One thing that can be annoying for a beginner is when they practice the choreography in front of a mirror, and everything looks perfect, but when they actually play the music, it just doesn’t seem to match. It isn’t just a matter of remembering the choreography. Most of the time, it’s a timing issue. If the choreographer hasn’t actually listened to the music, and danced with the rhythm, then it will always look a bit rushed or late, even if the shapes are correct. Instead of trying to “keep up” with the music, try to listen for where the strong beats are. Practice clapping to the music before even attempting to dance. Listen for the rhythm. There’s probably a lot of groups of eight. There’s probably an accent repeated every two beats. By just clapping to the music, it already helps your body learn what to listen for, and that is what makes clean dancers.
A useful exercise to practice this is to walk in place and count out loud on every step. I know, I know, this seems ridiculously simple, but it helps you develop your internal sense of rhythm because you’re not having to concentrate on any other type of movement. Then, when you feel comfortable with that, try replacing the walking motion with some kind of groove. You could shift your weight from side to side, for example. Try to keep the movement as minimal as possible so you can focus on the rhythmic accuracy. Don’t try to play through a section where you’ve lost the feel of the groove. Instead, simply stop the recording, pick up your count where you are, and start again. Quantity is not as important as quality here.
You can’t rush the process. Attempting to perform choreography at tempo too soon almost always results in poor timing. The mind can’t keep up with direction, balance, and rhythm so the rhythm fails. Practice it at half tempo (music or no music) and at half energy. Add more speed once the step is being executed on the correct count. If you’re still late for a specific transition, practice just that transition and repeat it until the count is second nature. To truly learn choreography, it is most important to practice control.
A short daily session can be helpful if you focus on rhythm. Clap or step out the rhythm of a piece of music for a few minutes. Work on a short section slowly, counting out loud. Then try it to music, at tempo, focusing on starting the movements on the beat, not after it. Finally, do the section again with full effort, as if you were performing, even if you’re by yourself. This will help you work on hearing rhythms, physically doing them correctly, and performing musically, all within the space of a few minutes a day.
If you get confused, don’t learn more material. Go back to the very basic act of moving exactly on time, even if it’s just bobbing your head or tapping your foot. Get your confidence back there and add more movement back in. Learning musicality is like finding your balance on a balance beam – you do it with lots of tiny corrections, not big ones. Eventually you start to feel like your movements are “hooked” into the music and what used to feel like a frantic mess of choreography starts to feel like the music is sweeping you through every step of weight transfer.