Drill Team Choreography 101

This year, I have given my officers the task of choreographing our field high-kick routine.  Before I send them on their way, I am going to walk them through the process that I use every time I choreograph regardless of the type of routine.

The obvious first step is to select the music and type of routine you want.  Once you have your final cut of music, listen to it from beginning to end a few times.  The first time, you will need to count the music and note how many 8-counts it has and if there are any 4 or 6-count breaks.  Then listen to it again, marking any places in the song that you want to emphasize in the choreography.  Some sections would go perfectly with a contagion while others make you think of jumping, turning, freezing, etc.  You'll also want to decide when in the music you want your dancers to change formation.  I've found that two 8-counts is usually the best amount of time for my girls to move and make it to their next form.  I also like to have them move at the end of section of music so they can begin the dancing in their new form when the music changes.  Speaking of formations, go ahead and decide ahead of time which ones you'd like to see in the routine.  If you don't know what form your dancers are in, it's more difficult to decide on the movements you want them to do.  If they are standing in one line, having every other girl chasse in a different direction won't work.  Try to stick with 3-5 formations depending on the length of the song. This is where your geometry skills come in handy (I really hope Ms. Casper doesn't find out I just told you that! My 9th grade geometry teacher wasn't exactly my favorite.)  Get creative and throw in some circles, diamonds, and various combinations.

After figuring out the 8-counts, finding the interesting parts of the song to emphasize with your choreo, deciding on formations and when the transitions need to be, all you have left to do is fill in the blanks with your choreography. Be sure to write all of your wonderful ideas down as you go so you don't find yourself re-choreographing because you can't remember what you already did.  If you get stumped and have that one 8-count left in a particular formation before a transition, try splitting the dancers up into parts (one group starts on the 1 and the next group starts on the 5).  I love parts.  Why?  Because it takes up time in the music, giving me and my dancers a break from creating and learning more choreography, and it is visually appealing to the audience.

Hopefully this process will make your next choreography project a little less stressful.  Let me know what your choreography process is and be sure to pass on any great ideas that you've discovered/developed along the way!

Opening Number

Inspired by my dear friend and assistant over at Explore & Discover and my Twitter friend and design genius over at Your Modern Couple, I have decided to try my hand at blogging...again.  My first blog lacked focus which added to the lack of dedication on the part of its writer.  Hopefully, I will be more motivated this go-around.  I look forward to sharing my thoughts, questions, web-findings, technique tips, and all things dance related on this blog.  I'm excited to get started!