over typically at a slow speed until I can somewhat picture the dance in my head and I'll also focus in on the music so I can understand the musicality of the dance and also the Rhythm the beat and the lyrics lyrics of the song this makes it easier for me to kind of connect the music and the moves together Better Together Better Together better and I'll start with the slower speed which can be adjusted with the YouTube settings or the mirror tube extension and I will copy each move I learn a move and then repeat it until I get it and then add more moves and then put that together with a previous moves and then continue that making sure I know what beat or lyric I'm hitting that move on the keyboard the comma and the perod key actually can allow the video to go frame by frame which is super helpful with like complicated moves especially with like hand movements or footwork and then I'll put everything together without music first and then add slow music and I'll practice it over and over until I get the hang of it and then I speed it up and then repeat until I get up to full speed and then I'll record myself at the end to see what I look like and kind of critique myself e and I'll repeat this cycle until I'm content with what my goal was for that day and a small little tip for people who don't have mirrors is to split screen your laptop if you have a Mac you can open a photo booth I don't really know if there's an alternative for PCs if there's like a camera application I'm sure you can use that and use split screen and one side is the reference video and one side is the photo or the video application that kind of helps with like a makeshift comparison video and this is a more simplified list of what I do so if you like a detailed explanation I am more than happy to make a specific video on that so please let me know other ways you can learn K-pop dances is through tutorials there's a lot of free ones here on YouTube and if you are a beginner dancer I really recommend you start here because these tutorials kind of explain each move and how to move your body to execute that move and if you have little to no experience in dancing you're going to have to move your body in a way that you've never done before so getting some step-by-step guidance on how to move your body can really really easier way into the world of K-pop dancing I do have a few tutorials on my channel if You' like to check that out also if K-pop dance classes are accessible and available near you I would also recommend going if you can and that would probably be the best option but it does take a lot of courage to go as a beginner now let's talk about some tips specifically for learning K-pop dances I see this tip a lot in other videos on this topic and I also think it's super important and it is to watch the video as many times as possible before actually learning it ideally the day before and this really helps ingrain the dance in your head and it will really help when you actually learn it I feel like having that really clear image of the dance makes it easier to translate that into physical movement which is also why before I learn a dance I usually just watch it and learn it in my head first before physically doing it and that's why when I also learn a dance that has been on my Tik Tok forie page constantly it's so much easier and faster because I basically know the dance my next tip is to chunk it break up the dance into smaller parts for example a typical chorus has two parts A Chorus and then a post chorus or like the hook one day you could really focus on one part let's say the first chorus and then once you get comfortable you can move on or you can even break it up into smaller sections like eight counts or even specific moves like it took me a few days to get the butterfly footwork down and get a guitar you can learn a Coro a few steps at a time and then practice it at a slow speed get comfortable with it speed it up and add more and then repeat the process you can also chunk the parts in terms of body parts I would explain in my tutorials like you do this with your legs first and then you do this with your arms first and then you put it together so I'll break down the move so instead of making it look like one full move it's a combination of an arm movement and a leg movement this actually may help you in the long run because a lot of K-pop dances are the same moves but in different variations so if you learn a specific let's say footwork from this one dance it might be easier for you to learn another dance that incorporates the same footwork a tip that I'll swear by is to let it marinate put it in a bag and then throw it in the fridge I rarely film covers right after I learned because I am never satisfied with it and it never turns out that well for me when I usually learn a dance I would learn on it and then sleep on it literally go to bed and sleep I don't really know the scientific logic behind all this is but I think when you're learning a dance you're so focused on getting the moves and memorizing it and getting used to body movements you've never done before and then when you go to sleep your brain kind of consolidates it all I should know more about this because I did study it in college but yeah trust me when I say it really helps to let it marinate and it's super important to take a break from the dance itself over fixating on something is never good and taking a break from it will allow you to come back with a more positive attitude Source from personal experience the amount of times I would get so frustrated at myself for not being able to get a dance right and then the next day I'll be able to do it better now the next few tips are more on how to improve your dancing rather than the learning process the first tip is to record yourself especially if you don't have a mirror I understand for some how difficult and uncomfortable it is to see yourself dancing especially if you just started to dance but by recording yourself you can see exactly which parts to fix and also you can kind of get the full picture there's a lot of things you can miss from just watching yourself in the mirror or none at all and it is important to monitor yourself and see where to improve on another thing you could do with that video is to make a quick comparison video by having your reference on one side and then your video on one side by doing this you can kind of see exactly where to improve on like even the smallest details like if your arms are at the right angle or if your head is tilted the right side but there is a small caveat to this and it goes on to my next tip which is don't compare yourself to Idols or other amazing talented dancers now hear me out I'm not saying it's not good to have role models and you can't look up to these people but I think a lot of the time this is kind of what Strays a lot of people away from starting to dance because I see comments like oh I would never be as good as blah blah blah or I wish I was good as you or I wish I could be you of course healthy comparison is good like if the purpose was to improve but keep in mind that these idols and also dancers have been training for years and years under under professional trainers and coaches just like how there's no Idols that are 100% perfect since day one you should not expect yourself to be perfect in such a short amount of time behind every amazing dancer Idol is years and years of hard work and dedication and comparing that to you maybe year one self-taught it's not a fair comparison right and it's also not fair to compare yourself maybe 3 months in to someone's fourth year of K-pop dancing and comparing yourself like that can lead to negative perception of yourself and devaluing all the hard work you put in in learning a dance and can bring down your self-esteem the last thing you want in your early stages of learning to dance is to get frustrated and overwhelmed I totally understand because I went through it myself and I kind of still struggle with it now because it's kind of my it's my heavy procrastination cuz I believe I'll never be satisfied and as good as Idols so I don't start things but that is a total different conversation for another time still working on it it's really hard to not compare yourself to others but yeah this is something I tell myself all the time okay that got kind of deep but let's move on the next tip is pretty simple strength and flexibility training this is a pretty obvious one but working out and training your body can really help you with like power execution and stamina by being stronger you can hit the moves more sharply and with more power you can control your body better and as a dancer core strength is super important and by working on your flexibility you can really extend your range of motion and also your lines would be cleaner I don't really know what I was doing there but oh it also prevents injury which is more important than you think because once you get injured it's really hard to recover fully and worst case scenario you can't dance anymore little personal story not injury related but before I got into dancing I was a pretty competitive soccer player and Super Active I would work out and have practice almost every day which I think it really helped me not look as flimsy and uncoordinated which a lot of beginners have trouble with I think and it helped me have a little more power and sharpness in my moves don't get me wrong I was still bad but I think I had a little bit of an advantage over like other maybe people who weren't as active and didn't have as much strength my next tip is to learn and brush up on some basic and fundamental dance steps this might mean to take a beginner level choreography class or a fundamental class like a hip-hop fundamentals or a free option is there's a lot of free videos and free tutorials on YouTube that teaches you a lot of like basics of dance I really recommend steezy and I know they have a paid program I personally haven't done it so I can't really say anything on the paid program but I did hear a lot of good things about it on their Channel they have a range of helpful videos starting from like Coral tutorials to videos on basic dance moves tips on sound dancing and so much more and they're not limited to like just hip-hop they also do K-pop Jazz and like so many other genres of dancing before I dance sometimes as a warm-up I would put on one of their like 15minute hip-hop workout and not only does this help me like warm up but also practice some basic hip-hop moves which a lot of them I actually recognize because I've seen them in a K-pop dance before a lot of K-pop moves originate from basic dance moves from a lot of different genres of dancing so going kind of Beyond K-pop and experiencing this kind of dancing can really elevate your K-pop dancing in my third or fourth year of dancing I actually joined my hip-hop team at my college and I think this really helped me um grow as a dancer overall which kind of translated into my K-pop dancing as well okay next tip is to find people who motivate you and surround yourself with people who share similar goals as you finding friends could be difficult but having someone someone you can share your progress and improvement with can really help you motivate and stay on track give you a really healthy competition and also you can Inspire each other I mentioned that I joined a hip-hop team in my college but I also joined my K-pop dance team and that was the first time I was surrounded with people who had the same passion and interest as me and it was also the first time I've ever danced with another person and people Not only was I able to share my passion but I was also really inspired to improve and grow and I understand that not everyone has opport OPP unities like this and it might be hard to find others so I really hope that my channel can be a comfortable place for everyone to kind of share their experiences Inspire and grow together I would love to hear your stories and your progresses and I would also love to give each other motivation the next tip or something you should keep in mind is consistency is key I know you hear this one a lot in other areas Not Just Dance and I know it's such an easy concept but but it is so so difficult to accept when you're in the process talking about it in a bigger picture improving dancing takes a long ass time even if you take classes or even if you're trained on a professional it is not something you're going to improve on overnight and this is such a hard pill to swallow because sometimes you're going to come across times where you're feel like you're not improving at all and then you want to give up and then you want to quit and then it gets frustrating but this is where you have to remember that consisten is key but that doesn't mean like aimlessly dancing and not actively trying to get better and a more smaller scale the more you practice a dance the more you're going to get better at it dancing is really cool because there's always something to improve on and the more times you practice it becomes muscle memory and your body is able to be in control while you dance like on day one the moves might feel uncomfortable and you still can't fully get it at full speed and then you let it marinate day two you're a little more comfortable you could sometimes Get It Off full speed but not every time and then day three you're more comfortable and you can get it at full speed and now you're adding more energy and precision to the moves and so on if you're a beginner and you feel stuck at day one give yourself a break and a pat on your back for at least trying cuz I think that is certainly the most important step and the feeling of accomplishment you get after getting a dance that you've been practicing a ton is honestly arguably the best feeling in the world over when you could get a dance like red away and I imagine it being the same for the idols I'm sure they can't execute a dance like they did in a performance video or a dance practice the day they learned it they prepare these weeks or even months in advance and practice time really builds up the last and most crucial tip I'll talk about in this video is come closer have fun and and enjoy the process it does sound cheesy but not everything has to be about you know being the best executing it perfectly improving the most fastest and quickest way possible enjoying what you do can honestly be the best Catalyst for improvement it does kind of sound like I just negated everything that I was just talking about in these last few tips but as important it is to try to better yourself and find ways to improve always seeking for that Perfection can really damage your perception and cause you to lose motivation and joy for dancing and it also does show when you're dancing so when you get a specific move down congratulate yourselves or when you get a specific dance down give yourselves a thumbs up before going into critique mode when I dance especially when I like film covers I often tell myself that I'm the dancer that I'm covering to Hype myself up like I literally look in the mirror and I go like oh my God is that sh cook oh my God is that Yi oh my God is that P oh my God is that Momo Lulu is Salu I'm out of breath if you're a beginner and looking for some dances to start off with some songs that I recommend are go go permission to dance by BTS Queen card by G Idol danceing that way or a lot of Tes early um title tracks like tit or cheer up also a lot of black pink choruses and super shy chorus left and right by 17 yeah might be some of my recommendations but the most important thing is to find a song that you truly truly love like to listen to or you love to dance of because choosing a song that you love it really shows when you dance and it would make your learning process a little more enjoyable and as you learn more dances you're going to start to find your own style what you enjoy doing more of and you'll get faster and faster at learning and I really want to emphasize that progress looks different for everyone so don't really compare yourself to others and it really does take a lot of time and patience for things to progress I really hope you guys enjoyed this video and got something out of it I was only able to briefly touch upon some topics and I do have more tips so let me know in the comments if you'll like more videos like these I would love to continue to share what I learned throughout my dance journey I really appreciate you all watching my video all the way here and also thank you to everyone who has been supporting my channel it really does mean so much to me I really hope I'll see you in my next video yay [Music] bye

Channel: FUJI

Views: 213,184

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Id: FWplo7h9Eik

Length: 20min 54sec (1254 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 02 2023