You can’t stop watching your favorite music videos and dance tutorials online. You’d love to dance like that someday. Even though you try to pay close attention to the moves and emulate them on your own, sometimes the choreographies get really complicated and difficult to follow.
There are many strategies you can use to get better at dancing and mastering routines. The most helpful tips are usually to start with the basics and join dance classes.
At dance class, coaches and peers can support you with the advice, feedback, and detailed instruction you need to improve your skills. But until you get to dance class, it doesn’t hurt to practice a bit on your own.
So, this guide offers numerous ideas of popular songs and easy corresponding choreography you can work on independently as a beginner. This will give you something to work on for your next dance class, or give you somewhere to start if you haven’t been to a dance class before.
Why Learning to Dance is for Everyone
Learning a new skill as a beginner is never easy. Particularly with dance, it’s often way harder than it looks. Especially if you’re trying to learn on your own, it’s common to run into certain issues:
- Not having the foundational skills to execute certain moves
- Getting discouraged when your movements don’t look how you imagined
- Inadequate or inefficient practice habits stalling your progress
If you’re struggling with challenges like these, don’t give up yet! With the right guidance, everyone can (and should) learn how to dance.
Dancing is a form of expression and enjoyment that is open to everyone, regardless of age, gender, background, or physical abilities:
- Self-expression: Dancing allows anyone to creatively express themselves. Each person brings their unique movements, styles, and rhythms to the dance floor, making it an accepting and diverse experience.
- Physical activity: Dancing is a great form of exercise that you can adapt to any ability and fitness level. Whether it’s high-energy styles like hip-hop and salsa or gentler forms like ballroom or ballet, there is a dance style for everyone to enjoy and benefit from in terms of physical fitness and well-being.
- Social connection: Dancing brings people together, fostering social interaction and connection. It encourages communication, cooperation, and teamwork in dance classes, social dances, or cultural events. Dancing transcends language and cultural barriers, unifying people from all different backgrounds and communities.
- Mental well-being: Dancing has mental health benefits, including stress reduction, increased self-confidence, and mood enhancement. It can be a self-care tool and emotional outlet for anyone to improve their well-being.
- Accessibility: As a very inclusive activity, dance can be adapted to accommodate individuals with physical disabilities. Many examples exist of dancers with disabilities who have excelled in various dance forms, illustrating that dance is not limited by physical abilities.
Dancing is a universal form of expression, exercise, social connection, and mental well-being that is accessible to all. Learning how to dance is a rewarding experience for everyone because it promotes unity, expression, wellness, and joy.
As long as you embrace the process and the challenge and work hard, your dance goals will always be within reach.
6 Easiest Dance Routines Beginners Must Try
Don’t worry about being ‘good enough’ to go to a dance class. Studios have helpful choreographers on board who are well-versed in helping beginners learn and reach their goals. They also know how to make the learning process interesting and fun for everybody.
It’s important to choose catchy tunes and choreographies that are engaging and enjoyable, especially if you can share that enjoyment with other dancers. That’s why these six easy dance routines to popular songs are a great place to start learning.
As a beginner, you can learn all these choreographies and more when you enroll in jazz, hip-hop, or Kpop dance/choreography classes at On One Studios.
Say So / Like That – Doja Cat | Gigi Torres Choreography
With the right dance classes, you can eventually learn hip-hop choreographies like this. Monday Night Workshop is a collaboration over ten years in the making, bringing dancers of all levels together with some of the best choreographers around.
Confident – Justin Bieber | Jessie Munoz Choreography
Here’s another example of an accessible choreography to popular music. Your instructor will lead you through the fundamentals and help you polish your moves one by one until you can freely dance with style and confidence.
God is a woman – Ariana Grande | JJ Ghera Choreography
Once you learn the basic moves in a dance routine from start to finish, you can then focus on making the movements even more clean, expressive, and eye-catching.
I Like You – Post Malone ft. Doja Cat | Aggie Loyola Choreography
As you experiment with different dance styles and techniques, you’ll get a feel for your interests and preferences. Then, you can find your own niche to express your personality through your dance moves and routines.
Jessi (제시) – Cold Blooded (with SWF) | Lisa Le Choreography
On One Studios specializes primarily in street and club styles like popping and KRUMP, but you can also learn K-pop choreographies and dance routines to your favorite hits.
Seek & Destroy – SZA | AP Choreography
Mastering all your moves and expression will eventually give you the freedom to freestyle, improvise, and add your own flair to any routine.
How to Learn These Easy Dance Routines
Next, we’ll provide some practical steps that will help you learn your first beginner dance routines.
Do Warmup Exercise with Simple Dance Moves
Try warming up with repetitions of some basic moves or sequences. With a relaxed mind, you can make something up to go along with a catchy tune you like. This will get you ready to listen to the music and rhythm, check in with your mind-body awareness, and synch everything up.
Choose a Dance Style of Interest
Here’s how to choose a suitable dance style:
- Reflect on what you like in terms of music, movement, and style.
- Research and explore videos, performances, and tutorials on the dance styles that appeal to you.
- Consider your current level of fitness, flexibility, strength, agility, etc. Some dance styles take a lot of work to gain specific physical conditions and abilities.
- Acknowledge your learning style. How much complexity can you handle, and how much structure is ideal for the way you learn? Some styles require more formal training, and other styles are easier to learn for self-taught dancers.
- Follow your passion. Pick music and dance styles that intrinsically motivate you to learn and work hard.
- Be open to new experiences. Expose yourself to different music and styles of dance, because you never know what will broaden your horizons as you develop new interests and abilities.
Practice Your Dance Form
- Warmup exercises will help loosen up your body to prepare you to move the way you want with flexibility, stamina, balance, and range of motion.
- Focus on the fundamental techniques of your dance form, such as body alignment, posture, footwork, arm movements, etc. It helps to practice in front of a mirror if possible outside of dance class.
- Repetition will help you develop muscle memory and precision to excel at basic movements and progress to more complex moves. You may want to break down complex moves into small parts for practice.
- Practice with music so you can connect fully with the rhythm.
- Seek feedback from peers and dance instructors.
- Be persistent. You might get frustrated, but keep working and you’ll improve.
- Try out many different styles and challenges to expand your repertoire and versatility.
Combine Different Steps
Once you’ve refined a dance routine down to each individual movement, you can keep things interesting, get creative, and challenge yourself by building up the complexity and combining different dance steps you’ve tried.
Sign Up for Dance Classes
Dance classes are the most productive place to grow new skills and share the knowledge and expertise of dance instructors and other dancers at every level. You can learn exciting choreographies, master them, and make them your own with professional support and guidance.
Enroll in Dance Classes to Advance Your Dance Skills
Working on your dance skills by yourself can be a great way to learn, and independent practice is always essential.
But there are some benefits of learning dance routines from professional and veteran dancers that you can’t easily get being exclusively self-taught:
- Technique and form: The experts have a ton of experience and a deep understanding of the nuances behind various dance styles. They provide valuable insights into posture, alignment, footwork, and body movement.
- Performance skills: Beyond executing steps, dance is about conveying emotions and connecting with an audience. Professionals can teach you more obscure skills like how to express yourself and develop stage presence.
- Choreography and musicality: A coach helps dancers explore different choreographic styles and understand how dance movements are crafted into routines. They have a keen sense of musicality and how to interpret music, understand rhythm and timing, and create visually appealing dance sequences.
- Discipline, motivation, and work ethic: By learning from a coach, students gain insight into the rigorous training regimens, practice routines, and dedication required to excel. This instills a sense of discipline, commitment, and perseverance in aspiring dancers.
- Confidence: Dance instructors cultivate a supportive environment where students can learn, practice, and perform in front of others. This helps boost their confidence and self-esteem on and off the dance floor, as they receive constructive feedback.
- Networking: Finally, dance classes offer opportunities for networking, building connections with other dancers, and exposure to performance and competition opportunities.
Enroll in OOS hip-hop, jazz, or Kpop dance classes to discover your full potential in dance.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dance Routines
What are some ways to improve one’s dancing skills?
Take classes, practice, follow videos and tutorials, seek feedback, strengthen your body, and work on performance skills like stage presence, expressions, and storytelling.
What is the easiest dance to learn for adults (non-ballroom)?
Hip-hop is one of the most accessible dance styles for adult beginners. Country line dance is also an easy and fun dance style for first-timers.
How do you choreograph a dance easily?
Outline a concept around the music, such as an emotion, theme or narrative. Create a vocabulary of different movements to build sequences. Experiment with transitions between movements. Vary your levels (high, medium, low) and formations (shapes like lines, circles, and diagonals).
What is the hardest dance style to learn?
Ballet is one of the most technical and difficult dance styles.
How long does it take to learn a dance routine?
It depends on your level and learning style, the length and complexity of the routine, and whether you’re learning it independently or in a class. For beginners, it can take weeks to perfect a complete routine to a song. But you can learn the first basic steps of a simple dance routine in just an hour.
Do I need to have prior dance experience to learn a dance routine?
No, you don’t need prior dance experience, rhythm, or musical abilities to try learning a dance routine. These are all skills you’ll build over time as you learn a new dance routine.
Ready to learn easy popular song choreographies to enjoy with friends?
By practicing and exploring on your own and attending dance classes, you’ll be surprised how fast you can perform fun, engaging dance routines. We’ve covered six easy routines you can learn that will show off your hard work, passion, and personal style.
Take your skills to the next level by getting involved in dance classes.