HOW TO CHOREOGRAPH
A DANCE PART 1
BY: DONNA CAUDILL dkcaud01@alltel.net
My name is Donna Caudill and I am a certified judge on the UCWDC circuit.
I have several years of dance training, (started training in dance when
I was 3) and continue to do so on a regular basis.
Part of my training is judge certification for the UCWDC. I would like
to impart some of that information to the choreographers that read Carol's
newsletter and especially those of you who are entering choreography competition
at the events. After most competitions are completed, the judges receive
a lot of questions from the choreographers about the dances they have
judged.
When we judge choreography, we are asked to look at 4 criteria
Does the dance fit the phrasing of the music?
Does the dance fit the character of the song?
Is the dance easily teachable on the social floor?
Will the dance be popular and have longevity?
Pick music that makes sense.
Count the music and see how it is phrased. Most music that we dance to
is written in 4/4 time, except waltz which is written in ¾ time.
For the sake of this discussion I will talk about 4/4 time. Music is made
up of sentences and usually 4 sentences will make a paragraph. In that
paragraph there are usually 32 beats. If your music doesn't fit this scenario,
then we have to talk about a new way of choreographing a dance.
Pick steps that make sense to the music.
Picking steps that are everyday run of the mill, basics, don't always
fit the music that is being danced . I am referring to coaster steps,
kick ball changes, sailor steps, grapevines, etc, etc, etc. Just choosing
a bunch of steps and putting them together is not what choreographing
it about. I hear some great music when I'm judging, but the steps just
don't fit.
When choreographing to music, we choose different parts of the music for
the choreography. There are four lines in music that should be considered
when choosing steps to be placed in a dance
The melody line
The rhythm line
The lyrical line
The vocal line
Each one of these is very important when choosing choreography for your
dance..
HOW TO CHOREOGRAPH A DANCE PART 2
FROM: DONNA CAUDILL dkcaud01@alltel.net
The Melody Line
This is the tune. Sometimes the vocal line and the melody line are the
same. Sometimes the melody line is done instrumentally; sometimes the
vocalist is singing this line.
The Rhythm Line
This line is usually what is happening on the bass clef in the music.
Your percussion instruments, (i.e. drums, bass guitar, trombones, tuba,
etc etc etc.), are the instruments driving the rhythm line.
This line is especially important in the Latin dances, cha, rumba, samba,
etc. If the rhythm line is speaking louder to you than the other lines,
then you should choose your choreography to fit this line.
The Lyrical Line
Lyrics are the words of the song. Sometimes this line will speak louder
to you than the other lines in the song and this is when you should choose
this line. Make sure that you are not miming the words of the song all
the time in your choreography, but that you choose steps that fit the
rhythm of the words.
One example that I use in teaching is the beat of the word tri ple step.
There are 3 syllables in those two words, so if the artist sings words
that are syncopated like triple step and they are speaking louder than
the other lines choose a syncopated step to interpret those words. Examples
of syncopated steps are sailor steps, shuffle steps, coaster steps, etc.
All those words have 3 syllables and have an "&" count in
the middle of them and have a count of 1 & 2. Again choose the line
that is speaking the loudest to you.
The Vocal Line
This line is how the singer is interpreting the lyrics of the song. For
example, the singer may choose to say "I love youuuuuuuuuu"
and hold that "you" for several beats before moving on the next
line. So if we are speaking of 4 beats to a measure the "youuuuuuu"
could take up 3 of those beats. Choosing steps to fit that vocal line
might tell you to use a slow turn, a sweep of the foot, a slow ronde'en
l'air, etc.
Make sure the steps fit the character of the dance.
When I talk about character, I am speaking of what kind of music is it?
Is it a Latin beat, is it East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Two Step,
Single Time Swing, Funky, Waltz, Fox Trot, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz,
Bolero, Polka, Tango, etc?
There are certain steps that fit each of these characters and you should
use them when choreographing. You wouldn't do a body roll in a Waltz,
or a Twinkle in a Funky dance, or a hop, a skip, or a jump in West Coast
Swing. Make sure that the character of your song and the steps go together.
When choreographing to Cha Cha remember that your break step happens on
the 2 3 and the other steps happen on the 4 & 1 in the music. If you
syncopate on the 2 3 or the 4&1, you must execute an additional syncopation
to be back on the phrasing of the music. Cha Cha is a phrased dance and
must be choreographed to hit those beats in the music. Some of your other
phrased dances are Polka, Triple Two, and Night Club Two just to name
a few.
Number 3 and 4 on the judging criteria list are self explanatory. Can
you teach the dance and will it be popular?
Please let me know if there are any specific questions that you have to
ask about choreography and I will be glad to answer those on an individual
basis.
I hope this will help you all when choosing music and steps to combine
into choreography.
“How to Choreograph a Dance” Part III
“The Character of the Dance”
May 24, 2006
FROM: DONNA CAUDILL dkcaud01@alltel.net
There’s more to music than the bass line!
When I ask someone to listen to a song and then ask them to count it for
me, the answer is always the same, 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8. What that person
is hearing is the beat of the bass drum. The bass drum or the bass are
keeping the beat for the rest of the musicians to follow.
As judges for choreography, the first thing we hear in a song is the character
or rhythm of that song. The second thing we look for are there steps in
the dance that fit that character or rhythm? Then, the phrasing, teachability,
and longevity, (refer to the article “How to Choreograph a Dance,
Part I & II”). Once we determine that the dance doesn’t
fit the character and the phrasing, the last two categories don’t
count.
One size does not fit all! Choose your music and stay with the character!
As choreographers, picking a song is your first step. Listen to it carefully.
What character or rhythm pattern is it telling you that it is? In other
words, would you dance East or West Coast Swing, Two Step, Cha Cha, Polka,
Foxtrot, Tango, Waltz, etc.? When we judge choreography, we see the same
steps plugged into all different characters.
So, what are the characters and what steps fit those rhythms? First, let’s
talk about the different characters, and the timing, and I’ll give
you examples of songs that fit each character. These are just a few examples.
Polka 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8 Cowboy Sweetheart
Night Club Two Step 1 2 &3, 4 5&6, 7 8&1 Breathe
Waltz 1 2 3, 4 5 6 All In My Heart
Cha Cha 4&1, 2 3, 4&1, 2 3 Sway
Two Step 1&2 3, 4&5 6, 7&8 1 Suds in a Bucket
East Coast Swing 1&2, 3&4, 5 6 Burnin’ Love
West Coast Swing 1 2 3&4 5&6 Memphis Women
1 2 3&4 5 6 7&8
Let’s just pick a random character and look at the count. Polka
is an easy one to use. Looking at the count 1&2, 3&4, 5&6,
7&8, we should have some steps that are counted like the rhythm in
our choreography. Let’s try to name a few.
Shuffle step
Coaster step
Sailor step
Brush hop step
Kick ball change
Vaudeville
Also, included in the character of Polka is the gallop step, (1&2&3&4…)
flicks, kicks, and hitches. I’m sure you can think of several others.
If these steps are not included somewhere in the choreography, you have
totally lost the character of the dance or in this case, Polka.
If you’re not sure about a song and its character or rhythm, please
ask a professional dancer to help you. I am only an email or phone call
away, and will be more than happy to help you out. I want to see your
choreography make high grades and stay on the dance floor.
Subject: TAGS & RESTARTS
From: Violet Ray / danzndoll@turquoise.net
Choreographers that know music will put in a tag or restart when the song
requires a tag or restart because of phrasing in the song. Most true dancers
prefer to dance "on phrase."
I'm not sure if you are familiar with phrasing, I'm guessing that you're
not, since you're asking this question. You first listen to the "verse"
and count out the number of beats in the verse. You also count the number
of beats in the "chorus" and also the "instrumental"
portion of the dance. For example, say the verse has 64 counts and the
chorus only has 32 counts. This song/dance would probably be choreographed
as a 32 count dance so the dance will end at the end of a verse or chorus.
If that particular song has a 4 or 8 count "tag" (or "rif"/"bridge"
as musicians call it) between the verse and chorus, you would want to
put in a little 4 or 8 count "tag" there just so you can start
the dance over with the first beat of the verse or chorus.
The above applies to "restarts" also. Say, a song has 32 count
verses, chorus, and instrumental and one of the choruses only has 16 counts
before starting the verse again, that's where you would restart the dance,
again to stay on phrase.
I choreograph dances to songs that I like and make me want to dance. If
the song has a "tag" in the music, then I will put in a tag
or restart in the dance. If the dance is "phrased" all the way
through, then I do not put in any tags or restarts. Choreographers don't
put tags or restarts in a dance for no good reason, they just want the
dance to stay on phrase and to fit the music.
The music dictates the tags/restarts. My husband and I have about 60 dances
on Kickit, some with tags/restarts and some without tags/restarts. In
all cases, the music dictated whether tags/restarts were included in the
dance.
I teach phrasing to my beginner students so they can understand dance
and can understand dancing to the music. Some of my students have been
dancing less than a year and they can dance beginner dances with tags
and restarts as long as they are simple tags.
There is no doubt that tags and restarts makes dances more difficult.
Some choreographers make it a practice to pick only songs that are evenly
phrased and that do not have rifs or bridges requiring tags or restarts.
Generally, these dances are easier and, in some cases, are more popular.
However, this does not imply that dances having tags or restarts are not
high quality dances. These dances are often quite popular among intermediate
and advance dancers who welcome the challenge.
I hope this helps to explain the reasons for tags and restarts.
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