How do you put choreography to a song?

[lilith71]

Okay, okay my girls and I in class would like to make up our own dance and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how you add the moves to the beats? Do you write down the move while stopping and starting the song, then practice it out? Do you just start dancing the moves, then write it down later, or is there a master plan? Just curious as to how any newbies got started.:lol:

 

[Rachel]

I find a piece of music that really moves me, and I also research to find the meaning of the song so that I can add the correct feeling/presence to the dance to join the two. This also rules out a few songs once you realize what the translation comes out as.

Then I let the music guide my moves. As the moves come to the music I write them down in my notebook. Start the music again, roll through that sequence of moves and see what works best for the next sequence of moves, write it down, and repeat. So yes, there are definitely a lot of starts and stops and you will have the first 1/2 aced and fine tuned by the time you are done.

Another trick is by the time you are 1/2 way through the piece, use the fast forward to the point where you are starting the last 1/2 of the moves. This way you don't overdo the first 1/2 and run out of energy and ideas by the last 1/2.

Have fun. I love creating choreographies )

 

[Ariadne]

Bellydance: How to create a choreography

And yes, defiantly research the song.

 

[Aurelia]

Learning the structure of a song is really important too, in my opinion. I listen to it over and over first; then, I try to map it out. You can do this various ways -- you can count it out first just to see how many bars or phrases there are total and then label the sections according to the "feeling" you're hearing there, you can identify verses, bridges and choruses (even if the music doesn't have vocals), you can just listen for themes or melodies that repeat, and name them (melody A, melody B), or if it's a drum solo, you can map out the rhythms and how many cycles each lasts (assuming that it changes).

For example, it wasn't until I mapped out one version of Sashkin that I realized "Oh, Phrase A happens 4 times, then Phrase B happens 4 times, but after that, there are only 2 Phrase A's to every 4 Phrase B's. And, oh, look at that, part of the bridge is actually the exact same rhythmically as the opening." For some people this is probably obvious, but it wasn't obvious to me until I had it written down in front of me. Knowing the structure made it much easier to both choreograph AND improv, since only certain movements really went with each phrase.

If you're teaching choreography to others, it really helps to let the ones who are learning see your map or map the structure themselves -- that way they will (hopefully) move beyond just counting and really begin to understand how the music and the movement are intertwined.

 

[gisela]

Improvise many times to the piece and see if you find something you like that fits. Don't feel like you have to start at the beginning and end at the end. If a piece in the middle speaks to you then start with that and then fill the rest out.

 

[maria_harlequin]

I never write down my choreographies...goodness knows I've tried more than once because it has its benefits but it's never worked for me.

What I do is I listen to a piece over and over again and I picture myself dancing to it in my head. Then I'll turn the music on and improvise and if I do something that works, I remember it and then "pin" it down in my mind. I continue mentally "pinning" sections until I've got the whole thing down. This is the only way that works for me and for some reason, I never forget what I've "pinned" in my head which is a bit strange because I'm terrible at remembering other people's choreographies!

 

[Eshta]

The same as what everyone else has said, the only thing I'd add would be:

*listen to the shape of the melody, don't dance just to the rhythm.
*Look out for 'punctuation' in the music, the music often flows like sentences so it will often tell you how to punctuate it
*Don't shy away from music with lots of changes and contrasts in it and stick to pop just because it feels 'safe'. I find pop harder to choreograph because it is so repetitive, whereas music written specifically for belly dance is made with a view to showcasing the dancer.

When I'm choosing a song to choreograph often a section will leap out at me and I know exactly how I'd like to dance that section, and then I build the rest of it up from there. It's seldom from the beginning! And then that song gets put on repeat over and over on the ipod, sometimes I've created full choreographies before dancing a step!

 

[Rassi]

I find music that I love and listen to it over and over and over again. I think about what kind of movement will fit with different sections of the music. Then I begin playing with moves and write down, in detail, the counts, the moves, the instruments playing, and times. I do it on legal pads, writing the times down the left side of the paper. It can take me literally months to choreograph a piece. When I'm finished, I type it up and keep it in a three ring binder. For me, choreo is mostly done for the studio troupe. I usually improv when doing a solo unless I'm using a prop like cane.

 

[Kashmir]

I stick it on repeat and play it over and over. Then I just improvise while it is playing - while doing other stuff - dancing dinner preparation, dancing housework (dancing programming doesn't work too well). After a few days or weeks of this, I sit back and sketch out the shape of the dance. If there is a bit that fits well I use it - then twist and repeat it. Usually I have more ideas than music. Then I trim and clean it up - ie cut back the number and types of moves.

If I get stuck I loop the CD at the bit that I'm stuck on (a player with a A_B function is invaluable).

I only add staging after the basic choreography is taught - but I'll often make notes for possible floor patterns, cross overs, waterfalls, etc at the time.

 

[lilith71]

This is awesome, everyone! I'm printing this all out to share with my sisters in class! Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Eshta]

Let us know how you get on!

 

[lilith71]

I will, I will! i printed out everyones suggestions and gave them to my class. Now we're in the process of each picking out a good song. I'll keep ya posted. Thanks again everybody!

 

[bellyeva]

Belly dance choreography

its so wonderful to know more tips across the world. thanks to the moderators lots of Goddesses learn more

 

[Kharis]

Okay, okay my girls and I in class would like to make up our own dance and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how you add the moves to the beats? Do you write down the move while stopping and starting the song, then practice it out? Do you just start dancing the moves, then write it down later, or is there a master plan? Just curious as to how any newbies got started.:lol:

Move through all the layers and don't dwell or surf on the rhythm alone. Move though vocals (if any) base and mid beats and melody. So many dancers just skim along to the melody. A good dancer can pull out parts of the music with her body that bring into sharper focus for the audience the nuances that they may otherwise miss.

 

[Mouse]

I find the more you listen to the piece of music, the more you hear - especially if you focus on a slightly different aspect of the music each time you listen. Try listening to just the beat one time through, focus on the melody another, or pick a particular instrument to follow. Its amazing what you can pick out and hear when you do. Good luck with your choreography!

 

[Emma_Williams]

I never write stuff down. It helps tons of people but just confuses me no end. When I create a choreography I first of all choose the piece of music and then I play it again and again and just muck about improvising to it and just letting the music flow and i just dance and dance. Then I can feel which moves go best with each beats and then I chose a handful I like and put them together. I then memorize them by repeating 1 or two moves again and again and again. It is hard but if I write stuff down it makes me count everything out in my head.If you improv lots to it then each time you will remember what you did at a certain point in the music and then you will tend to do that each time until your doing pretty much the same thing again and again.