Difficult Dance Moves

[LoveAsThouWilt]

I figured I would start a thread like this seeing how, 1 - I cant seem to find any answers elsewhere and 2 - there seems to be people other than me who are having trouble with certain moves so its probably best to talk about all of them in one thread.

First off, I know this is a dancing game and that if I'm doing it incorrectly somehow, than I am doing it incorrectly. But the issue revolves around where "slowing it down" hinders trying the move than it actually helps and performing it becomes a haphazard mess to the point where I just wait for the next move.

SO, lets begin with my first question.



I have working on "I know you want me" on Medium (getting 5 stars on Easy so might as well) problem is, I still have problems with Blazer Step on easy, and then they add Salsa into the mix on Medium.

I want to know what other peoples takes are on these moves and suggestions (or videos side by side the on screen Dance) of them doing these moves so I have an idea what I am doing wrong. Break it down and slowing it down has not helped.

For Salsa, I realize, I am getting messed up with the leg change (direction from right to left) and either going back with it when it should for forward or etc, so that is one I can work the kinks out on my own... kinda. Maybe.

Blazer step though, I don't know HOW many times I must do this move and believe I am doing it right and either my arms light up or legs yet still I have no clue exactly what I am doing wrong. How important is the arm movement in this move, etc. I just can't figure out what I'm missing on this move even after breaking it down, somehow I still get it in the yellow, never green.


Feel free to share videos and ask your own questions about moves. Hopefully someone can shed some light on them lol I know I can't.

[NathAttack]

Originally Posted by NathAttack

Well, I have no problem at least getting a "Nice" on the Blazer Step, BUT to absolutely 100% no-failure secure my chances of getting Flawless everytime, I make them small, rigid movements. You'll notice Mo (the on-screen dancer for Poker Face) makes the moves really, really tiny.
Whenever I play this routine in particular, the Blazer Steps always feel like the least rhythmic move in the whole thing, because they're lacking in that "bounce" that every other move in this song has (imo). I'm pretty bouncy when I play, really loose and feeling the rhythm, but I more or less do the complete opposite for the B Steps.

Chances are you're probably stepping too far out, or you're making too much movement in your arms. Lead with your elbows, keep it tight, keep it small.

I know it's really hard to give and/or take written advice on a forum for a game like Dance Central, but let me know if I'm even in the ballpark here. I'm just going on what I see when my friends play etc -- It really does make all the difference. Hope I helped in some way.

Originally Posted by lucazzo

I'm going to give you a ridiculous piece of advice that worked like a charm for me:

It's called Blazer Step for a reason. Imagine you're wearing a blazer (jacket) and you're holding it and flapping one side at a time.

To illustrate a bit better, check this video:

YouTube - Jay Sean - Down ft. Lil Wayne

It's "Down" by Jay Sean (also in the game). At 1:17min they're basically doing the blazer step without stepping aside.

Taken from this thread. Hope it helps.

[LoveAsThouWilt]

I seem to be getting Blazer Step a bit more now but Salsa I just cant figure out now. I'm getting the steps down... I think, but I just can't tell because rarely do they light up but my arms ALWAYS light up on the 2nd phase (left leg out) of Salsa. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have problems with almost any move that requires a lot of footwork and arm work at the same time, but in break it down and slow its not giving any indication (word-wise) about the arm movements while the card clearly shows something. I just can't discern exactly what and when to move my arms besides the claping part in the move. It always yells on the second part with it as if my arms needed to be a different place BEFORE the clap. bahh

EDIT: And I FREAKIN hate having to slow it down every damn time I want to keep trying the move... instead of allowing me to just DO THE MOVE until I get it, it messes me up more by forcing me to have to slow it down - ie getting me complacent with how quickly it wants the move done in the real song... I want to just do the move at its normal speed.... because breaking it down doesn't help. Still can't see where the issue with the arm is in it.

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by LoveAsThouWilt

I seem to be getting Blazer Step a bit more now but Salsa I just cant figure out now. I'm getting the steps down... I think, but I just can't tell because rarely do they light up but my arms ALWAYS light up on the 2nd phase (left leg out) of Salsa. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I guess I have to give thanks to my latin blood because this is one of my gold starred songs that I did without even trying. I should upload a vid but I'm restricted by space to film both me and my tv at the same time. Anyhoo.

1st move is step forward with you right leg, bend at the trunk with your left hand out in front of you chest (at and angle). Your right hand should be fist down, elbow bent. It should look like you're about to run.




Then you shift weight back because the heels of your feet are going on beat. You swing your right arm in as you shift your foot back and your left hand then bends to the fist down. To do this in real "latin" fashion, never stop moving your feet. your heel/toe is what keeps your tempo in spanish music. If you stay flat footed, your handicapping yourself. Very hard to explain since this is something I do naturally but shit I'm trying



As you take you step together, your right hand should go back and your left hand come up back across your chest.



The last step is easily missable. After you come together, your left foot steps while you clap.




It should be four steps to your feet.

Right-Left-together-step/clap
Then in reverse...
Left-Right-together-step/clap

Arms alternate and don't go passed your chest. And remember to bend at the trunk. Just don't turn to your side like I've seen some of these youtube vids do and only nab a good.

Here's a vid of where I got the screen caps. Just stop the vid piece by piece and perform it from your pc if you can't stand the break it down mode.

YouTube - Dance Central - Kinect - I Know You Want Me *Hard*

YouTube - Dance Central - Kinect - I Know You Want Me *Hard*

[LoveAsThouWilt]

I find it funny that the only part it seemed you missed at all is perhaps the easiest to me lol Head-butt then flick the air lol

I can get the first part of the salsa down most of the time, but when it comes time to switch up I always mess up the arms or I forget entirely to step out with my left leg and screw the whole thing up. I'll get it eventually I guess. I love the song, but, I am sick and tired of playing the first 4 songs still... moving to other ones, even on easy, is insanely tough. I can get "c'mon ride it" or whatever its called and "can't get you out of my head" on easy though. The latter on Medium is a lot tougher with a lot more moves the butt shake one (can't even recall its name) messed me up on that one! Was so used to just doing the See-Saw move but then it switched from that, THEN the hip shacking lol Fun game tho... just lots of practice for certain moves.

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by LoveAsThouWilt

I find it funny that the only part it seemed you missed at all is perhaps the easiest to me lol Head-butt then flick the air lol

Oh that's not me- just some vid from youtube. That Como ("What") move is pretty easy to land.

I can get the first part of the salsa down most of the time, but when it comes time to switch up I always mess up the arms or I forget entirely to step out with my left leg and screw the whole thing up. I'll get it eventually I guess. I love the song, but, I am sick and tired of playing the first 4 songs still... moving to other ones, even on easy, is insanely tough. I can get "c'mon ride it" or whatever its called and "can't get you out of my head" on easy though. The latter on Medium is a lot tougher with a lot more moves the butt shake one (can't even recall its name) messed me up on that one! Was so used to just doing the See-Saw move but then it switched from that, THEN the hip shacking lol Fun game tho... just lots of practice for certain moves.

Lucent Beam from this forum has a youtube vid of her doing it on hard/five star. I won't post it because I'm not sure how she feels about it, but you can run a search on yotube and find it if you need a reference.

And trust me that this song is the tip of the iceblock.

I'm two songs away from doing all the songs on Hard/five stars and I'm stuck on "Don't Sweat the Technique". If you're having probs with the hand/foot combo, check this out

YouTube - Kinect Dance Central! "Don't Sweat the Technique" (Hard)

YouTube - Kinect Dance Central! "Don't Sweat the Technique" (Hard)

The only vid I've seen of someone doing it and doing it by only missing 20% of the moves (four stars, like me). I played for an hour yesterday and today I can't because my knees are killing me from the bboy hop move. I'm dedicating tomorrow to getting the five stars, but who knows.

[LoveAsThouWilt]

Wowzers... I'm definately going to be at this game for a long long time. Which is no bad thing.

[MADasaHatter]

Just five starred "Don't Sweat the Technique" and what do you know... I try the last song Lady Gaga's "Just dance" and five star it in my second try. Honestly, Don't Sweat.. is the hardest song in the entire song list.

I just need to grow some hips to do "Dip it Low" and I can get the achievement. Then I'll start doing gold star vids to show everyone how I got through the songs.

[lucazzo]

Originally Posted by MADasaHatter

Just five starred "Don't Sweat the Technique" and what do you know... I try the last song Lady Gaga's "Just dance" and five star it in my second try. Honestly, Don't Sweat.. is the hardest song in the entire song list.

I just need to grow some hips to do "Dip it Low" and I can get the achievement. Then I'll start doing gold star vids to show everyone how I got through the songs.

Completely agree. "Don't Sweat the Technique" is probably the hardest song to 5-star on hard. A lot of it actually has to with tough moves in succession that WRECK the multiplier. It actually involved more "combo administration" than any other song.

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by lucazzo

Completely agree. "Don't Sweat the Technique" is probably the hardest song to 5-star on hard. A lot of it actually has to with tough moves in succession that WRECK the multiplier. It actually involved more "combo administration" than any other song.

Exactly. There was one move I couldn't land all the time and it just so happens it appears four times in the song. What do you know that when I actually nab 3/4, I get the five star.

My only advice for the tough songs is to practice getting 3.5 to 4 stars in the first part of the song. If you don't get it, automatically restart while it's all fresh in your head. Most of the time, the second half of the song (after the freestyle) involves repeating some of the first chorus. Getting that combo going through all of the first half is the way to go.

[LoveAsThouWilt]

UGH! Hella good (being one of the songs and dances I was looking forward to) is frustrating as well on easy!! Its the fricken PunchOut move.... I don't know if its just because I never punched in my life or what but the move feels so unnatural. I know the move, I can get it down in break it down... dont even need to slow it down. Its simple step, punch - left, right, right right, step left, left right left left..... easy. BUt in the actual song it becomes chaotic and I don't know why. The move just feels unnatural because of how the on screen character moves their body during it and preps a arm before punching. Feels less like a dance move and more like arm flailing that screws me up on the moves to come because ti just feels.... weird.

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by LoveAsThouWilt

UGH! Hella good (being one of the songs and dances I was looking forward to) is frustrating as well on easy!! Its the fricken PunchOut move.... I don't know if its just because I never punched in my life or what but the move feels so unnatural. I know the move, I can get it down in break it down... dont even need to slow it down. Its simple step, punch - left, right, right right, step left, left right left left..... easy. BUt in the actual song it becomes chaotic and I don't know why. The move just feels unnatural because of how the on screen character moves their body during it and preps a arm before punching. Feels less like a dance move and more like arm flailing that screws me up on the moves to come because ti just feels.... weird.

Hella Good is one of the worst songs in the game imo because I hate the dance moves they picked for it. The Punch out move works in other songs, but not in No Doubt. First, the song is a dance/rock fusion which doens't really lend itself to coreography. The moves feel silly and offbeat for a second beef.

You want me to rock out on a banjo move during the chorus?
dumb

I really like the song and all (my fav off of that album if I remember correctly, that and "Waiting Room") but to dance to it is weak. I have the same problem with Body Movin'. Where on Easy and Medium, it's tolerable- the Hard portion is so ridiculous that it's tough to play due to the moves not going on beat or making sense in the song.

[NathAttack]

I mainly agree with you about the No Doubt song, but Body Movin's Hard routine is easily one of my favourites in the game.

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by NathAttack

I mainly agree with you about the No Doubt song, but Body Movin's Hard routine is easily one of my favourites in the game.

To each his own, I guess. It's a remix of the original Beastie song, right? Maybe that's why I can't seem to catch the beat.

[nicidee]

I hate hate HATE the "Show 'Em Up" move in the Soulja Boy song! Actually I pretty much hate the whole routine, but I have probably spent about at least a half hour to 45 mins combined time just on that one move (mostly in Slow It Down mode), and I have yet to pass it once. Every single time, it red-lights one arm on my right side usually, then both on the left side.

I have tried everything, from very careful placement (trying to exactly copy the dancer), to just randomly flopping around like a fish out of water. My arms ALWAYS turn red. I don't know what else I can possibly try to pass this move. This is like my 5th time doing Break It Down for this song, but most of the time I don't even finish the whole routine b/c I can't get past that one stupid move.

Please please, does anyone have any tips for me with this horrible, horrible move? I would be eternally greatful! I just want to pass the move so I can 5-star the song and then I'm never messing with this one again!

[MADasaHatter]

So the Show Em Up is the two moves that are mostly swiveling your knees (commonly known as a butterfly). There's two ways you can try this move -off the top of my head, I'll try this soon:

• Make sure your hands come down from the Cocky move in time.
• Try planting you hands right on the seams of your pants. That means there is absolutley no space between your arms and your body. I found that the game doesn't care about spacing sometimes.
• If that doesn't work, make sure your hands are only a few spaces from your pockets, balled in a fist.
• Don't forget that your shoulders work with your knees, so it's not like your upper body is not moving at all even though your arms are still.

The Cocky to the Show Em Up is 1:07-1:11. Check this vid. As you can see, the guys right arm lights up. But if you see his image on the right, he makes the mistake of moving his arm behind his body and out of view.

YouTube - Dance Central - Crank Dat Soulja Boy

YouTube - Dance Central - Crank Dat Soulja Boy

[Token Blackshi]

In Teach Me How To Jerk, i'm having issues with the "Dip It" & "Keep Dippin' " moves...its the one where you rotate to the left then back to face the front, then to the right and back to the front (the last of the 5 break down in Break-It-Down on Easy). I seem to be moving in time with the on-screen avatar and even 'dipping' the right way, but the game doesn't seem to recognise it. I usually get red ratings all through the 4 moves, especially on the Keep Dippin' part

Any tips? This is the only move of the entire game preventing me from 1000 (i've 100%'d all other 31 songs in B-I-T mode)!

[Lucienna]

Originally Posted by Token Blackshi

In Teach Me How To Jerk, i'm having issues with the "Dip It" & "Keep Dippin' " moves...its the one where you rotate to the left then back to face the front, then to the right and back to the front (the last of the 5 break down in Break-It-Down on Easy). I seem to be moving in time with the on-screen avatar and even 'dipping' the right way, but the game doesn't seem to recognise it. I usually get red ratings all through the 4 moves, especially on the Keep Dippin' part

Any tips? This is the only move of the entire game preventing me from 1000 (i've 100%'d all other 31 songs in B-I-T mode)!

Aahhhh! That's EXACTLY my problem! I've watched vids, and honestly I have no idea what's wrong - the circle around my avatar's feet is blue (indicating I'm dipping well or so I assume), but the moment I do the "stop" part the game says I'm doing crap. Only when I'm doing the sideways "stop" though, when I face the front I get a "flawless". So I figure it's something with my arm angles, even though I really make sure my arm position is the same as my avatar's... upper arm straight down at the side of my body, lower arm in a right angle, palm facing forward in another right angle. Thing is that even BEFORE my avatar raises his arms into the stop position (and I haven't raised them either yet), they already turn red as if I was supposed to do something with them. Blergh.. it drives me crazy..

[MADasaHatter]

Originally Posted by Lucienna

Aahhhh! That's EXACTLY my problem! I've watched vids, and honestly I have no idea what's wrong - the circle around my avatar's feet is blue (indicating I'm dipping well or so I assume), but the moment I do the "stop" part the game says I'm doing crap. Only when I'm doing the sideways "stop" though, when I face the front I get a "flawless". So I figure it's something with my arm angles, even though I really make sure my arm position is the same as my avatar's... upper arm straight down at the side of my body, lower arm in a right angle, palm facing forward in another right angle. Thing is that even BEFORE my avatar raises his arms into the stop position (and I haven't raised them either yet), they already turn red as if I was supposed to do something with them. Blergh.. it drives me crazy..

Make sure your hands are up by your chest for the "Stop" move and they have to come back down before you start dipping again. If you're saying they light up before you raise it again, it means you didn't put them down in time OR you're moving your hands too much. When you're dipping, don't move your hands/arms at all. See my move guide because I think I answered it better there.

[Lucienna]

Originally Posted by MADasaHatter

Make sure your hands are up by your chest for the "Stop" move and they have to come back down before you start dipping again. If you're saying they light up before you raise it again, it means you didn't put them down in time OR you're moving your hands too much. When you're dipping, don't move your hands/arms at all. See my move guide because I think I answered it better there.

Ooooh I haz it xD Last night it worked on the first try - my hands were fine, the only thing I changed was bending my knees waaaay more and dip a lot deeper. Before that my arms actually lit up before the stop move - when I was still dipping and turning - so I guess what it wanted to tell me by that was that my whole body position was too high or something.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the tip here, the description you give for the hands is absolutely accurate. So for the other guy asking about that move, my summary would be:
- follow the above hand instructions
- make sure your knees are really bent (more than that of the model)
- make sure your shoulders are back and not too much to the front, maintain an upright body position (also straighter than that of the model)

[nicidee]

Originally Posted by nicidee

I have tried everything, from very careful placement (trying to exactly copy the dancer), to just randomly flopping around like a fish out of water. My arms ALWAYS turn red. I don't know what else I can possibly try to pass this move.

Woo-hoo, I finally passed the move! All I had to do was plant my arms next to my sides and NOT MOVE THEM AT ALL - Flawless!!! Phew...now onto "Don't Hate". I hate Don't Hate (ha,ha). Can't nail the arms on that one to save my soul.

I swear, by the time I make it through this dance, if I hear "Crank Dat" one more time in the next 10 years it will be too soon!

[lucazzo]

Originally Posted by nicidee

Woo-hoo, I finally passed the move! All I had to do was plant my arms next to my sides and NOT MOVE THEM AT ALL - Flawless!!! Phew...now onto "Don't Hate". I hate Don't Hate (ha,ha). Can't nail the arms on that one to save my soul.

I swear, by the time I make it through this dance, if I hear "Crank Dat" one more time in the next 10 years it will be too soon!

Don't Hate is pretty easy, just have to rememeber that you'll be doing it with the right foot first, then left and link them together.

Stand on left foot, cross right in front of left. Keep the beat to the lyrics:

"Haters (right foot across) getting (right foot back) mad (right foot across).." Whenever your foot moves, your arms bob up and down like you're telling someone to calm down.

The second time you bring your right foot back, keep it there and start moving left foot. Repeat.

[CreepyUncleMike]

I seem to have problems reading hip movements myself. I can't reliably do the Tick Tock, which is fortunately only a one of in Funkytown. One move I need to try again is the Rodeo. When I do the right leg forward, it shows both legs as red, but I think a hip movement is the cause. Oddly, I don't seem to have the problem with the left leg forward.

My current problem seems to be speed. If I slow it down, I can do the Hoodie, but at normal speed I don't have a prayer. I seem to be screwing up the Lean and Rock, which I think it because I'm not straightening myself up again fast enough. I recently tried break it down on Push It easy, which was pushing me to my limit with moves that forced me to rapidly shift my weight from one side to the other.

[CreepyUncleMike]

Ugh! Getting so close to 5 stars on Crank That easy right now. The 2 moves that seem to be killing me right now are Lean & Rock and Don't Hate. It takes a while to get Don't Hate during break it down, but rarely while performing. I'm guessing hand positioning is what's killing me there. Lean & Rock I'm about 50% on during the song. Being able to consistently nail either one will likely be enough to hit 5 stars.

Of course, then my next goal will be 5 stars on Rump Shaker. <shudder>

[John325]

Just some advice for anyone struggling with "dip it" and "keep dippin" to possibly save people some time. Move the Kinect to around 3 to 4 feet off the ground. I usually have my Kinect at 6ft up to maximize space, and I spent hours trying to pass the move so I could get "Something to Prove." I could do the stop move to the left and front, but the arms would never register to the right even though I was doing it right. I finally decided to try moving the Kinect lower, and it became one of the easiest moves in the game. I did have to slightly adjust some of the other moves like "slow jerk" to work at the new height, but it wasn't hard. It might work for other moves you have trouble with too, but this was the only move I couldn't ever pass.

[Requinox]

You can sometimes "cheat" moves by performing an easier action that will let the moves register.

Obviously, if you actually want to dance you should try doing the moves properly :P But sometimes I don't feel like failing the same Break it down mode for an hour due to messing up one move on the final recap repeatedly.

Here are two that work for me after some experimentation (both used on Crank That (Soulja Boy)):

Lean & Rock:
Thrust out your right and left arms as usual at the beginning of the move.

Now this is the "cheating" part. Instead of "sitting" as the game tells you, it's much easier to just lift the appropriate leg while drawing both your arms in towards your body. The legs should be sort of like the Captain Morgan Pose in those rum commercials. The arms should be drawn in sort of like on the lock emote: (you should also bend your knee slightly and lower your body slightly, pretty much like the emote is doing)

Using this method I was able to hit it everytime, where as before if I tried to "sit" to do the leg bend, it was hit or miss whether I got it (this way is easier on the knees too)

Show 'Em Up

Instead of leaning to the right, stand straight and just stretch out your left leg at a 45 degree angle and jiggle it little, and also jiggle your arms while keeping them at your side. Use your right leg when you're supposed to lean to your left. (This one really feels like cheating)


I hope this helps Now to come up with something for Blazer step...

[HeyItsJBang]

Am I the only one who just can't seem to nail a jazz square in this game? I'm doing exactly what it shows too -_-

[Necrophage33]

Originally Posted by HeyItsJBang

Am I the only one who just can't seem to nail a jazz square in this game? I'm doing exactly what it shows too -_-

The arm movements are just as important as the feet. Also, make sure your kinect can see your feet!

[AzuraRiverja]

Sorry to bump and oldish thread, but I just finally got to "Body Movin" on Hard and cannot for the life of me land "Running Jack." I looked up a couple tutorials/videos of people doing it and that didn't really help.

what's frustrating is I get "flawless" for the first half of the move (with the double on the right) but completely fail for the second half of the move (with the double left) and the only part of the dancer that lights up red is the leg that's not moving. I'm pretty sure there's only one way to stand on that leg. Anyone have any ideas? I was hoping a written description might help.

I tried for so long that the game stopped offering the "Slow it down" option and just moved me onto the next move. I didn't even know it would do that!

[Princess Zmee]

I just cant get the migraine move AT ALL. no matter what i do. any advice?