It might seem like deciding on a song for a dance is easy. Sometimes it is. Other times, it might take several hours, days, weeks even to decide on a perfect song. Then once a song is chosen, that is just the beginning.
Before the creative process of choreography can begin, dance teachers must choose the best version of the song. In choosing the music, we look for interesting beats and rhythms, soulful vocals, and dynamic changes throughout the song. We might spend hours perusing YouTube or iTunes finding interesting versions of a song we would like to use.
Once the song is selected, it’s time to cut the music. This can be tricky as most songs are longer than two to three minutes. For dance competitions, songs are typically required to be around two and a half minutes. Dance teachers have to edit the music to fit into the required time yet not lose the message or feel of the song.
After songs are painstakingly chosen and carefully edited, they can be downloaded to playlists, and the true fun can begin! I’m not exactly sure if choosing the costumes, choreographing the piece, or setting the piece on your dancers is the most fun.
Costume selection is another aspect of the process that might take no time at all or might take hours. Sometimes, we can envision the style of the piece and know exactly how we want the costume to look before we even flip through the dance costume books; however, sometimes finding the perfect costume takes more time. Should we put every dancer in the same color for a uniform look, or should we use various colors to make a statement or create a feeling in the piece?
Stay tuned for more glimpses into the minds of dance teachers. We will be blogging some of the creative process involved in choreographing a piece as we begin our new year of new dances!
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- Providing quality dance instruction to the Leander, Cedar Park, and Liberty Hill area since 2004.
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