- AKA
- Sab
Hiii! So the dance team that I normally choreograph for and coach is starting up their competition season and this year they've asked me to come in and choreograph/teach two pieces for them!
I thought it'd be cool to share with ya'll my "Process" and document the entire journey from conception to execution--or in this case, competition. I plan to post videos of the major milestones of my piece as its being developed (kinda like when artists post WIPs!), leading up to the big day when they perform it on stage during competition in May. Cool eh??
Without further ado...!!!
THE SET
The 'set' refers to the entire 7-10 minute competitive routine that a dance team puts together and performs on stage. A set can contain multiple 'pieces,' which refer to the different snippets of songs that the dance team members perform. I met with the team's artistic directors and they informed me that they want to attribute an overarching theme to the set this year, as opposed to putting the set together with random, non-related songs. They chose the theme of 'Empowerment,' so they've asked me and the other choreographers to select songs that illustrate this.
The song I selected for my first piece was Mirror by Madison Ryann Ward. It's slow and expressive and represents, in my opinion, the concept of moving on. That's empowering right?? Anyway I hope to be able to make someone cry by the end of all of this. WISH ME LUCK.
STEP 1: Freestyle
As with any creative process (I'm assuming), the first step is typically some sort of brainstorming session. For some dancers/choreographers, that usually comes in the form of a freestyle, when we put on the song and just dance and move however we feel. Nothing is choreographed - we just listen to the music and come up with moves on the spot. B likened it to how artists doodle and shit, so think of it as a 'dancing doodle,' if you will.
I caught my first couple of freestyles to Mirror on video back in November, before the kids even asked me to choreograph. I was really feeling the song back then and just wanted to freestyle for fun. Now that the kids have asked me and they're good with me using this song, I'm using this freestyle as a baseline for my actual choreography...I hope you enjoy it and don't forget this is just the sketch!!! Also pls excuse my nips I might've been cold and this was never meant to be shared
NEXT STEPS...
I'm scheduled to come in to dance practice to teach this piece on Monday evening, February 18, so I have about a week to choreograph and finalize and be ready to teach. Not a lot of time because I'm a miserable procrastinator but I've done worse in past years so I'm confident I'll get it done!!! Please expect to see my first attempt(s) at choreo in the next couple days!
I thought it'd be cool to share with ya'll my "Process" and document the entire journey from conception to execution--or in this case, competition. I plan to post videos of the major milestones of my piece as its being developed (kinda like when artists post WIPs!), leading up to the big day when they perform it on stage during competition in May. Cool eh??
Without further ado...!!!
THE SET
The 'set' refers to the entire 7-10 minute competitive routine that a dance team puts together and performs on stage. A set can contain multiple 'pieces,' which refer to the different snippets of songs that the dance team members perform. I met with the team's artistic directors and they informed me that they want to attribute an overarching theme to the set this year, as opposed to putting the set together with random, non-related songs. They chose the theme of 'Empowerment,' so they've asked me and the other choreographers to select songs that illustrate this.
The song I selected for my first piece was Mirror by Madison Ryann Ward. It's slow and expressive and represents, in my opinion, the concept of moving on. That's empowering right?? Anyway I hope to be able to make someone cry by the end of all of this. WISH ME LUCK.
STEP 1: Freestyle
As with any creative process (I'm assuming), the first step is typically some sort of brainstorming session. For some dancers/choreographers, that usually comes in the form of a freestyle, when we put on the song and just dance and move however we feel. Nothing is choreographed - we just listen to the music and come up with moves on the spot. B likened it to how artists doodle and shit, so think of it as a 'dancing doodle,' if you will.
I caught my first couple of freestyles to Mirror on video back in November, before the kids even asked me to choreograph. I was really feeling the song back then and just wanted to freestyle for fun. Now that the kids have asked me and they're good with me using this song, I'm using this freestyle as a baseline for my actual choreography...I hope you enjoy it and don't forget this is just the sketch!!! Also pls excuse my nips I might've been cold and this was never meant to be shared
NEXT STEPS...
I'm scheduled to come in to dance practice to teach this piece on Monday evening, February 18, so I have about a week to choreograph and finalize and be ready to teach. Not a lot of time because I'm a miserable procrastinator but I've done worse in past years so I'm confident I'll get it done!!! Please expect to see my first attempt(s) at choreo in the next couple days!
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