Learning choreography really depends on the person learning it. Some people are visual and need to watch the choreographer do the steps. Some need to hear the music to connect the choreography to it. What works for me is to stand still and watch the choreographer do the movement while I record the rhythm and the form in my minds eye! Then when I hear the music I can instantly make the connection of where it is going to go!
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Could not agree more Karen!
Could not agree more Karen! :-)
It's so cool to get a
It's so cool to get a variety of comments and the bottom line, all in sync. I am having a choreography seminar this weekend catered mostly to dancers who dance socially or have very little technical training and are not familiar with the audition process, but are hungry to show what they can create and present either in the clubs or on stage. The basics no matter what style or who adopts, are the same ... rhythm, vocabulary, the method in composing, the theme and if you aren't in a stressful (audition style) environment, the fun in learning or creating movements.
Yes I agree with Chelsea, I
Yes I agree with Chelsea, I do it too sometimes. It is a great exercise, so when you actually HAVE to learn fast (for example at auditions or when on a job with very little time for rehearsals), your body knows you can pick up. The tricky part though in stressful situation (auditions again!) is to keep the mind calm, because once it blocks, your body follows. It really is about conditioning your body and mind to work together and keeping both peaceful. Frustration in the head will end up with a stiff neck or cramp in the thigh!!
Another thing that differs
Another thing that differs from student to student is the speed in which we learn choreography. I try to make it into a game. I watch the chroeographer very closely making mental notes about each movement and it's count/timing and then see if I can recreate it after being shown only once. It keeps me on my toes and helps my brain:)
Hey Guys! All sweet angles:)
Hey Guys! All sweet angles:) I've noticed that I look at the choreographers body as though I'm looking at an art piece, a sculpture. It's at first, fascinating. Then I want to get to the curves and dips, contours, shading. Then follow up with the emotional force and content. I've also discovered that teaching dance has helped me pick up choreography much faster than when I was a student or performer of dance. It's been helpful to have my students to "workshop" each other....give critiques, give choreography, and help each other to learn the steps in small groups. They exercise their "eye" for dance. In any definition on how to learn choreography, OBSERVATION is essential.
Be well in your dance!
Awesome, Adam. So many
Awesome, Adam. So many dancers learn steps differently than one another and it also challenges us as teachers to continue to find new ways of explaining movement from the root to the tip. When I am having trouble learning a particular phrase, what I tend to do is pretend I have x-ray vision and look beyond the clothes and flesh and I imagine how his/her skeletal frame is moving. When I can strip it down to a raw state like that, the movement becomes much clearer and then I can begin to factor in how each group of muscles is making the bones move in the direction that they do.
As every dancer learns differently, every teacher also teaches differently. Some of my best teachers never showed one step, but used a colorful vocabulary to clarify the base, intention and tempo of the steps used in class.
What works for some of us with one style of movement may differ from a contrasting style and will vary from artist to artist. It's helpful to have an arsenal of learning tools to prepare for anything and everything.
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