Thread: Composing choreography

So, if you choreograph your own routines, how do you keep track of your new creation? Do you write it down, video it, or just memorize it? Also, do routines ever go "out of style" or become passe? In my former ballroom dance days, styles changed dramatically from decade to decade, and the push was always on to innovate and change how steps were executed. Do you think this applies to belly dance?

I have to write them down or I forget them, as I have no video camera right now.

I'm curious - since you're from a ballroom background, how did you record choreos?

I used to write them down. In competitive ballroom, a very strict syllabus for each level of dance (beginner=bronze, intermediate=silver, advanced=gold) was developed and maintained by the English, and ballroom dancers around the world follow and are judged on the standardized syllabus. Although style and execution could change, there are required elements that must be shown in order for it to be considered a genuine "step". Hence if you watch DWTS, the British judge will often complain that there were not enough "recognizable" steps to be considered a rumba, or a waltz, etc. Because of this, the names of the steps are universally recognized around the world, hence it was easy to write a choreography and anyone would be able to read/follow it....
Also, another thing that made it easy is that there were certain steps for travelling down the long side of a room, versus other steps that worked only for turning the corners or turning direction....

I write it all down! Couldn't remember it, otherwise. If I had a video camera, I'd also probably just "get up and dance" with the camera running; sometimes our best stuff happens when we're not trying too hard . . .

Repetition, done well and with some variation, is a good thing.

Symmetry is also good, but always going left then right with the movement, or forward then back, isn't good symmetry -- it's very predictable (read: "boring"). It's like repetition: put some variation in it, or do something all together different than you've done before in that section.

IOW, exact repetition and complete symmetry are for classroom choreos, so both sides are used equally, but they're not for entertainment!

I've been dancing for 30 years; you can bet my dancing has changed! Although I don't usually use choreography, it definitely is based on the music.

Deborah

[QUOTE=enzina;287252]In competitive ballroom, a very strict syllabus for each level of dance (beginner=bronze, intermediate=silver, advanced=gold) was developed and maintained by the English, and ballroom dancers around the world follow and are judged on the standardized syllabus. Although style and execution could change, there are required elements that must be shown in order for it to be considered a genuine "step". Hence if you watch DWTS, the British judge will often complain that there were not enough "recognizable" steps to be considered a rumba, or a waltz, etc. [QUOTE]

He's my favorite judge, because he's looking for what makes a rhumba a rhumba, what makes a waltz a waltz; I have to admit that I often wouldn't be able to tell what style was being exectuted by some of the contestants without being told!

Deborah

I am usually working on 3 or 4 choreogrpahies at a time, but still don't write them down until I am done. So I memorize them, then right them down for my students, and then video tape them, and then always buy the video of the performances. And I will still forget them after some time has passed....LOL!!!

I usually star by writing them down but then what feels right starts to take over and then it sort of moves into an improv choreography. Does that make any kind of sense? Is there such a thing as improv choreography?

Originally Posted by bonnywhiteford

I usually star by writing them down but then what feels right starts to take over and then it sort of moves into an improv choreography. Does that make any kind of sense? Is there such a thing as improv choreography?

That's cute! Yeah improv choreography is what I do for myself, but if my students are going to perform then I have to write it down, which is why I don't write it down until AFTER I figured it all out.

I start all of mine out of improv but then I write them down in my dance notebook once I feel I have got something that I want to develop further.

Once written down, they are not set in stone and I often change them/re write them several times (but I keep each version so that I can see how my mind is working and evolving the dance).

I also draw the stage dynamics for each dance in terms of use of space. I'm not sure how effective this is but I think its a good habit to have.

I am blessed with a very good memory and I rarely have to check my notebooks before I perform but I seem to 'blank' stuff out when I have completed a big (for me) show. That's when those notebooks come in handy.

It takes me so long to do a choreography for me that I remember it. Its such a long process.I listen and listen to the music, then I analysize it and divide it into sections. Then I dance it over and over and gradually I start doing stuff I like and want to keep, so I do and then work on the rest.Sometimes I leave bits so although I know where my weight will be and what direction I'll be facing I might do different moves each time.
The music is my memory trigger I know what moves go with which bit of music and if there are lyrics thats even more of a clue.
I like to have choreography so I can dance freely and confidently but not as a straight jacket.

If I'm doing a choreography for a group though its a different thing.I write that down because that has to be the same each time.

I used to write mine down when I tightly choreographed all my dances, but have stopped now nearly everything I do is the "improv choreo" mentioned above. Another big difference that makes it hard to write up choreos for myself is that I really don't count things anymore, instead just associating different parts of the songs with certain moves, or more likely, certain categories of moves ("Ooh, traveling step there, and some swoopy thing right here!").

I do still write the choreographies out for my student troupe, though.

I start by listening to the piece of music exhaustively. Then, while listening on my computer (with the song play "time" running), I note the times of phrases and transitions (like 1:45, 3:27, etc, minutes:seconds).

I then flesh out the choreo, partly while sitting at my desk, and partly while dancing around my office banging into things and cursing when I whack myself on shelf corners, etc. I have a Word document open on one half of the screen, and the music player open on the other half. I type as I choreograph. When I get to the dancing it all the way through stage, editing happens.

I learned to document choreography like this from Dondi at a workshop she did where she gave us a choreography in written form to learn, and it made so much logical sense to me.

I think using the time stamp method is more reliable than "counting", as it forces you to listen to the music and recognize distinct parts of it. I tell my students that counting beats is deadly. What if you lose your count in the middle of your dance? If you know the song, though, you know which part of your choreography goes with each part of the song.

Originally Posted by Halima-Dances

I start by listening to the piece of music exhaustively. Then, while listening on my computer (with the song play "time" running), I note the times of phrases and transitions (like 1:45, 3:27, etc, minutes:seconds).

I then flesh out the choreo, partly while sitting at my desk, and partly while dancing around my office banging into things and cursing when I whack myself on shelf corners, etc. I have a Word document open on one half of the screen, and the music player open on the other half. I type as I choreograph. When I get to the dancing it all the way through stage, editing happens.

I learned to document choreography like this from Dondi at a workshop she did where she gave us a choreography in written form to learn, and it made so much logical sense to me.

I think using the time stamp method is more reliable than "counting", as it forces you to listen to the music and recognize distinct parts of it. I tell my students that counting beats is deadly. What if you lose your count in the middle of your dance? If you know the song, though, you know which part of your choreography goes with each part of the song.

This is almost exactly how I do it, right down to the 'banging into things and cursing.'

Often I open the song in my music editing program just so I can put in 'markers' where the different sections start. That makes it easy to select one section and play it over and over and over while I count it out and type the choreo in a word document. In the word document, the start time of each section is marked.

Then, if I choose, I can use the music editing program to break apart the different sections into tracks. I do this with long or complex pieces so we can work on them in chunks in class.

My own pieces are much less structured. I may make a few notes, but I don't write out a line-by-line choreo like I do for my students.

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback...I do have one further question. If you play zills with certain steps, do you also note the zill patterns and timing? It just seems so much more complicated due to all the different dynamics going on.....

Yes, I also note the zil patterns and timing. For cane it will be how many swings of the cane, and in which direction. I also write the time stamp for each combo or series of combos, as well as the counts. There is a lot to write. The direction of movement or stance, staging, arms, hands, facial expressions, eye contact, etc. For some things I will have the students take notes on their written choreographies as far as all these little nuances of the choreography. It gets to be a bit much for me to type in everything. Which is why I dread it, but they make me do it......LOL!!

I've only done one choreo with zills at this level.
I used the same method I use for all my props, which is just to tab over. So I type the time (2X8 meaning 2 8-count measures) then the step, then tab over and make notes about arms OR props OR head position OR whatever.
If it's complex, I might use several lines to describe one movement. Tabs don't work here, but I'll use dots instead and see if I can make it look right:

2X8......Camel R...................................... zill Chifti pattern
2X8......drop hips walking back................zills silent
1X8......Drop to floor, come up slow....... strike both zills on accents
.................................................. ..............head up on 1, roll shoulders
2X8......Camel R...................................... zill Chifti pattern


Something like that.

I write it down. Once I decided on a song. Then I map my music. staring with identifing rhythms, rhythm changes. Identify instruments in melody. Identify accents in melody, taxsims and flourishes in the rythm. Then identify repeat sections where I often use the same combinations in if I'm in a rush.

Then I dance to the music improv to see what comes out. I do this in private then I dance to it in public. make notes after dancing to what I liked and didn't like and then its on to writting the choreo one measure at a time using my mapping to give me a good outline combined with my Improv notes.

I write my choreo starting with the feet, then hips, chest and arms.

I analyze and figure out the structure of the music and write it down in Excel. This is the beginning of my group Tigi ya Matigish choreo:

Time # of measures section step Translation
:0 12 Intro drum shimmy walk
:22 8 organ hip drops
:37 1 transition drum left hip kick/pose
:39 7 Melody 1 side to side walk I love...

For group choreos I do what Halima does but I also write it down with the 8 counts above the text positioning the text with the counts. Then as we learn the choreo, we work out transitions on stage and refine arm positions and styling, adding to the notes as we go. It's a process! I like having the movements with the count because I can slow everything down by just counting out the steps while we're developing muscle memory. The counts ensure that everyone is at the right place at the right time and nothing is left to interpretation in a group piece (I find that some of my dancers don't hear the same things that I do, one actually has limited hearing in one ear-so counting is necessary for her). It still looks a little different on each dancer of course, but over all it's unified.

I will listen to a song over and over until I hear the song when I sleep. Moves will start to pop up in different parts of the dance and that will determine the direction I will go with the choroegraphy. Then I start to write it down as I choreograph it.

I try to choroegraph in chronological order but I will move past any area in a song that I draw a blank for. I'll just keep on going and that area will finally come in to place.

I also have to get up and dance the moves/combos that have come to mind to ensure that the transitions will work or that I can actually do the move I'm thinking of. Somethines what I visualise in my head does not come out of my body well at all. So I scrap it and try something else.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Often I open the song in my music editing program just so I can put in 'markers' where the different sections start. That makes it easy to select one section and play it over and over and over while I count it out and type the choreo in a word document. In the word document, the start time of each section is marked.

Then, if I choose, I can use the music editing program to break apart the different sections into tracks. I do this with long or complex pieces so we can work on them in chunks in class.

That's clever Lauren! I'll have to try that...