Choreograph a Dance

Choreographing a dance requires creativity, patience, and hard work! Before you piece together the perfect routine, let the music and genre inspire you. Be confident in your steps and the skills of your performers. Most importantly, have fun! Rehearse and perform your piece with confidence.

Steps

Getting Inspired

  1. Spend some time thinking about your routine. Is there a specific message you wish to get across or a mood you hope to convey. Keep track of your thoughts and ideas in a journal, on your computer, or in a notes app on your phone. As you begin choreographing, refer to these early brainstorming sessions for inspiration and direction.[1]
    • Get inspired by other performances. Devote sometime to watching street performers, YouTube videos, and classical recitals. Watch old musicals and modern music videos.
  2. Take your audience, venue, and event into consideration. When choreographing a dance, it is important to know your audience. Who are you performing for? What kind of dance are they expecting? As a choreographer, it is also essential that you take the venue and event into consideration. Will the dancers be on a stage, on a gym floor, or outdoors? Will your piece be performed at a recital or at the halftime of your high school’s basketball game? The answers to these questions will influence the content of your dance number.
  3. Select a style. There are hundreds of styles to choose between. You could choreograph a hip-hop routine or a fiery flamenco. Pick a style that suits your skills and the talents of your dancers. If you’re feeling daring, try creating a mash-up. Combine and mesh multiple styles into one stellar routine.
    • Choose a style that is fun and that you and your dancers are comfortable with.
  4. Choose a song. Selecting a song that complements the dance style is essential. While classical songs work well for ballet, hip-hop routines generally require more modern tunes. The song should inspire your creativity, motivate you to move, and intrigue your audience.[1]
    • Don’t be afraid to select an out-of-the-box song. Sometimes taking a risk can be very rewarding. Listen to new artists or artists from different countries.
  5. Determine how many dancers will perform your piece. Are you creating a beautiful solo or a daring duet? Do you feel inspired to create a complex group number or a dance simple enough for a flash mob? Decide how many dancers you will need in order to convey your message to the audience.
    • Be flexible! If your dancers are volunteers, you may not get as many willing participants as you had originally hoped.
  6. View dance covers of the song. Watch videos of other people dancing to the song. Get some ideas from them, but if you want to keep it original, don't copy the dance.

Feeling the Music and Learning the Genre

  1. Slow the song down. Use an app or other software to make the song into slow motion. This will help you create dance moves for each verse step-by-step. You will probably have to move in slow motion as well, which might make you look like a freak.
  2. Listen to the song on repeat. Knowing the song inside and out is important to the creation process. Listen to the song hundreds of times. Focus on different aspects of the music each time--zone in on the rhythms one time and the harmonies the next. Let the piece of music inspire your choreography.
    • Listen to the song during your daily commute.
    • Put it on repeat while you are at the gym.
  3. Identify sections in the song. After becoming intimately acquainted with the music, start analyzing it. Divide the song into sections. Name each section and identify when a section repeats. List the mood(s) of each section, note the energy level, volume, and intricate rhythms.
  4. Make sure the dance moves fit the song. Try to make the movements coordinate with the style and message of the song.
  5. Become a student of the genre. Familiarize yourself with the genre of dance you have selected. You should know everything from the correct hold to the basic steps. Create a list of steps, moves, and sequences that are not only genre appropriate, but that also fit the song. Use this list as a reference when you choreograph the routine.
    • Study the choreography of dances from the same genre. Find YouTube clips of hip-hop routines, jives, and tangos. You can also find live performances in your home town.
    • If you are looking to add a bit of flair to your routine, try incorporating dance moves from different genres!

Creating Movement

  1. Start moving. Try out different steps, moves, and sequences. Experiment with combining them in different patterns. Place these components at different points in the song. To prevent forgetting the combinations, record yourself and review the footage later.[1]
    • If you fashion your own steps, be sure to give them names that won't make it hard for you to remember what they are.
    • Don't be afraid to try something silly or off-the-wall. New, and possibly odd, movements can make a piece unique and special.
  2. Create sections. Combine the steps, moves, and sequences to form a section. Create each dance section with a specific section of the music in mind. Interpret the music through your movement and facial expressions--musicality is important. Make sure the individual dance sections have a unifying theme or character. Continuity will ensure that the sections do not appear disjointed or disconnected. Repeating certain sections, or variations of themes, throughout the piece can help unify your routine.[2]
  3. Choreograph transitions. Once you have choreographed the major sections of your dance, create transitions. Transitions should not disrupt the piece, but link the sections seamlessly. While transitions are not the star of your piece, they should never be boring or dull. Find creative ways to move from section to section.
  4. Incorporate props, costumes, and sounds. Decide if it is necessary to use props in your routine--props should never be an afterthought. Use them to aid and enhance your movement. Costumes can also be used to show off your choreography. A flow-y skirt can accentuate a spin or convey an emotion. Sounds too can enhance your routine. Yelling, snapping, stomping, and singing can add an additional dimension to your piece. Use them sparingly, but consistently.[3]
    • Your props and costumes should make sense--they should match the style of the dance. Props and costumes should never distract your audience from watching the performance.
  5. Write the routine. Before rehearsing, prepare for the session by writing out the routine. Include as many details about the steps as you feel are necessary. Feel free to use your own shorthand. Note particularly tricky passages that may require you to spend additional time explaining and demonstrating. Be organized and prepared.[4]
  6. Be creative! Put as much creativity as you can into your dance piece.
  7. Gradually increase the speed of the song more and more. Do this every time you do the dance successfully for each speed level. Do this until you finally reach the normal speed of the song.
  8. Practice whenever you can. Once you have established a dance routine that you can remember, practice whenever you can. In the bathroom, in front of a mirror, where ever.Make it so that if a random person just starts blasting the song from their iPod, you can do the full dance with no mistakes.

Practicing, Staging, and Revising

  1. Practice! Practice makes perfect. Remember, practice your routine over and over and over and over. Be patient with your dancers and remain positive. Stay flexible and remain open to altering your choreography if something is not working. Don’t be afraid to accept input from others.[3]
    • Go through the dance slowly at first. Pick up the pace as the dancers feel more comfortable.
    • When practicing, be enthusiastic so when it comes to the real thing, it feels natural.
    • Make sure you and the dancers are properly warmed-up before rehearsal.
  2. Stage your piece. Rehearse your piece on the stage or floor you will be performing. Record your practice. Decide how your dancers will enter and exit the stage. Determine where on the floor the dancers should be at various points of the dance--alter your transitions if necessary. During this process, it is important that you step away from the stage and view the piece from the audience’s position. Make sure none of the dancers are obstructed by the building or props.
  3. Revise your choreography. After reviewing the footage from your staged rehearsal, revise your choreography. Perfect the steps and transitions. Make note of areas in which your dancers could improve--are they conveying the proper emotion? Bring your notes to rehearsal and work with your dancers to make the necessary changes.
    • Don’t make too many alterations to the choreography. This can frustrate your dancers and lead to a stressful first performance. Make necessary changes only!

Tips

  • Don't panic! Relax and play around with the moves. Just have fun--that's what dancing is about.
  • When you dance, feel the emotion of the song.
  • Not all of your moves should be complicated. Add a few simple moves in between elaborate ones.
  • Try doing counts of eight to remember the dance and to make it simpler.
  • Get creative with it. Make it fit your style and personality.
  • Don't just do a dance to a song. Make it a story!
  • If you are performing the dance, you should always ask for someone's opinion so you can get more ideas.
  • Expression is the most important part of the dance choreography. Make sure that yourself or your dancer(s) are full of expression when dancing. No one will believe the story they are telling through their dance if there is no emotion.
  • Remember, you can't be perfect after first day of practicing. Practice makes perfect, practice, practice and practice and you'll become greater.
  • Don't force your group to dance one way. You can do one move and they can do another. If the move is forced, though, it won't look good.
  • Don't force people do try something, or perform it, if they are not sure about it.
  • If you're learning the dance, you can always write the steps down so if you forget or want to incorporate a dance step, you can look at it.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.dancespirit.com/uncategorized/piece_by_piece_tips_for_first-time_choreographers/
  2. ↑ http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/characteristics-of-effective-choreography
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://socialdance.stanford.edu/Syllabi/Choreography.htm
  4. ↑ http://jodysperling.com/process/how-do-you-write-down-choreography/

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