Thread: How to remember choreos ?

Go on how do other remember them ?

In class learning a choreo, it comes back slowly from the week before and the week before that, but as soon as one leaves the class the memory goes again until the next week.

During the week I try to remember, bits I can but they are all in the wrong order and I cannot ft them to the music, but I did learn something, a series of movements I was struggling with I devised a notational method of drawing the movement on paper and once I saw the pattern I found I could do it no problems and as if I could always do it, so now am looking for ways to turn the current choreo into a drawing, as I know I thrive on patterns and see patterns in everything.

Drilling also works, but an hour a week is not working this time, have to find another way to remember ?

What do others do to remember choreos being learned ?

If I'm reading this correctly the only time you're practicing this choreo is during class. If so, no wonder you're not remembering it!

Write down notes during class as an aid to memory. Run through the choreo in your mind whilst listening to the music. Get up & dance it out from beginning to end and don't stop or berate yourself if you mess it up, just wait for the music to catch you up to the next bit you know.

Khanjar, I'll tell you what I tell my students. First start with the music.

I insist that my students draw what I call a "music map" of the song I'm teaching a choreography to. It's basically a visual representation of what happens in the song.

My first draft for Hakim's "Yaho" is here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Basically my theory is that if you REALLY know the music, you won't forget the choreography, because you will "hear" the choreography in the music. I think most students don't actually listen to the music enough. If you can't sing it backward and forward in your sleep, you don't really know it. If you're a "pattern person" this kind of visual mapping of the movement might REALLY help you.

Once you know the music, you will hear the phrases in it. Then you can isolate individual combinations to those phrases.

Also, drill every day. Not just once a week - lol. If you spend 10-20 minutes drilling every day you'll get father faster than if you spend an hour on it once a week.

For me I must get it in my body first - and I do that with repetition - lots of it. Only then can I stand back and take notes etc.

I also often work on chunks - I went out of my to replace my old CD player with another with a muso-mode ie an A-B repeat so I can work on a section at a time (I'm told there is now "an app for that") If I'm struglling it might only be 20 seconds. I also cut tracks into sections with no gap between tracks.

But as above - you must know the music and practice frequently. I became very angry when I discovered some students who were in my show not only were only practicing in class, they did not have copies of the music (I buy bulk lots of the CDs but they said they'd get it cheaper on line), and for a veil dance most of them did not have their own veils but only worked with them using the class loaners.

There are a couple of articles on my web site with advice on how to remember choreography.

Here's one I wrote: How to Learn Choreography

Here's one Arabella wrote: Hints for Remembering Choreography

Useful stuff thanks Shira, but I keep forgetting most of what I seek is to be found on your website. Am thinking next lesson am taking my old DV camcorder and record the entire piece and there break it down into my patterns.

For me, getting familiar with the structure of the music is really helpful as it gives you a mental structure to fit it all in to. We do this for the intro, next bit will be this, then chorus... maybe there's a repeat when you only need to remember it's the same, maybe you need to remember that at the second repeat it's to the other side, or you do a variation or have to remember to get ready for that tricky bit next.

For writing down you can do anything! I'm patterny and spatial - I draw little arrows to record where I move about the stage. Or hip patterns if they are more complicated than a circle or 8. You can use your teacher's terminology or anything that clicks for you. My mental labels range from JCB diggers to Eman Zaki.

Thinking about it spatially is very helpful for me for remembering lefts and rights and gives me another framework as well as the music... running through the choreography and thinking how you move through the space - here I am doing something static front left (by the computer desk/ my usual corner in the studio). Then when the next phrase of music happens I go to my right (garden door/ studio door) and travel round to the back tracing a C shape on the floor and turning to face the back (sofa/ studio windows. Mind the coffee table.)

The other thing that works for me is repetition repetition repetition, thinking about the transitions while I'm learning (what comes next? - there are always sticky patches while I'm learning where I blank out and need to THINK "here it comes, CONCENTRATE!", and forcing myself to be self reliant and not watch the teacher or someone else who I think has got it. If I keep watching the teacher my lazy old brain doesn't bother to learn it!

Do you have a smart phone or a video camera? Would the teacher allow you to record the choreography in class so that you have it to refer to when practicing? I think it is essential to work on it outside of class, once a week is not enough to learn such a complicated thing as a choreography.

Oops, just saw that you already posted that idea.

I'm a very wordy person, so I like to write the choreography out in my own words, and preferably then type it up.

I break the music down into sections, note the 'feel' of each section, and the moves that go with it, and then cover the whole thing in scribbled notes and circles and exclamation marks.

So I end up with something a bit like this

2.08 (widdlywiddly) camel R for 8, L arm up R arm out skirt in R hand. Repeat L don't crash into wall. Rib liftlift drop big torso rotation, hands come down to throw skirt out do not let chest cave in!!!

Originally Posted by LilithNoor

I'm a very wordy person, so I like to write the choreography out in my own words, and preferably then type it up.

I break the music down into sections, note the 'feel' of each section, and the moves that go with it, and then cover the whole thing in scribbled notes and circles and exclamation marks.

So I end up with something a bit like this

2.08 (widdlywiddly) camel R for 8, L arm up R arm out skirt in R hand. Repeat L don't crash into wall. Rib liftlift drop big torso rotation, hands come down to throw skirt out do not let chest cave in!!!

that's what my notes look like along with little drawings. When I pass them on to fellow students I get teased mercilessly for it. Yet they still want my notes