I wanna find my rhythm and learn to dance. has anyone overcome this?

9 comments

1. I know what you mean! I feel self conscious when I dance too. Just remember that a lot of people feel that way, so when you dance anyway people admire that. Start slow, lil side step, put your arms out a lil bit. And after a while realizing that people aren’t staring or judging you it gets easier to just enjoy moving. Maybe try at home by yourself in the mirror, that builds some confidence. Being around other people that are dancing too helps. But mostly just forget that people are there, that’s how I do it.

2. I don’t recommend this but I always stood by the speaker and the places were packed so you had to dance w the crowd. Just find places that you are more comfortable…

3. No one cares weather you can dance. Have fun. Part of the fun, is overcoming the idea that people give a shit how you dance

4. What others think is a factor but what’s more important is that I learn the skill, not just let loose and do whatever. It takes practice but I’m sure there’s a method one can follow

5. Maybe take some classes it can help you to develop coordination and gain confidence to practice in an environment where people won’t bother you for your lack of skill.

   I am colombian an in my generation dancing was almost a prerequisite to have success with the opposite sex. I never was very interested since my real interest is rock, but I was aware dance will help me to interact with girls. So I took a course for around a month and now I am skilled enough to invite a girl to dance.Ironically my wife is a rocker as I and we should have dance like 5 times in 15 years.

   But this is a skill that can be learned, also you could look for tutorials on YouTube if you dont want to spend money in classes.

6. Put on your favourite songs at home and dance around! It’ll get you used to moving your body to music in a safe environment . Another really fun thing to do is YouTube dance cardio workouts. You’ll get to practice dance rhythm and get a workout at the same time!

7. I don’t know if this is a thing outside of Australia but there’s a group called no lights no Lycra where you just dance in the dark (dark enough you can’t really see people but you won’t go running into people). Honestly super cathartic and more aimed at being a good exersize.

8. Could take a dance class ***OR*** adopt the belief that it doesn’t matter if you have no rhythm. The quality of dance and music are subjective, why should you care about not doing it perfectly according to an arbitrary standard?

   If you’re really struggling you can use one of my favorite coping skills: saying to yourself “Fuck it, I’m gonna die one day. I could be enjoying this more damn it.”

   >MinMax happiness

9. Two suggestions:

   1. If you have nieces/nephews/young children you’re friendly with, dance with them. They don’t judge: they’re just having fun. It helps you remember to just have fun, too.

   2. Try Zumba, an activity where it’s impossible NOT to look silly. Even the professionals in the videos look silly. But it’s so much fun! That experience really helped me get over the fear of looking silly, because it helped me let go of the idea that looking silly was a bad outcome. Because how you look isn’t the point. It’s about having a good time.