Hair Styling
Beginner Level
The foundation — what every new dancer needs to know
Hair styling is the art of making your hair an instrument — flicks, tosses, and touches that add cinematic drama to movement that's already beautiful.
Beginner focus
Start with the simplest move: during a body wave or weight shift, let your head tilt to one side and back to center. If you have long hair, you'll notice it naturally moves with you. That's hair styling. Don't try to 'throw' your hair — just let your head movements be slightly larger and your hair will follow. The hand touch (lightly touching or pushing hair away from your face) is another easy entry point that reads as confident and sensual.
Tips
- •Tie your hair up and dance a full song. Then let it down and dance the same song. The movements that naturally created hair moments? Those are your styling opportunities. Don't add hair styling; reveal what's already there.
- •Slightly damp hair (not wet) moves more dramatically than completely dry hair. Many dancers lightly mist their hair before performing for this reason.
Common mistakes
- •Overusing hair styling — when every count has a hair movement, none of them are special. Hair styling is seasoning, not the main course
- •Violent head movements that risk neck injury just to get a bigger hair effect — the movement should originate from the spine, not from flinging the head
- •Ignoring the partner's face — a hair flick into your partner's eyes is not styling, it's assault. Be aware of where your hair goes
Practice drill
Stand in front of a mirror. Do 10 slow head tilts to each side, watching how your hair moves. Then 10 faster flicks. Find the speed where your hair creates the most dramatic arc. Now add music: do a basic step and place one hair moment per 8-count phrase. Just one. Make each one intentional.