Choreography Inspiration?

[BellaBohemian]

Forgive me if this has been asked before!

So, I have never done my own choreography before as I believe Im still too inexperianced to really make anything "good". But I've been wanting to dance to one song I have for a very long time, I opted to try and work something out.
I got a little over a minute into the song and I've hit "dancer's block".

So, what do you do for inspiration when you feel like "nothing fits"?
I tried free-styling for a little bit, then took a break. Then I closed my eyes and just listened to the music. The only bonus that I got from that was I noticed a subtle beat I had never heard before. . .

Where do you find inspiration for your choreography?:think:

 

[walladah]

You have four options at least

1) you wait till inspiration emerges
2) you work on why nothing fits! it is possible that the style or character of the music requires movements that you have not tried so far - try to imagine dancing it as if you were the best dancer in the world and you could anything with your body...
3) simple stuff is very moving, when done "on the beat". Try what you really think is nice, even if it seems simple, but keep it attached to the rythm of the music...
4) if the music has several levels, as it usually happens with oriental music, you find them, study them and decide which one you dance to, or which one you dance to at each part of the music (the drums? the melody? the singer's voice?).

There are some songs that are really difficult, in the sense that it requires special... treatment and what my teacher names "incubation". E.g. some music needs time to make images in the choreographer's head...

 

[gisela]

Walladah has excellent points. Also you don't have to work with it from start to finish. If there is a section that doesn't speak much to you right now, then skip it for a while and work on the ending f ex, or another part of the song. Later connect the parts.

This is a quite nice article:
Bellydance: How to create a choreography

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

I LOVE Lauren's article. But if that still doesn't work, try drawing on a secondary artistic source. Listen to the music and paint or draw what you hear. Color it with crayons. Use finger paint -- it doesn't matter. What you're looking for is inspiration, not wall art.

Try listening to your music and creating a "scenario" -- a scene. What do you see? What do you smell? What fabrics do you feel around you? What are the people around you saying? What colors are you seeing?

Creating a scene and sort of "theater" environment may help you create a "character" that will help you come up with inspiration. Aziza Said told me to do this, and I have found it REALLY works.

 

[BellaBohemian]

Thanks so much for the tips everyone! And that link was most helpful!
You've all restored my confidence! Im actually going to try a few of these tips next time I get writers block too. :dance:

 

[gisela]

Very good advice Aziyade! I'll have to try that. Actually Bella, I have a block too right now :lol:
I will have to reread the article and try out the advice in this thread. Good luck to you and to me

 

[Ariadne]

This is a quite nice article:
Bellydance: How to create a choreography

I'm just going to second this article. It has helped me a lot in the past.

Best of luck!

 

[Imeera]

I would stop for a while. Then listen to the song again. I find listening to music after a while always makes it sound awesome =]

 

[Daimona]

It is a good article. Thanks for posting it.


If I am stuck with a choreography, I tend to go to the lyrics to see if there is anything in the lyrics I can transfer to movements and combinations.

It has happened a lot recently with the group choreography I'm working on; My group wanted to do a fusion thing using a Norwegian folk tune, which is
something way out of my comfort zone as the one responsible for making new choreographies in the group. I'll certainly be deciding dance style and music for the next project! :lol: