J Dogg's Performance Guide

by J Dogg, 18 October 00

The beauty of freestyle is that you can do anything, as long as you hit the buttons. In my routines, I use several basic techniques that are not too hard to do. They are outlined below:

Slide: This is when you move from one panel to the other without lifting your feet. For example, on an :up:, :down:, :up:, :down: sequence, you can slide from :up: to :down: using your right foot, then slide from :up: to :down: using your left foot, doing somewhat of a running-man.

Half-slide: Very similar to a slide, except you go from one panel back to the middle (the metal part of the stage), or from the middle to another panel. An example of this is on an :up::down:, :left::right:, :up::down: sequence. Start with your left foot on :up: and right foot on :down:. Then half-slide your left foot to the middle, and half-slide again from the middle to :left:, while setting your right foot on :right:. Your feet should now both be on :left: and :right:. Then half-slide your right foot to the middle, and half-slide it again to :down:, while setting your left foot on :up:.

I call the following moves "outside" because you end up with your leg somewhat outside of the stage, or your leg goes around the other outside the stage perimeter.

Outside Step: This is probably one of the most unintuitive things you can do in DDR. Take the sequence of steps :down:, :right:, :up:. What you would usually do is use your left foot, then right foot, then left foot again. In the outside step, you do the reverse--right foot on :down:, left foot on :right:, right foot on :up:. This is all done facing forward, so that your right leg swings around the left leg. If done correctly, this can look pretty good. It works well with fast steps. You can reverse this move, which will also look good on slower steps.

Outside Slide: Other interesting version of the slide that can look pretty good. You are given the sequence :up:, :right:, :down:. Start with your left foot on :up:, and your right foot on :right:. Then slide your left foot to :right: while lifting your right foot off. Afterwards, put your right foot down on :down:. Again, your right foot ends up going around the left foot.

All the things I outlined above are moves for your feet, but don't forget about your upper body (I am guilty of not following my advice here.). If you keep your arms at your side the whole time, your routine will not look as impressive as it can be. Just let them move naturally, and you'll be set!