Dance Routines

For any dancer, coming up with new dance routines can be a challenge. It can be especially frightening for people who were trained in strict dance techniques but never asked to choreograph for either themselves or other people. There are, however, specific techniques for coming up with dance routines that can ensure a memorable and artistically enjoyable experience.

One way to think of a dance routine is as a story – something with a definite beginning, middle, and end. Usually the middle of a story expresses some sort of conflict as well, which will be resolved by the end in a way that makes the audience feel satisfied.

Dance routines are the same way – they are stories told through motions, not words. Since the language of motion is different for many cultures and people, often the beginning of a dance routine needs to be the establishment of a movement vocabulary.

One way to establish this vocabulary is through research into the basic movement canon of whatever dance form the routine is designed for. In hip hop, for example, one could look up the history of the form, or if a ballroom routine were desired one would research ballroom dance steps. In fact, there are even entire articles on choreographed dance routines that can be used as resources.

However, sticking to the conventions of the dance makes for a fairly boring story. It is the responsibility of each dancer to tell their own stories, to paraphrase Martha Graham. Many dancers use their personal experiences and diverse training to help keep their choreography more interesting to the audience – such as a belly dancer adding in hip-hop moves to her routine.

Another aspect of creating dance routines is working in contrasts. Variations in the dance moves can come in many ranges:

• Speed
• Level
• Body motion (sharp, gentle, curved, etc.)
• Isolation of body parts and movements
• Repetition

The idea is to establish enough of a movement vocabulary that the audience can relate to the dance routine, but then to push the edges of the unexpected just often enough to keep them engaged and thoughtful about the piece. Contrasts can do this, whether in movement or occasionally in the actual dancers themselves. For example, Larry Goldhuber, a very large man, teamed up for several performances with Heidi Latsky, a very petite modern dancer. The two could dance the same routine – and often did – but fascinate the audience just with the ways differing bodies looked performing the same movement.

Once a vocabulary is decided on, as well as some ideas for contrast, then combinations can begin to be created – usually in sequences of eight beats, depending on the music chosen for the routine. By dividing the routine into these parts – the beginning, middle, and end, and then further down into eight (or sometimes sixteen) beat increments, remembering the moves and teaching them to others becomes easy. In some ways the modular dance segments become their own sort of mini-routines, and care should be taken in the transitions between them. Keeping up the energy and smoothness between the segments can be quite a challenge

There are several resources that should not be overlooked in coming up with original dance routines. First is the best: a dance instructor, coach, or professional choreographer can listen to the story you want to tell and suggest suitable moves that particularly match your skill level and perhaps push a bit beyond it.

Failing a live instructor, fellow dancers can often work in brainstorming sessions to try and come up with creative new moves. Less effective, but more readily available, are videos on the internet or in DVD format. The problem with these is twofold: one, since there is no live feedback there is no way to ask questions for clarification of choreography, nor evaluation of a dancer's proficiency. Two, because these are readily available to everyone, the odds are that someone else is performing the same moves.

In the end, keeping to one's authentic message as a dance routine develops will help maintain fresh new choreography and entertain audiences and dancers for years.

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• How to Belly Dance
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