Dancing is a wonderful art form that allows people to express themselves through movement. There comes a time in every dancer's career when he or she is itching to create his or her own original piece. That is easier said than done; here are the struggles of choreographing an original dance piece.
1. Picking a song.
You've probably spent hours upon hours listening to music alone in your room trying to find that perfect song. This is single handedly one of the most important decisions a choreographer has to make. The genre of music you choose, the pace of the song, and the popularity of the artist can all affect not only how you choreograph, but how your piece is received.
2. Deciding the number of dancers.
How many dancers you put in the dance could change a lot about the piece. Having more dancers allows you to create intricate shapes and do more lifts. At the same time, you are one person and choreographing for a large group can be extremely difficult unless you have an army of people ready to try out the movement.
3. Finding a place to choreograph.
This is honestly one of the hardest parts of choreographing. If you have to small a space, your movement becomes smaller and travels less (which usually looks strange on a large stage). It's hard to choreograph when you are worried about your downstairs neighbor calling the RA on you.
4. Creating unique movement.
Once you have decided on music and the number of dancers, you have to start creating movement. As a dancer, you are exposed to many different choreographers and understand that each person has their own style. Until you find yours, you might have trouble separating yourself from your experience. Choreographing is like writing a book, except you aren't allowed to use the same words of those before you.
5. Finding a time and space to rehearse.
Once you are finished creating the movement, you have to work around other people's schedules (which can seem more challenging that creating the piece itself). You find yourself trying to squeeze an hour here and there to keep the piece progressing.
6. Trying to explain the movement.
And once everyone is there, you have a harder challenge. You have to translate what is inside of your brain to your dancers. Sometimes you sound like you are speaking a foreign language. The lucky thing with dance is that you can just do the movement yourself. Unless it's a lift. In which case, good luck.
7. Practice. Practice. Practice.
You've finally expressed the craziness you've been storing in your brain. The dancers know the basics of the movement. Now it's time to perfect it. You will finally understand when your teachers would say "one more time" several times over. There is always time for one more run and that leg can always get an inch higher.
8. Performing!
Easily the most rewarding and enjoyable part of the process. At the same time, you are a nervous wreck because you are worried what people think. Your friends tell you to stop on the 10th time you asked them if they were lying about liking it.
BONUS: Remembering to smile even if something goes wrong.
It's hard to keep your cool if something goes wrong; this is your baby, and you've worked so hard. Just remember, as long as you keep going, you will have people shocked when you say you messed up.
