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MAD's Guide to "Getting Down"


MADasaHatter
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MAD's Guide to "Getting Down"

http://www.gifsoup.com/view/131815/carlton-dance-o.gif

 

 

 

Introducing...

It takes a lot to get on the dance floor and *ahem* shake what yo momma gave ya. It takes even more to actually do it right. Here is a very basic guide on how to channel your inner dance freak in Harmonix’s Dance Central. I’ll provide some vid guides of a good deal of the songs and I’ll leave it open for you to ask me questions or ask others that have a better technique than me (pshhhh, good luck with that).

 

Basic tips

So this is a dance game- big shock right? But unlike previous dance games like Dance Dance or the waggle-tastic Just Dance, your body movements are being picked up by the Kinect motion sensor. The first thing you should do is place your sensor correctly. There is a wall mount I recommend you purchase since it cuts down on the space you need to play. If a wall mount is not possible, like in my instance, try to put it looking down on you as opposed to bearing straight at your knees or waist. Some things that may cause the sensor to misread your movements or cause problems:

 

Distance- If you’re too close, your movements might be cut out and not be read. For instance, the UFO move in the Jerk song will cut off your hands if you’re too close. Check the black box on the top right that shows your position. If something lights up red in that block box, it means you need to back up. If you’re too far away, your smaller movements (like popping) won’t be read. My advice is to check that the tips of your feet aren’t cut off and you’ll be fine.

 

Light- In the vids you’ll see I have two lamps by me. I didn’t have that originally and my moves weren’t coming out. Make sure there are no shadows that hide some of your moves.

 

Clothing- Socks. Socks, socks, socks sockssocksockssockssocks. The amount of time I’ve plugged into this game and the amount of times I played without anything on my feet are both ridiculous. I got splinters, calluses, blisters because I didn’t protect my feet and I don’t have to tell you how that effects your dancing. Big baggy clothing makes you overheat and can throw off some of the more expert moves. Wear something light like sweats or shorts and wear sneakers or socks. Sockssockssocks!

 

Stretch- Sure, you’ll cruise through some of the first songs on hard. But once you get to the more wildly expressive songs (like Body Movin’ or Bust a Move), you’ll find some parts of your person screaming to slow down. What I usually do is do one or two of my fav songs as a warm up and then spend a minute stretching. Remember fledgling dancer: one cannot dance with a hyper-extended kidney.

 

Breaka-breaka-breakit Doooown

So how do you approach a song? My advice is to play it in its building difficulty- Easy, medium, Hard-. I’ve found that some songs are built into your body and won’t take much to get 4 stars out of it without really trying. If you get stuck on a song and only get 3 stars, use the game’s Break It Down mode. During the actual break down, use the slow motion to reset the amount of times you can try a move. I suggest not to stick to Break It Down for too long. It takes too long to get to the moves you can’t do and you’re better tested right in the thick of a song so that your body can remember what comes next.

 

Blood on the Dance Floor

Your goal should be five stars (and eventually the gold stars) for every song on Hard. This might come easy (or easi-er) in the first couple of songs. But the final playlist will force you to remember the routine completely. Simply looking at the cards and trying to guess what’s next will not work for Don’t Sweat the Technique. What I suggest for tackling a song on Hard:

 

· Play the song in Break It Down once. You don’t have to 100% it. Just realize what the cards look like.

 

· Play the song twice in its entirety to get the feel and moves in your memory.

 

· Focus on the first half of the song (everything up to the freestyle) and lock that part down. Most of the time, the second half just repeats the chorus of the first half in some way. Play up to the freestyle and if you don’t have 3.5-4 stars just from the first half, restart the whole song right away. Repeat this until you do.

 

· The trick to getting the big stars in the first half is to keep your combo going from start to middle. If one move isn’t working, then Break It Down. But only focus on the first half. The later songs are going to require you to hold your combos and perform 80-85% to get the five stars.

 

· Don’t be afraid to check Youtube for the actual artist videos. Most of them aren’t too inclined to actually dance but the songs are what you’re listening to. After a while, you should picture a dance card for a specific part of the song (lol, creepy I know, but hey- conditioned response and all that).

 

Scuse Me, Sir. You’re Stepping on My Swagger

Swag is what pushes a five star to a gold star performance. Basically it’s not just you doing a movement with your hands but performing it with your body. If you have a song at five stars, go through it again and this time, loosen your body to react to your next movement. “I Know You Want Me” has a salsa move forward. You can do this move just fine and get the green good on it, but add some swag on it by swinging your hips, dipping your head and riding your toes as you lean forward. All of this doesn’t negatively affect your score and it makes you look more professional. Lastly, it adds character to your dance routine which I’ve found is enough to get the gold stars on any song. Sure you memorized the dance cards, but merely performing them isn’t enough for a high score. Go back and add swag.

 

If you see the vids below of the songs I've nabbed golds in, I'm not just going through the motions. I'm fully invested in every move- extending, rolling, popping whenever it call for it, and getting 95% of the moves passed per song.

Note: For the vids I've posted below, I've found some of the actual in-game footage. It's very simple to synch up my dance with the provided vid so I suggest doing that when possible.

Edited by MADasaHatter
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**I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)**

A surprisingly fun song and the best in the first set list. Spanish infused hip-hop with some dance music flavor; this is a hit right out of Miami. So for this, you need to understand to keep the beat going through your body the entire time. The number 1 move you need to land is the Salsa since it requires your entire body and shows up throughout the song. A real quick rundown of it is:

 

(1) 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. (2) 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. (3) As you take you step together, your right hand should go back and your left hand come back across your chest. (4) The last step is easily missable. After you come together, your left foot steps while you clap.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQE_5JsbwN4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQE_5JsbwN4[/ame]

 

**King of Dancehall**

One of the first songs you really need to know what comes next. Make sure you have the first half memorized and nearly flawless because the second half is just a complete retread of it. The helicopter at the end of the first half is the hardest part (to me anyway, you can tell that I barely land it) but it’s important to keep your combo up. Stay loose in your legs and rigid in your arms when you have to extend (like in Military). For the part where you hit your chest, keep your left foot planted and pivot with your right foot.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twKtpyoXyzc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twKtpyoXyzc[/ame]

 

 

**Teach Me How to Jerk**

Ah yes. Go on youtube and look up the vid where Audiopush teaches you the three parts of the song: the Jerk, the Reject, and the Dip. These are the big three and you’ll be doing variations of each for 3 minutes. What’s good are the audio cues. When the girl in the chorus says “Teach…” then your legs should open. It’s that easy.

 

Low Jerk

Teach me how to jerk/ Teach me-Teach me how to jerk/”

----I----------------------------I---------------------------------------

(right) Open,open -------(left)Open ,open

 

 

Side Jerk

Teach me how- Teach me how- Teach me how to jerk/”

---I-------------------I ------------------------I-----------------------

(right)Open------Open-------------Open,open

 

The vid doesn’t show off this idea too well since I was dead tired from doing the other vids, but I’ll post a better vid showing this soon. Rejecting takes practice. Just remember that every single Reject in the song starts with your right foot back. Every single one except the final side reject which starts with your left. Extend your arms for the Slo-Mo Jerk and the UFO. Sexy Jerk, you should keep the extended knee moving.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZxDHlDhJws]YouTube - Dance Central- Teach Me how to Jerk (5* Hard)[/ame]

**Poison**

Ah, the music I grew up with. BBD had a great sound to them- they were hip-hop you could dance to and not because you're doing some weird slip step. The song is about attitude and learning the big moves- the bounce and the whop. The bounce is lurking in whatever you throw your shoulders into so really lean into those moves like the Time Out and Bang It and notice that your legs are bouncing up with you with those moves. The whop is called a Snare and I’m the last person you should learn from. My body is programmed to do the old-school move which throws up an arm like you’re slamming into a wall (though I must admit, the game still gives me a flawless for my version). The Thread It move is the only one I can’t land but I’ll put out a better vid someday. Stay loose on your Kicks and Flippers. (I'll replace this vid with a better one).

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NMjMv1idBU]YouTube - Dance Central- Poison (5* Hard)[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p101Cq974s0]YouTube - Dance Central - Poison - Hard Performance[/ame]

Edited by MADasaHatter
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**Satisfaction**

I placed both this and Days Go By on the same page because … well, I hear them the same. There’s some repetition in Satisfaction, but the moves require even less movement of your torso. Push, Electric, Screw Loose are all position moves that require your arms in the right slots. When the larger moves like Reboot, Bring It On Back and In Skate kick in, you need to turn it up a notch. For Bring It On Back, you’re lifting your knee and the alternate arm. Make sure you lock down the 1st half of the song and you’ll get to repeat the second half without a problem. This was the first song I got gold stars in.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imlPu7qjbzc]YouTube - Dance Central- Satisfaction (5 Gold* Hard)[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjvOd7fvYj4]YouTube - Dance Central - Satisfaction - Hard[/ame]

 

 

**Days Go By**

One of my favorite vids of all time. I’m almost glad that they didn’t include the guy’s routine from the vid because I can’t do the Re-run. The main thing you should know is that your torso, neck and head very rarely move. They stay pretty rigid throughout and your legs and arms do most of the work. It’s all about angles and keeping your arms straight for every pose and move, whether it be the Stop Sign to the Genie. This is one song that the 2nd half is totally different from the 1st half. And you won’t be repeating any of the moves. It’s one long sequence, but know that the moves aren’t all the difficult. Just keep your combo going.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psQ5HYIclS8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psQ5HYIclS8[/ame]

 

**Rendez Vu**

Not at all a song that you should be afraid of doing. The first half is extremely short and requires very little of you. The Run Side Step should be your first major move and requires that you step to your left with your right foot AND your right hand. It might feel unnatural but that’s the way it goes. Really wind your arms during the move (like a train, or like your running) left for two steps, then right for two steps and then the Puppet Drop move going down, then straight up-shoulders and elbows horizontal. Extend, extend, extend. Extend on the "Don’t Know Me", "Double Rainbow", and the "Sidekicks". Don't forget to drop from the second "Hey" move right into the "Love Warrior"It really doesn’t take too many tries to perfect this dance.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz6YpRJgWS4]YouTube - Dance Central- Rendez-Vu (5 Gold* Hard)[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd5W0oDddRc]YouTube - Dance Central - Rendez Vous - Hard 5 Stars[/ame]

 

**Drop It Like It’s Hot**

You’ll have one part to repeat, which is the chorus, so learn that part first since it starts off the song. It’s important to get that part locked down in order to flow into the two transitional pieces in between. This song really becomes easy when you know when to be forceful with your actions (Taboo, Pop It) and when to be loose (Sweep and Dracula). When you’re up to the “Scratch” make sure to make a tight spin going in the direction of your fingers and then stop in time to do the “Ego”.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvHrhjDDA84]YouTube - Dance Central- "Drop It Likes It Hot" (5* Hard)[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVLZttiaJbQ&feature=fvst]YouTube - Dance Central-Drop It Like It's Hot-Hard[/ame]

Edited by MADasaHatter
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***Maneater***

Yes, I threw in a “girly” song. It just so happens I’m actually pretty good in this “girly” song so … there. That shows you. Lock down the chorus in this one, making sure to get every move of it. It’s long, tricky but fun to pull off. It has three sequences, each ending with something different. The first it the glutton which is sort of like rubbing your belly. The second is the Juliet- extend your left hand, place your right hand over your forehead like you’re going to swoon and prop the left leg using your toe. The third is one of my favorite moves, the Frenchie (from “Push It”), going right into a tight spin with your hands up and then a point going down to waist level.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TQvBy8tg0c]YouTube - Dance Central- Maneater (5* Hard)[/ame]

 

[ame=

]
[/ame]

 

***Don’t Sweat the Technique***

Ah, the hardest song in the game. This song is going to take absolute practice if you want to break the four star barrier, even more if you want to gold star. The whole routine doesn’t repeat unless it’s the chorus and even then, it’s packed with a very hard string of moves that flow into each other seamlessly.

The first move you need to learn is the “Quickstep”. Watch how I prep mine by kicking with the side of my right foot then turning my body over to push out my left leg. It’s the proper way of doing it. Manage this in both directions and you can nab a Good on it. In order to get the Flawless, your arms have to pump correctly. On the first Quick Step, you right hand should be balled almost to your face like your speaking on a mic and your right hand is out behind you. That goes the same with your right Quick Step.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/madruckis1/Untitled-1.jpg

 

The next and most important move is the B Boy Down. Take it real slow at first and practice without the song. Cross your hands in front of you at the wrist and you jump forward onto your left leg. That’s step one. Step two- as you land, your right foot is toe planting behind you while your hands at flying behind your back.

This second position should look like this. Sort of like the Supaman but with your leg crossed.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/madruckis1/1-1.jpg

The third position happens pretty quickly. You hop back to two feet, rock back- kind of booty bounce- and then drop, right knee, left knee, stand. I can’t stress how important this is important to lock down and get every move at least green. Your combos really have to keep going in this song to nab five stars so practice this part especially. The second half has a lot of popping/locking moves so remember to stay rigid, sharp aggressive movements. The Robocop should have both of you legs reacting to your movements and keep your head level throughout everything else.

 

The final version of the chorus doesn’t have two knee plants- you just pop right up after the B Boy Down.

 

In the vid, I mainly focused on my footwork but it's all good enough to get Green.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzw4n9G2jbY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzw4n9G2jbY[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66OwNPwLaH8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66OwNPwLaH8[/ame]

Edited by MADasaHatter
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Very, very detailed descriptions, with videos as well! Mad props for that, nice to see a thread like this after all the "How to do X move?" posts we've seen lately.

 

Slightly off-topic, what was your Satisfaction score? I'm yet to get Gold stars in it, but I know I gotta be close.

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Slightly off-topic, what was your Satisfaction score? I'm yet to get Gold stars in it, but I know I gotta be close.

 

Thanks. I believe in the vid I nailed it at 790,000. If you see the vid, I got the gold star right at the final pose so it looks like that's what you should be aiming for. My highest was 799,859 on Satisfaction :).

 

Very nice series of videos, man. And thanks for the add. It's good to have someone with such ridiculously high scores that I have something to aim for!

 

Thanks. I see you have me beat on "Drop It Like It's Hot"- I shall not let that stand lol.

 

I hope they open up the leaderboards for the sequal. I would love to see how I rank against some real dancers. I'll be updating my 5 star vids with gold star vids when I get them. I still have Down, Maneater and a few others to feature. Should be a total of 10-12 songs including me trying to gold star the final challenge.;)

 

Edit: I just found the leaderboard. I guess I wasn't payign attention to the numbers before the name *facepalm*.

 

I added Rendez Vu.

Edited by MADasaHatter
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1:38 in the Teach Me How to Jerk Video. XD

 

I actually have a great story about the lil mini me.

 

So I've been working on the song for a bit, finally got to break the top 50 ranked in the world last night with a gold five star. So I went to take a celebratory drink of grape juice and I come back and my son (the long haired 1 year old who's birthday is in a few weeks) is standing in front of of the kinect.

 

I laugh, put on Poker Face and the kid starts bopping around- but not a lot. So I then put on Teach Me How to Jerk and the kid goes crazy- I mean, borderline obscence with his cross step hop, his booty shake and some pamper grabbing.

 

I ... play this game a lot.

 

My wife's face: :eek:

My face: :rock

 

I have a vid to replace that one, "Poison" and to add "Drop It Like It's Hot".

Edited by MADasaHatter
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Hey MADasahatter, in your Teach Me How to Jerk video, what type of rating are you getting on the "Dip It" and "Keep Dippin' " moves (1:55-2:05)? You don't seem to 'dipping' your upper body at all like the on-screen dancer does, but i'm just wondering if this results in a Nice or Flawless move.

 

Reason i ask is because this particular move is the only one in the game i need to perfect in Break-it-Down mode for the 100% B-I-T achievement, but i get red ratings all the time :(

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Hey MADasahatter, in your Teach Me How to Jerk video, what type of rating are you getting on the "Dip It" and "Keep Dippin' " moves (1:55-2:05)? You don't seem to 'dipping' your upper body at all like the on-screen dancer does, but i'm just wondering if this results in a Nice or Flawless move.

 

Reason i ask is because this particular move is the only one in the game i need to perfect in Break-it-Down mode for the 100% B-I-T achievement, but i get red ratings all the time :(

 

You're getting red on what part of your body?

I get flawless because the move is made up of three major parts of your body:

 

Your legs hopping

Your body facing the right angle at the right time

And your arms coming up to chest level and coming down hanging dead by your side.

 

The movement with my body while I'm dipping doesn't effect my score, either because I'm too far away for the kinect to read it or because it's not a factor. I usually do it with the right upper body dip (I didn't do it for the vid it seems) but I'll test it out tonight. You might be doing too much.

 

I'll do it without any movement in my upper body.

Then I'll do it with the proper dip which is leaning slightly to the proper side when the song says the word "Dippin'". I'll post what I find here.

 

 

Edit: I just tested this out and I definately nab flawless without moving my torso at all and keeping my hands balled, thumbs on the seam of my pants. If you're lighting up, it might means you're not coming up to the Hol' That or down from it in time.

 

Let me know if that's still a prob and I'll look into it further.

Edited by MADasaHatter
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This is an awesome thread with great explanations and videos :) I have a move request, if possible: Earthquake, which e.g. appears in "Rumpshaker" on Hard. For some reason I NEVER pass this move. Well, sometimes, with sheer luck I guess, but I don't know what I'm doing differently and why sometimes it counts and sometimes it doesnt.

- I do jump/out on beat 1 and use the other 3 beats for the "whoooah" part

- I make sure my arms are tight on the sides of my body while jumping and my feet are tightly crossed as well

- I tried a lot of possible variations for the "whoooah" part, including bending my knees more or less, tilting my upper body more or less and trying to mirror the hands as good as I can.. but sometimes seems to be wrong almost all of the time.

 

What could that be? :) I pass every other move in this song flawlessly, it's just the damn Earthquake.. help would be appreciated.

Edited by Lucienna
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This is an awesome thread with great explanations and videos :) I have a move request, if possible: Earthquake, which e.g. appears in "Rumpshaker" on Hard. For some reason I NEVER pass this move. Well, sometimes, with sheer luck I guess, but I don't know what I'm doing differently and why sometimes it counts and sometimes it doesnt.

- I do jump/out on beat 1 and use the other 3 beats for the "whoooah" part

- I make sure my arms are tight on the sides of my body while jumping and my feet are tightly crossed as well

- I tried a lot of possible variations for the "whoooah" part, including bending my knees more or less, tilting my upper body more or less and trying to mirror the hands as good as I can.. but sometimes seems to be wrong almost all of the time.

 

What could that be? :) I pass every other move in this song flawlessly, it's just the damn Earthquake.. help would be appreciated.

 

What lights up red when you do it?

 

I'll try to break this down. Well let's see. The move is at 0:36 (sorry it's in Spanish but it's the best vid I found. Move is called Terremoto)

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRmNCT9i2Z8]YouTube - Dance Central Rump Shaker Hard Mode[/ame]

 

So the move first asks you to cross your feet with your hands at your sides . You then pop your feet out, shoulder length and shake your hands which stay no higher than your waist while facing to your left.

 

But then the dance changes. If you look at the vid, the next three Earthquakes don't ask you to cross your feet at all.

 

It's feet together-feet apart w/woah.

 

And the rocking motion seems to be lean back/lean forward. Make sure that when your feet come together after the woah, you are standing straight up and down hands by your side before moving on. The transition is probably the problem.

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What lights up red when you do it?

 

So the move first asks you to cross your feet with your hands at your sides . You then pop your feet out, shoulder length and shake your hands which stay no higher than your waist while facing to your left.

 

But then the dance changes. If you look at the vid, the next three Earthquakes don't ask you to cross your feet at all.

 

It's feet together-feet apart w/woah.

 

And the rocking motion seems to be lean back/lean forward. Make sure that when your feet come together after the woah, you are standing straight up and down hands by your side before moving on. The transition is probably the problem.

 

Basically EVERYTHING during the whoaaah lights up red when I do it, the transition seems fine.. but I'll try following all the tips about hands not higher than waist + the body movement later when I get home. I might also place my legs too far apart. Gonna give it another go! Thanks for the tips :)

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Wow ... nice work MAD. Can we get the moderators to sticky this thread?

 

Ah thanks. I wish I could've added a few songs in before school started/new games popped up and locked me down. To be honest, I'd love to try to conquer "Control" on hard because Janet's hand movements are c-razy. I also wanted to do Lady Sov's song and the final challenge on Hard. Maybe I'll come back to the game when some new dlc drops.

 

I'm totally still around to ask questions.

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