Vogue Dance Fundamentals: Essential Rules and Techniques

To learn any dance style, you first need to master its fundamentals. Vogue involves sharp movements, freezing in specific poses, and an exaggerated walk. To dance it beautifully, proper preparation is essential.

Before starting a session, a good warm-up is required, lasting twenty minutes. The first ten minutes warm up the body and muscles, the next ten focus on warming up the wrists. The wrists are the most active part in this dance. Hands are the primary weapon in Vogue.

So, during the warm-up, rotate your wrists in all directions, and warm up your shoulder and elbow joints. A good exercise is to pull the elbow of one arm toward the opposite shoulder. Repeat this exercise several times. Your arms should be toned.

Then you can move on to the basic dance moves:

— Arch your back. Your chest should face forward, and your pelvis back. While arching and keeping your back tense, slightly squat. The foot should not touch the floor completely—only the toes. All your body weight goes onto your toes. Stepping, move your pelvis and hip to the side. Try to do this gracefully and sexily. Keep your hands on your waist. Take a few steps like this.

— Second move. Straighten your arm, palm facing the wall. Then, keeping the palm in that position, bend your arm back at the elbow. Your elbows should face each other slightly. When straightening one arm, cover your center, i.e., your chest. Repeat this exercise alternately with each arm several times. Try not to press your elbows against your body. Also engage your shoulders—they should not stay still but move as well.

— After that, combine the first and second moves: step forward with your right foot and left hand, and then the opposite. Walk across the room several times to fully internalize the movement. Try to arch gracefully and forget about stiffness.

— Once you've mastered this exercise, let your hands loose. They can move in different directions. Maintain your walk and try to move your hands to the rhythm of the music. Don't think about which way to throw them or how to arch best. Give yourself freedom of movement.

— Next move. Squat, keeping your back straight. Slightly arch it forward. Place your hands on your knees. Start bouncing on your toes. While bouncing, try to extend one leg forward. Don't lean your whole body forward. If you start to get this move, engage your hands. Again, you can fling them in different directions without thinking. The key is to learn to bounce correctly while keeping your back straight.

— To correctly perform a spin and drop, your butt and knee should land on the floor at the same time. Squat. Your ankle can be in any comfortable position. Move your hands back, arch your back, and tilt your head back. Then spin onto your right leg. Simply turn your torso to the right, smoothly moving your hands in the same direction. Keep your head lifted. Lift and extend the other leg. You can keep it straight or bent, whichever is more comfortable.

These are the basic exercises and rules for learning Vogue. Dedicate at least thirty minutes to training at home. The key is to relax and try to learn to improvise hand movements.

With such practice, you'll quickly learn to dance Vogue beautifully, and also feel more confident and uninhibited.