How do you choreograph a routine?

MissChiefNYC started this discussion · 10/23/2010

Hey wonderful people! I know there are many beginner routines out there for me to grapple with, but I'm curious about those who make their own up. How do you do it? I've found some music that moves me, but I'm not quite sure *how* to boogie with it, or what to do....I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl, but really want to be a little more structured with my dance (ahem) any suggestions for this movement challenged New Yorker? I've started by listing what I *can* do...now it's just a matter of making it flow and look pretty. Thanks! oh and why is this emoicon wearing a condom on it's head? 🙊

33 replies

Tabbycat · 10/24/2010
Me personally, I don't really like to actually choreograph my dance...But What I do like to do before hand is practice my moves a littlebit beforehand and see which transitions I like to slap together during the song I'm dancing to. I try to keep in mind that it's always more interesting if you move around at different hieights, and different sides of the room ( Standing, squating, on the floor, on the pole, left side, right side of the room, front side). I like to Really feel the music when I'm dancing to it, and give each side of the pole a little lovin 🙂 <3 <3 <3 I hope that helps!! 🥂
PoleSkivvies · 10/24/2010
Here are some old blog posts that might have some useful info: http://poleskivvies.com/2009/05/how-to-make-a-pole-dance-routine/ http://poleskivvies.com/2009/05/how-to-improv-a-pole-dance/ http://poleskivvies.com/2009/05/putting-the-dance-back-in-pole-dancechoreography-vs-improv/ I also have a free e-class on the fundamentals of a pole routine (the elements that should be included, not a routine itself; scroll down a bit for it ): http://poleskivvies.com/free-e-classes/
MissChiefNYC · 10/24/2010
Great tips...thank you!!!
minicoopergrl · 10/24/2010
What I do is listen to the music and start from there. Some points of the song scream certain moves, and I just work around them. 90% of the time I Choreograph when im away from my pole (most of the time in the car) and just bring it in the studio and play around it.
PoleSkivvies · 10/24/2010
That's so funny - I choreograph in the car all the time, too! 🙂
SissyBuns · 10/24/2010
Every single peice of choreo that I've ever done has statred in the car LOL. While I'm driving and jamming out to a song I plan to dance to. Like Mini said, certain moves feel right at certain points. So once I have the idea of how I want it to, I start practicing it and things evolve from there. I get some ideas from the music, then dance to it until other things come together, then practice it and practice it until I have a routine. I find that freestyling to a song that moves me brings choreogrpahy all by itself. All you have to do is make changes, polish it and get your transitions together. Long story short...just dance to the song, maybe record yourself and see what happens......plus anything PoleSkivvies said. LOL
Bellz · 10/25/2010
I make a list of the tricks I know, then I get the lyrics to the song. There are some moves that would go with certain words, so I write those down under the lyrics. "There she was just a walking down the street singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do ---walk around pole, smile" Snapping her hands and a shuffling her feet singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do ---change directions, walk around, snap fingers, look at the audience, sing do wah diddy" Like that. Some parts I leave out choreography because I just want to do floor work, some places I add the tricks I wanna do. Have fun!!!
tarah · 10/25/2010
Ha Ha Ha Ha 😂 I never noticed this 🙊 Too funny!! Good question about choreographing - I haven't gotten that far 'cause I haven't learned enough moves to make it thru a whole song, but definitely need advice too. 🐱
minicoopergrl · 10/25/2010
Great example - im working on my Miss Xpose stuff. One of my songs is 'The Sound of Madness' by Shinedown. It has some counts of 8 (yep former dancer its just how im trained), then the music speeds up after they lyric is 'watch your back'. I figured I start with the foot stomp in beat w/the music, then some hip divets, walk and pirouettes and get the momentuem to do a BIG reverse grab to go with the beat. One song ive been tinkering with is Gently by Slipknot, it starts very slow. I thought about slow and controlled movements. About halfway through the song, it goes into the traditional Slipknot style and goes fast, thats when I really bust out the tricks. Sometimes I have a song I like to pole to but the choreography doesnt come to me for quite some time. Ive been wanting to dance to 3 Libras by A Perfect Circle for years and now the choreography hit me one day.
tiggertail · 10/25/2010
I do that in my car too 😀 hope i'll never have an accident being too busy in my head. Sorry officer i was doing this amazing combo on my pole and didn't see the car in front of me 😂 🙊 is for safety or just to make you smile 😛
Svarri · 10/25/2010
If I'm seriously choreographing (e.g. for a competition) I do it in an bit of an odd way. On one hand I can 'see' pole moves in music and then that's really straightforward. However, what's in my mind doesn't always work 🙁 What I do is I sit down with my music and I map it out. I write out what I think the phases are in the music and the amount of time each bit takes: So, I'll have something like 00.00-00.10 intro section 00.10-00.34 chorus 00.35 - drums start etc. It really helps me to have a 'map' of what I'm dancing to, where I've noted the parts of the music and the features I find interesting/significant. To the side of that map, I'll write down the moves/combinations and actions/expressions that I think will go with them. Then the task is trying it out and whether what's in my head works and adjusting it as I go along. I write out what works (combinations/spins/dance bits). This is really useful if I'm entering a competition with required moves. That way I can check that I've included everything. It's a way of choreographing that won't suit everyone. I like to write things down as a general rule 😀
Mindy4pole · 10/26/2010
If I'm seriously choreographing (e.g. for a competition) I do it in an bit of an odd way. I did my competition choreography about the same way. I started out by figuring out what compulsory moves I wanted to do and where they would fit. Then I worked out from there. It took me forever to get my choreography. I kept trying to get it to jell, but it wouldn't. I finally figured out to stick my two on-the-pole sections together. I think that was three days before the comp!! For any choreography, listen to your music!! Infinite repeat is your friend. I'll even sleep to the song. A fun approach when you aren't feeling inspired is to just pick say three moves. Turn your song on, and just start dancing. You know what moves you will use -- play with it! The more you let yourself just "go with" it -- even if its goofy, the faster your body will learn how to move with the pole. Just be sure to be 🙊 and you'll be fine! 🌸 Mindy
MissChiefNYC · 10/26/2010
You guys are great, some wonderful tips here... thus far I'm about 30 seconds into my three minute song 😂 It's a start...
REDKE71 · 10/27/2010
lol, it always starts in the car... 😂 for me, the way i coreograph, is i listen to the song.. pick certain parts of the song (where the beat hits, or drops, or when a note is held, or a guitar solo, or a funky beat) and try to envision what moves would go well with particular parts of the song. Concentrate on building those first, then fill up the rest of the song with floorwork, transitions, spins, and other moves. Good luck!! 🥂
smalltownboy · 10/27/2010
The emoticons is meant to represent "safety".......although there are times when you might want to use it as a statement about someone you think is a d*ck head!
yogabeachbabe · 10/30/2010
My problem is that when I'm choreographing, it's usually with someone like Karol, or Jenyne or Alethea in mind. Then I have to stop and realize that I CAN'T DO ANY OF THAT STUFF!!!! Bummer...
PolefitFanatic · 4/5/2011
@poleskivvies thank you for those great links and thanks everyone for your choreographing ideas. I am putting together my first routine for a compeitiion at the moment. so far so good - my greatest fear is being boring and predictable, I am trying for my own flavour and these tips have been a great help! My second fear is being under-rehearsed. How soon before a compeitiion do you suggest I have the routine completed so I can practise, practise, practise?
VanillaryPuff · 4/5/2011
for me, finding a song that actually makes me dance, and thus makes choreographing easy, is the biggest step. i usually skip through my playlist to find a song worth the effort, and when i have found it, i like to go to the pole and try things out while listening. i always write down what i have, with the lyrics on the left and the moves i want to do with them on the right. like this, i am able to repeat the choreography some months from now; it doesn't get 'lost'! i also make a list of moves i really want to put into that choreography. sometimes there are parts of a song that really crave for a certain move! that's always great. then i only have to figure out, how to get into and out of that move 😉
VanillaryPuff · 4/5/2011
p.s.: i think you should have completed the routine at least one week before the competition. you'll have plenty of time to rehearse the choreography on and off the pole (in your mind - in the car, on the bus, while cooking, or whatever - anywhere you can listen to the song would be good) then, and don't need to panic because you run out of time! hope this helps ❗
PolefitFanatic · 4/6/2011
Thanks gingercake, that's good to know. The song is on high rotate in my car at the moment, I am a little concerned I'll hate it by comp. time! but, oh, well.. I hope to have my routine finished soon, so a month to practise would be good then? I think i need to practice and practice because I don;t want to be nervous about any of it and slip!
VanillaryPuff · 4/6/2011
one month will be more than enough, i'm sure. there is also a point where you cross the line between well-rehearsed and over-rehearsed - when you hate the song and want to start a whole new routine because you're so bored and everything about it gets on your nerves really bad. just leave the whole thing for a few days then! let it rest, and the joy about it will come back. but don't worry, everything will be fine! a good idea would be to do it in front of an audience (friends, family, pole colleagues) before you go to the competition. this will reduce your nervousness at the competition most probably. also, you can work on another quite important thing, for which you need someone to spot you: stage presence. don't get lost in yourself, don't let them know you have the jitters. i wish you all the best, have fun, enjoy yourself and rock that pole! please let me know if anything i told you worked, how you did and felt during the competition!
PolefitFanatic · 4/6/2011
Thanks so much for your support Gingercake. That's a great idea peforming in front of family and friends - I will do that. The comp isn't until July and although I am really only at the top of intermediate level/beginning of advanced I am entering the advanced category because some of my strongest moves; ayesha, straight edge, jackknife - are all specified as only being able to be used in the advanced category. So, I am not expecting to place, but my fellow category competitors will be pretty amazing - so I am all about getting my routine as polished as possible! But, I will certainly keep everyone here posted!
VanillaryPuff · 4/6/2011
wow, you definitely have to post a video here, too!
Runemist34 · 4/7/2011
Hey ladies! I've got an odd question for choreography...how do you "count" spins, or find places for them? What if the music that really moves you doesn't really...um, rise and fall much? When I choreographed a burlesque dance, it was easy, just a basic strip...no spins that take a while, no fancy stuff like trying to climb a pole or whatever, because I was on the ground. And, the music I chose was of the big-band style, which usually isn't my thing (and thus took forever to find!) so it worked together well. But...that's my issue. What if I want to put a crucifix or a layback at one part, and need to climb to get there? How do I work that in? I don't like the idea of "Oh, gee, hang on, I just have to climb up here and get to where I want to be for this next part..." that some dancers do. And, since a lot of my music is electronica, there isn't much rise and fall with the beat...at least, my kind of electronica! It tends to be constant, and that's why I like it! The beat gets me moving, but it also doesn't change. I can think of one song in particular that Husband describes as "Too repetitive," and really...it IS rather repetitive. But, I like dancing to it. I suppose I'm a little odd, eh? So, any thoughts?
VanillaryPuff · 4/7/2011
I really don't know much about electronic music, but I know that I always find it hard to remember what to do when in a choreography when there are no significant changes in the sound. I', mot sure what you mean with "counting" spins or finding places for them. When I dance there always are spins in the routine ... I love spins! I usually combine them with dancemoves, or use them for getting down to the floor (sometimes up again, hehe). As for the clims to get into tricks from a higher position - you can do an extra slow climb, or a spinning climb (grab with your hands up and sideways on the pole so you twist around it while climbing), or climb with extra attention on the booty (stick it out more than usual). If you let it look like it's actually part of the choreography and not just getting from here to there, it'll be fine.

Load more replies (page 2 of 2)

How *do* you choreograph a routine?

33 replies

How do you choreograph a routine?