Widely known as the director of the esteemed dance team, Choreo Cookies, and as a talented choreographer touring the world to share his artistry, Carlo Darang knows a thing or two about dance. To understand, create, and execute choreography like he does requires a lot of homework and practice. (See Related Article: How Cookies Inspired A Movement In The Dance Community At Vibe)

‍As an instructor at Building Block Dance Studio, his body awareness allows for a lot of great advice on how to feel the most natural and efficient with your movement, when you execute choreography. (See Related Video: What It’s Like At Building Block Private Dance Studio) Keep reading to find out ways to execute choreography more fully and efficiently. (See Related Article: The Ultimate Guide To Body Awareness For Beginner Dancers)

1. Patience With Musicality

(See Related Article: The Ultimate Guide To Musicality For Beginner Dancers)

Patience and musicality go hand-in-hand, because you have to wait for the music to come before you hit the beat. Make sure you're not speeding up, because the music isn't going to change for you, so make sure you adjust to it.

It's important to ride out the previous move up until the exact moment you're supposed to hit the next movement- this "patience" translates to more polished and precise "musicality."

2. Using Your Core To Execute Choreography With Maximum Range Of Motion

(See Related Article: 5 Ways A Contemporary Dance Class Can Make You Better)

As dancers we have to make sure we aren't "closed-armpit dancing," as I'd like to call it. When you reach out, really spread out your limbs as far as you can. What will help with that is... dancing from your core.

Body awareness and execution starts from your tummy!

If you just spread your limbs out, you won't reach quite as far as if you engage your core to do so, so use the chest, use the hips, use the stomach, use your neck, use everything! Don't just rely on your arms and legs.

Practice this by being conscious of the origin of each movement. Are you just throwing your arms out, or are you engaging from your shoulders, and your abs?

3. Weight Transfer For Effortless Footwork

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Always try to be light-footed and ready to move from one part of the floor to another! Especially in this piece- there is a lot of travel and grooves.

If you dance on your toes and heels and not set everything your entire foot, it's kind of like jump-roping - you'll be ready to jump from one place to other- you can get from point A to point B much quicker.

This skill is like a triple-threat for basketball players, or even your ready stance for football players... for us dancers, it's the same thing, same idea - be in a position where it's easy for you to go anywhere.

Carlo's piece to "She Came To Give It To You" on STEEZY Studio heavily involves these following concepts that he was generous enough to share with us! Practice these tips to be more conscious of your body and the music, making your performance more refined.Whether you're a beginner or advanced dancer, the top-of-the-beat musicality, full-body engagement, and quick footwork of Carlo's choreography will help you reach a better understanding of your body and the different ways to perform a piece.