Step 0: you have to want to look good dancing.
Step 1: Buy a large mirror.
Step 2: Look at yourself and your skeleton.
Steps 1 and 2 were mentioned in previous two entries. Here is the next one, Step 3.
Step 3: Choose your dance and watch the best performers of the dance.
There are many different dances. Excelling at one dance does not mean you will be good at another (although much of the skills can be transferred). You need specific knowledge for the dance of your choice.
The first half of this step is about your choice.
You better love, or at least like, the music, and then the dance. If the dance is more particular about the body type and size (like the ballet or gymnastic/acrobatic dance), you might want to consider it, too. I like watching Lindy-hop, but the dance and these aerials look tough on my knees.
The second half of this step is about your knowledge on the particular dance.
If you are new to a dance, and enter a contest, what the judges are looking for is the knowledge part. You demonstrate that you are knowledgeable in the dance; that you know the basics and that you can use and perform the basics.
The "basics" here are not necessarily the very first basic you learn, but basics that characterize the dance.
If your Tango looks like country western or kizomba, your Tango basics are poor. You failed to demonstrate your knowledge on Tango. Do you know how to differentiate these dances and give proper looks to each of them?
The best performers are representatives for (or even embodiment of) the dance. When ballroom dancers dance 10 dances, they are very fussy about making distinctions among dances.
Watching the best performances helps to educate you about the dance.
Choose a music and dance you love. Watch the best performers of the dance, and grasp the characters, or essence, of the dance. Gain knowledge in your head at first. That is the step 3.
[What makes the difference? Hint: frame and lines. Costumes help,too.]
These steps are a very simplified version of a dance teaching program I have been working on slowly.
"Arts can be broken down to simple steps for more efficient teaching and learning. Instead of relying on few people's geniuses, by constructing a step-wise process, many can learn the art efficiently and perform the art at a higher level quicker." I like the approach. The pragmatic approach has proven successful in military and in business. It should work for dances, too.
