Hip Hop Teacher Training - An Alter Ego When Dancing - A Useful Technique to Teach Your Students?

Great Hip Hop dancers and teachers ooze confidence when they dance. Being confident when you dance is integral to giving a great performance. Having an alter ego can dramatically increase how confident you feel when you dance.

Therefore, having been in the Street Dance industry for the last 18 years, and having taught thousands of people worldwide, I believe that you definitely want to encourage your students to create their own alter ego. After all, why wouldn't you want them to be more confident when they dance and to improve as dancers?

What is an alter ego?

Many top artists and performers have spoken in the past about taking on an alter ego when they perform. One of the most famous is probably Beyonce's alter ego 'Sasha Fierce'. When Beyonce wants to go for it and give it her all, she talks about letting Sasha Fierce do her thang! By doing this, she says she is more able to commit to her performance. I say if it is good enough for Beyonce, it is good enough for me!

Why encourage your students to take on an alter ego?

If your students are not giving 100% or they are not throwing themselves into the choreography, you may want to suggest that they take on an alter ego of their own. This will help them liven up their performance of your choreography and feel more confident when they dance.

If you encourage your students to do this, you will find that they dance with more confidence. By stepping into the shoes of someone else, your students let their own inhibitions go. After all, it isn't them dancing, but someone else who is maybe better equipped to give more energy, dance with more passion and generally throw themselves into the choreography with more commitment. In my experience, when students imagine they are somebody else, (somebody more confident, sexy, loud, energetic, bubbly or whatever it is they need), they relax, dance better and give a better performance.

4 steps to creating your very own alter ego

So you may be thinking - great, I now know why I should have one, but how do I go about creating one for myself?

Follow my 4 step process below, to utilise this technique:

Name your alter ego.Dress as they would dress.Ask yourself 'what might they say to themselves in their head?Ask yourself, 'what do they believe about their dancing ability?

For example, a student might say:

Her name is Slick & Sexy SarahShe dresses in the latest street wear and wears it with style - so I will do this.She says "I'm awesome" to herself in her headSlick & Sexy Sarah knows she looks hot and can bang out the moves

Lead your dance students through my 4 step process. Just by going through this process, your students will feel more confident and be able to commit to the choreography even more. If your students do this, you'll see different students appear before your very own eyes.

Have fun with this technique and encourage your students to do it too. You'll be amazed at the results you get!

And now I could like to invite you to claim your FREE audio training called "Avoid the 5 Biggest Street Dance Teaching Mistakes" http://www.StreetDanceTeacherTraining.com/mistakes.php?referrer=ezine%20alter-ego

From Hayley Hall, International Street Dance Teacher Trainer and the Co-Founder of the Street Dance Teacher Training Company http://www.streetdanceteachertraining.com/

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