Dance Central Achievement Guide & Road Map

Dance Central
Dance Central Achievement Guide

Overview:
-Estimated achievement difficulty: 7/10
-Offline: 50 (1000)
-Online: 0 (0)
-Approximate amount of time to 1000: 30+ hours
-Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 3 per song
-Number of missable achievements: 0
-Do cheat codes disable achievements? No cheats
-Does difficulty affect achievements? Yes
-Glitchy achievements: Yes (Robots Doing It For Themselves, Pure Perfection, and Flying Blind)
-Unobtainable achievements? No
-Extra equipment needed? No

Introduction:
Dance Central is a really fun game and a great workout. Unless you've taken dance classes before it will be a pretty long and tough game, but at least you're likely to lose some weight along the way! There are 32 songs and you will be playing each one at least 3 times (more likely in the 5-10 range). Since you'll likely be doing dance moves you've never seen or done before, don't stress out if you can't do really well your first attempt. Just relax and enjoy the exercise and you'll gradually get better at each song by learning the moves. Steps 1 through 3 below are interchangeable and can be done in any order, or simultaneously.

Step 1: Perform It!, Workout Mode, and Flash Cards:
Start by playing through each song in Perform It! mode on Easy since that's the only difficulty available initially. When you select the first song, turn on Workout Mode to start working on the two related achievements, both of which are cumulative. Play each song until you get 5 stars on it.

When you get 5 stars on a song, this will unlock No Flashcards Mode for that song. It is best to immediately replay the same song with Flashcards turned off, that way most of the moves should be fresh in your memory, and getting 5 stars without Flash Cards shouldn't be too difficult. Take cues from the dancer on screen and react quickly and you should be fine. The challenges count toward the flash card achievements as well.

If you obtain at least 4 stars on each of the songs in a set, you'll unlock the corresponding challenge for that set of songs. The challenges consist of a collection of moves from each song in the set. Again, it's best to play the challenges after finishing each song in the set, that way you'll still remember each move. Replay each challenge to get 5 stars as well.

Step 2: Break it Down :
Play though each song on Break It Down mode on Easy. If you break on song down on any difficulty higher than Easy, you will have to 100% it on the hardest difficulty you've attempted. To make these achievements easier on yourself, do every song on Easy first. Replay each song on Easy until you get 100%. The 100% includes nailing each move 3 times, and then getting at least a Nice rating on each move during the recaps.

Step 3: Dance Battle Mode:
Play 10 Dance Battles in a row. Play on Easy so you get 5 stars on at least one song. You can play both parts yourself, so you don't need a second person for this. Have a friend jump in during the freestyle section so it takes pictures of both of you. Or, if you're alone, use a chair or jacket to trick the Kinect into thinking there are two people on screen.

Step 4: Play on Hard:
Now comes the hard part. You have to play every song on Hard in Perform It! mode and get at least 5 stars. To be able to play a song on Hard, you first need to get 3 stars on Easy and then on Medium. You may want to do Break It Down mode on Hard for each song first, to get the hang of the new dance moves you'll be doing, and since this will also unlock the song on Hard without having to play Medium. At this point, there's no pressure to 100% the recaps in Break It Down mode since you've already done that. Just keep practising all the moves in a song until you can nail them, then work on 5-starring each song.

Step 5: Mop Up:
The following achievements may still be left by the time you finish everything else. Read the descriptions below for tips to unlock them.

Robots Doin’ It for Themselves - Successfully passed a robot move with ELIOT.
Living Legend - Reached the "Living Legend" rank.
Get This On Unlock - Unlock all bonus content.
Pure Perfection - Get a "Flawless" rating on every move in a song in Perform It! or Dance Battle Mode
The Dance Is Legendary - Earn gold stars on any song, at any skill level

Conclusion:
Dance Central is extremely fun, but don't expect to start up and jump right in unlocking achievements without any effort. It is not an easy game by any means, and for most people it will likely take a lot of practice. Don't let this stop you from enjoying the dancing and the exercise, laughing at friends attempting songs, and having fun.

[x360a would like to thank Necrophage33 for this roadmap]

Epic Battle!

15
Play 10 Dance Battles in a single session.
(8)
This can be done solo or with another person. Simply pick a song and choose Dance Battle. You can play the same song 10 times if you'd like. Difficulty and score don't affect this achievement.
Smile for the Camera

25
Have 1000 Freestyle photos taken.
(3)
Freestyle photos are taken during the freestyle sections of songs, and at random times during certain moves. This should unlock during your natural progression of the game. It will take around 50 songs.
Sweat It Out

20
Have a 20-minute workout session in Workout Mode.
(5)
Once you turn on Workout Mode (by selecting a song in Perform It! Mode and then choosing to turn on Workout Mode), it will remain on. After each song, you will get a summary that includes calories burned and total time played. Once you reach 20 minutes of time played, this achievement will unlock.
Burn, Baby, Burn!

30
Burn 1000 calories in Workout Mode.
(15)
To turn on Workout Mode, go into Perform It! Mode and select Workout Mode at the bottom. This achievement is cumulative and can be done in multiple sittings. The higher your weight the faster the calorie counter will increase, so if you want to speed up this achievement set your weight to 999lbs.
Flawless Streak

20
String together 10 "Flawless" moves in Perform It! or Dance Battle mode.
(3)
Get 10 "Flawless" ratings in a row on any song. You will likely get this achievement early, during repetitive moves on Easy, such as the Step Sides/Step Side and Claps on Poker Face.
Meet the Crew

15
Play a song with every human dancer character in Perform It! or Dance Battle mode.
(1)
There are eight human characters. ELIOT the robot does not count toward this achievement. If you play down the list, you will achieve this by the song "Dip It Low". Leave the dancer selected as Song Default, that way you unlock each character while playing down the list, and will unlock this achievement by the time you finish every song.
Pure Perfection

25
Get a "Flawless" rating on every move in a song in Perform It! or Dance Battle mode.
(7)
This one can be tough depending on your skill but it can be done on any difficulty so easy is recommended. You will likely need to run through a song a few times until you know it by heart. This achievement includes getting a "Flawless Freestyle" and a "Flawless Finish." This will really be a personal preference, depending on what moves you feel most comfortable with. To practice each move, you can play the song in Break It Down mode. If you get a diamond on a move, that's the equivalent of a flawless.

Poker Face is a popular choice since it's the first song, but I always seem to have problems with the "Select" move, and a lot of people have problems with "Whatever." I find Funkytown is much easier, just because there aren't any moves that require leg movement. It's basically all arms. Hey Mami is the song I got this achievement on.

NOTE: the achievement description is deceptive here. Simply getting a "Flawless" rating on every move will not suffice. If one of your body parts turns red, but you still get a "Flawless" rating, this will still void the achievement. You really have to do every move perfectly otherwise the achievement won't unlock.
Booth Buddies

10
Have a Freestyle photo taken while 2 people are dancing.
(2)
If you're playing Dance Battle with a second person, have them join you in front of the camera during the freestyle section. If you don't have a second person, an office chair or large jacket can be used to trick the sensor into thinking there are two people.
Off the Wall

10
Progress past the "Wallflower" rank.
(1)
It takes one or two songs to rank up initially, depending on how well you do. After each song, on the review screen, in the middle of the screen your bar will fill up. It shows your progress toward your next rank.

NOTE: you can only rank up in Perform It! Mode. Break It Down and Dance Battle do not increase your rank.
Got This on Unlock

50
Unlock all bonus content.
(7)
Bonus content includes the following:

-Unlock every character's second outfit, including ELIOT's
-Unlock every character
-Unlock every venue

You will unlock every character and venue when you play through Perform It! mode, completing each challenge. You unlock each human character's outfit by earning 25 stars while playing as them. You unlock ELIOT's second outfit by reaching Rank 1.
Got a New Look

25
Unlock a new look for every human dancer character.
(2)
There are eight human characters in the game. You unlock their second outfit by obtaining 25 stars while playing as that dancer. ELIOT the robot's outfit is not required for this achievement.
Consummate Performer

15
Give your first 5-Star performance in Perform It! mode.

Can be done on any difficulty. You should be getting this on your first song within a couple attempts. Poker Face is the easiest song and shouldn't take more than one or two tries.
The Battle Has Begun

15
Give your first 5-Star performance in Dance Battle mode.
(1)
This can be done solo or with two people. If you've already played the songs in Perform It! mode, you should have no problem getting 5 stars in Dance Battle mode.
What a Jerk!

15
Earn 5 Stars on Hard on a jerkin' song.
(11)
This achievement unlocks after getting 5 stars on Teach Me How To Jerk by Audio Push.

A few important tips:

1) The difference between the Slide Jerk and the Low Jerk, aside from the time you spend leaning to each side, is in arm placement as well. The Slide Jerk has your arms as if you were pumping from your chest. The Low Jerk has your arms out practically in front of your body as if you're ready to check someone.
2) The Knee Down Down moves are NOT symmetrical! It's going to be natural to assume they are and to mirror the move, but this will cause you to fail it every time. The first part, using your right arm and leg, firstly has both arm up in front of your chest. Secondly, it starts with your arm moving inward and leg moving outward. The second part, using your left arm and leg, has your right arm at your side, and starts with your arm moving outward and your leg moving inward.
3) The forward-facing Reject always starts with your right leg up and your left leg moving forward

Also, this video may help with learning to jerk and reject:
Warm Up Challenge Complete

15
Earn 5 Stars on the Warm Up Challenge at any Skill Level.
(2)
See "Grand Finale Complete."
Simple Challenge Complete

15
Earn 5 Stars on the Simple Challenge at any Skill Level.

See "Grand Finale Complete."
Moderate Challenge Complete

15
Earn 5 Stars on the Moderate Challenge at any Skill Level.
(1)
See "Grand Finale Complete."
Tough Challenge Complete

15
Earn 5 Stars on the Tough Challenge at any Skill Level.

See "Grand Finale Complete."
Legit Challenge Complete

20
Earn 5 Stars on the Legit Challenge at any Skill Level.

See "Grand Finale Complete."
Hardcore Challenge Complete

20
Earn 5 Stars on the Hardcore Challenge at any Skill Level.

See "Grand Finale Complete."
Off the Hook Challenge Complete

25
Earn 5 Stars on the Off the Hook Challenge at any Skill Level.

See "Grand Finale Complete."
True Superstar

25
Earn 5 Stars on every song in the game on either Easy or Medium, or 5 Stars on any 20 songs on Hard.
(5)
If you're following the roadmap you should have this by the time you complete the Grand Finale Challenge with 5 stars. The challenges do count toward this achievement. If you don't get this on easy, then you'll unavoidably get it when 5-starring all of the songs on hard.

See "Dance Instructor" for tips.
Grand Finale Complete

30
Earn 5 stars on the Grand Finale Challenge at any Skill Level.

You will get all of these challenge achievements by getting 5 stars on each challenge. You unlock each challenge by getting at least 4 stars on each song in the group just prior to the challenge. The challenge consists of a group of moves from each song in the set. This is why the challenges are best done right after finishing each set of 4-5 songs. That way, you should be pretty familiar with all of the moves, and getting 5 stars on each challenge shouldn't be too difficult.

The Grand Finale Challenge has moves from every song in the game, so hopefully you have a good memory, otherwise it may take you a couple tries!
Dance Instructor

50
Earn 5 Stars on every song in the game on Hard.
(5)
This includes the challenges. You can check your progress on a song by selecting it and looking at the rating next to the Perform It! option. The letter will indicate the highest difficulty, and the number of stars will indicate the rating you got. For example, if you've 5 starred a song on hard it will show H*****.

Your score dictates your star rating. Your score is higher if you can keep a good multiplier going. It counts up 1 every time you have a Flawless or Nice on a sequence. 1x is lowest, and 4x is highest. If you move a body part wrong, the wrong part will glow red on the character. For example if your feet are correct and your arms are wrong, the characters arms will glow, but his/her feet wont.

Also, make sure you keep moving during the Freestyle section. If not, you will lose your combo. You can tell if you moved enough if it says Flawless at the end of the freestyle section (instead of Nice or other). All you have to do is make sure you move the entire time to get a Flawless. Just wave your hands at the screen if you need to conserve energy.

Lastly, if you're still having a hard time, watching Youtube videos can help. Riffraff67 has a lot of songs on his channel being performed on Hard. He does a picture-in-picture, so you can see how he moves in relation to what the dance move is. Mightymecreative is also a popular Dance Central video poster.
The Dance Is Legendary

25
Earn Gold Stars on any song, at any Skill Level.
(6)
Gold stars are one step better than 5 stars. You'll hear the same chime as when you go from 4 stars to 5, and all the stars on the radio will turn gold. The achievement will unlock at the end of the song. Unlike in the Rock Band series, gold stars can be obtained on any difficulty level. You will likely get this when going for the Pure Perfection achievement, since getting gold stars on easy requires you to pass (at least a "Nice" rating) on every move. I found the first two challenges to be easiest, since the moves they picked from each song are pretty easy ones.
Look Ma, No Flashcards!

15
Perform a song with Flashcards turned off and earn 5 Stars.
(8)
See "Flying Blind."
Flying Blind

30
Earn 5 Stars on any 10 songs with Flashcards turned off.
(8)
As stated in the roadmap, your best bet is to 5-star a song on easy to unlock No Flashcards, then immediately play the song again with Flashcards turned off. Challenges count toward this achievement as well.

This achievement requirement can be deceptive. Simply getting 5 stars on a song will not suffice. You must do at least as well as your previous best for it to count. You'll know if you've got a song done toward the 10 you need if, when you select the song, there's a picture of a blue flashcard with a red line through it next to your rating on that song. So, if you get gold stars on a song with flashcards nwhen you replay without flashcards you will also need to get gold stars.

I found the first 8 songs and 2 challenges the easiest 10 to get 5 stars on without flashcards, but it's all down to personal preference.
Practice Made Perfect

25
Get a 100% rating on a single song in Break It Down mode.
(4)
See "Something To Prove."
Something to Prove

50
Get a 100% rating on every song in the game in Break It Down mode.
(14)
Break It Down mode involves you performing each song in the game in multiple sections. You'll perform each move individually, and then a recap will require you to put a few moves together. To get 100% on a song, you must get at least a nice on each individual move (3 times, if you don't nail it the first time), and then you must get at least a nice rating on each move during each recap. During the individual moves, you should see at least a green check mark next to each move, or a diamond if you got a flawless. After the recap, you should see, for example, 19/19 moves passed 100%.

It is highly recommended to 100% every song on Easy to unlock this achievement before attempting ANY song on Hard. If you attempt a song on Hard, you must then 100% that song on Hard for it to count toward Something To Prove. The rest of the songs you've done on easy will not be affected by the one song you broke down on Hard.

Another useful trick: if you are trying an individual move and fail it twice, use your left arm after an attempt to "slow it down." This will slow the song down and give you more attempts. When you then speed it back up (the same way you slowed it down) you now have 3 more attempts to pass the move. For example, you pass the move the first time and get one green check. Then you screw up twice in a row. Slow it down with your left hand, practice a couple times, then speed it back up with your left hand. Now you have 3 more attempts to get the last two passes that you need.
Broke It Down

15
Play a single song in Break It Down mode and get a rating of at least 80%.
(3)
See "Something To Prove."
Again, From the Top!

20
Play 10 songs in Break It Down mode and get a rating above 80%.
(2)
See "Something To Prove."
Total Poser

10
Get a "Flawless" rating on a finishing move.

Every song has a finishing move at the end. You'll have to nail the move, and you'll know you did it right if you see the blue "Flawless" pop up around your legs after the move is complete. Poker Face has the easiest finishing move, and I Know You Want Me is really simple too. If you don't get it your first try you'll surely get it during one of your many replays of each song.
Cross, Back, Step, Front!

20
Successfully pass EVERY Jazz Square in the game.
(7)
There are 4 different songs with Jazz Squares in the game. Like all of the achievements below for various moves, these can be done in either Perform It! or Break It Down. You must pass them ("Nice" or better rating) in EVERY flashcard that shows up. However they don't need to all be done in the same playthrough of a song. For example, in Push It, you can pass the Jazz Square and fail the Jazz Square & I, then play the song again and do the opposite and it'll still count. The following songs contain jazz squares:

Brick House (any difficulty) - "Jazz Square"
Hey Mami (medium or hard) - "Jazz Square" and "Slow Jazz Square"
Hella Good (medium or hard) - "Jazz Square"
Push It (medium or hard) - "Jazz Square" and "Jazz Square & I"
Get Busy, Dizzy!

15
Get a "Flawless" result on a spin move.
(5)
This achievement can be done in Perform It! mode or Break It Down mode. Simply get a flawless rating on a move that involves a spin. The achievement will unlock at the end of the song, not after the move. I found the move "Tantrum" in Push It on medium or hard to be the easiest.

Examples of songs that involve spin moves:

Drop It List It's Hot on Hard
Don't Sweat The Technique on Hard
Push It on Medium
Bring It Back

15
Pass these moves: Cabbage Patch, Disco, Fever, Funky Charleston, Raise the Roof, Scuff & Stomp.
(5)
See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Lock It In

15
Pass these moves: Arm Twist, Boogaloo, Electric, Pop Down, and Robo Locking.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Work It, Honey

15
Pass these moves: & Feelabout, Club Monster, Pose, Ride, and Wind It Up.
(1)
See "A Lover and a Dancer."

Note: it is suspected that the achievement description incorrectly lists & Feelabout as the dance move, when in actuality the move required is Feel About.
Get Hood

15
Pass these moves: Brooklyn, Cool Kid, Hoodie, Lean & Rock, and Slam Out.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Child’s Play

15
Pass these moves: Bug Juice, Patty Cake, Puppet Drop, and Tantrum.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Nerd is Bond

15
Pass these moves: Cabbage Patch, Double Rainbow, Glitch, Keyboard Cat, and Nerd It Out.
(1)
See "A Lover and a Dancer."
From the Makers of Rock Band

15
Pass these moves: Guitar, Rockout, Sing Out, and Snare.
(2)
See "A Lover and a Dancer."
AN-I-MAL!!!

15
Pass these moves: The Bird, Chicken Wing, Elephant, Pony, Predator, Prey, and Snake.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Central Combat

15
Pass these moves: Boardbreaker, Boxer, Elbow Throw, Knockout, Punch Out, and Tiger Palm.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Going Global

15
Pass these moves: Brooklyn, Calypso, Down Under, Latina, Merengue, Pharaoh, and Salsa.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Age Before Booty

15
Pass these moves: Booty Bank, Booty Bump, Booty Down, Moonrise, Moonshine, and Rump Roast.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Bring It to the Club

15
Pass these moves: Snake, Snap Groove, Step Center, Step Side, and Tap Front.

See "A Lover and a Dancer."
Jock

15
Pass these moves: Barbell, Boxer, Defense, Goal, Jock, Quarterback, and Run.
(1)
See "A Lover and a Dancer."
A Lover and a Dancer

15
Pass these moves: Boy Band, Earache, Love Warrior, and Palpitation.
(1)
All of these moves can be done either in Perform It! mode, Break It Down mode during the individual move attempts, or during the recaps. You will need to get at least a "Nice" rating on the move for it to be considered passed. Some of the moves are only available in the hard mode of the song, so you will likely get these after breaking down each song on Hard, or playing each song on Hard in Perform It! mode.

See here for a list of Song & Move locations.

Living Legend

30
Reached the "Living Legend" rank.
(5)
This requires reaching Rank 1. You start at Rank 20 and it counts down to 1. You level up ONLY in Perform It! mode. Playing songs in Dance Battle or Break It Down mode do NOT count. After each song your meter will fill up. Your rank will be listed under your gamertag on the main menu. This achievement will take quite a bit of time. Depending on how many attempts it takes you to 5-star every song on Hard though, you may get this achievement by the time you're done.
Robots Doin’ It for Themselves

15
Successfully passed a robot move with ELIOT.
(10)
You will unlock ELIOT as a playable character after completing the Grand Finale Challenge. This achievement is glitchy - moves that counted for some people and gave them the achievement have not counted for other people. ELIOT is the default character during the Grand Finale Challenge and when you play the moves from Satisfaction. If you pass them (by achieving at least a "Nice" rating) you should unlock this achievement at the end of the song. If not, try playing through Satisfaction on Easy, since virtually every move in that song is a robot move. If that doesn't work play Soulja Boy on Easy. The move Robocop is considered a robot move, and this unlocked the achievement for me at the end of the song.