Building a routine

Learning individual steps is only the start. The fun begins when you put them together, whether that's a short combination you can drop into your freestyle on a dance floor or a full routine for a video. Wikipedia describes the Melbourne shuffle as typically improvised, and most shufflers freestyle, but building routines is one of the best ways to develop the vocabulary and transitions that make improvising easy. This guide shows you how to go from single steps to combinations, routines and confident freestyle.

Step 1: Choose your track

Pick a track you love that has:

• a clear, steady beat you can count;
• a tempo you can manage, which you can check with our tempo trainer;
• obvious changes, such as build-ups and drops, that you can match moves to.

If you plan to share a video, think about music rights early. APRA AMCOS says that if you create your own video with music and want to upload it online, you need permission from the copyright owners. Our guide to filming and sharing videos explains this.

Step 2: Map the music

Listen to the track several times and note:

• where the beat starts;
• where each eight-count phrase begins;
• build-ups, drops and breakdowns;
• any distinctive sounds you might want to hit with a move.

Write a simple map, such as "intro 32 counts, build 16, drop 64, break 32, drop 64". This becomes the skeleton of your routine.

Step 3: Build combinations

A combination is a short sequence of moves, usually 8, 16 or 32 counts long. For example:

• Combination A (16 counts): four running men, two T-steps left, two T-steps right, four running men.
• Combination B (16 counts): four kick running men, half spin, four T-steps travelling right with kicks.
• Combination C (8 counts): two slow running men, quarter turn, two fast running men.

Write each combination in counts and practise it until it's smooth at a slow tempo, then speed it up. Our guides to the running man, the T-step and spins and transitions cover the moves.

Step 4: Arrange your routine

Arrange your combinations to fit the music map:

• Intro: simple moves or arm work while you settle into the beat.
• Build-up: moves that build energy, such as speeding up or adding kicks.
• Drop: your strongest combinations, perhaps with a spin or jump on the first beat.
• Breakdown: slower moves, arm work or a pause.
• Ending: a clear finish, such as a spin into a held pose on the final beat.

Don't overcrowd the routine. A few well-executed moves look better than many rushed ones.

Step 5: Add variety

Variety keeps routines interesting:

• Speed: switch between half-time, normal and double-time steps.
• Direction: travel forward, back and sideways, and turn to face different directions.
• Levels: lower your body slightly for some moves and stand tall for others.
• Arms: vary arm movements between combinations.
• Stillness: a short pause on a big moment can be powerful.

Step 6: Practise in sections

Practise one section at a time, slowly, until it's clean. Then join two sections, then three, and so on. Use the tempo trainer's practice ladder to build from a slower speed to full speed. Running the whole routine at full speed too early tends to lock in mistakes.

Step 7: Film and refine

Film your routine from the front, and if possible from the side. Watch for:

• moves that are off the beat;
• awkward transitions;
• moments where you look down or lose energy;
• sections that feel repetitive.

Adjust the routine and film again. Many dancers find this the single most useful practice habit.

From routine to freestyle

Routines feed your freestyle. Each combination you learn becomes something you can use on the dance floor. To build freestyle skills:

• practise switching between combinations in a random order;
• put on an unfamiliar track and dance without planning;
• set yourself challenges, such as changing move every eight counts or using only two moves for a whole track;
• watch other dancers and try to work out what makes their dancing distinctive, without copying their routines outright.

Respecting other dancers' work

Shuffle culture is built on sharing and learning from each other. It's normal to learn moves you've seen, but if you closely recreate someone else's choreography for a video, credit them. Never reupload someone else's video as your own.

Pacing your practice

Building a routine involves repetition, which is hard on your legs. Keep sessions manageable, take breaks, drink water and stop if you feel pain. See our guide to warming up and avoiding injury.

A sample practice session

1. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Drill one new combination slowly for 10 minutes.
3. Run two known sections at a medium tempo.
4. Film one run-through.
5. Freestyle to a different track for a few minutes.
6. Cool down and stretch gently.

Writing your routine down

A simple notation system makes routines easier to remember and adjust. Many dancers use a table with one row per eight counts:

Use abbreviations that make sense to you, such as RM for running man and TS for T-step. Add notes about arms, facing and any moment you want to hit with the music. Keep the notation next to you while you practise, and update it whenever you change something.

Common routine mistakes

• Too many moves. Packing in every move you know makes a routine rushed and messy. Choose fewer moves and do them well.
• No contrast. A routine at the same speed and energy throughout loses impact. Use breakdowns to slow down and drops to lift.
• Ignoring the music. Moves that don't respond to the track look disconnected. Match changes to the music map.
• Weak ending. A routine that just stops feels unfinished. Plan a clear final move.
• Skipping the slow practice. It's tempting to run everything at full speed, but slow practice is where clean technique is built.

Practising with friends

Learning with others is motivating and fun. Teach each other combinations, swap feedback on videos, and challenge each other to freestyle to tracks you haven't heard before. If you build a group routine, agree on counts and facings so you stay in sync, and film from a distance so everyone is in shot.

Keeping a combination library

As you learn, keep a list of your favourite combinations with a short name, the counts and the tempo you can do them at. Over time this becomes your personal library. When you build a new routine, you can pick from it rather than starting from scratch, and when you freestyle, you'll have reliable material to fall back on. Review the list every few weeks and retire combinations that no longer challenge you.

Performing your routine

If you perform for friends, at a meetup or on video, run the routine several times beforehand, warm up properly and plan for mistakes. If you slip, keep going and pick up on the next phrase. Most viewers won't notice, and recovering smoothly is a skill in itself.

Key points

• Pick a track with a clear beat and manageable tempo, and map its phrases.
• Build combinations of 8 to 32 counts and arrange them to fit the music.
• Add variety in speed, direction, levels and arms, and don't overcrowd.
• Practise in sections, build speed gradually and film yourself to refine.
• Use routines to grow your freestyle, and credit other dancers' choreography.