From an Award Winning Choreographer
Starting a new dance piece from scratch can be intimidating, and sometimes the ideas just don’t come! This is especially true if you put too much pressure on the end product! Below are 5 tips and tricks I follow when creating a new piece!
- Find THE Song
The song is so important to me. If I don’t instantly have ideas from a piece of music, I can’t use it. If you are just starting out in choreography, pick songs that make you excited to dance. For me, I don’t like to use songs I’ve seen dances to before. This allows me to completely make my own ideas about what I see from the song!
- Move Your Body
To come up with initial ideas, just play your song and move a bit, and film it. I know it can be a little silly, but watching it back, you can get inspired by your improvisation to create some movement!
- Watch and Learn from your Dancers
The best dances are those that highlight the talents of the students the piece was created for! This means, as the choreographer, you have to be aware of your dancers and be willing to make changes where necessary.
- Don’t let Opinions Sway You
You are the creative leader, whether it’s the students or outside pressure, don’t compromise your vision initially. Only you know what the vision is, and you want to honor that! (Of course, take this with a grain of salt and listen to the opinions of others to an extent)
- Have Confidence OR Fake It
No one trusts choreography that the choreographer doesn’t trust. Stand by your choices and be confident in them. You spent the time, so this is your chance to show it off!
Have fun creating! As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments and add in any tips I missed!