Create memorable dance choreography

1. Introduction : Hello and welcome. My name is Diana Pimienta and I'm an artist dancer, creative enthusiasm and consciousness mentor. In honor of International Dance. Day I was inspired to create this lesson for all inspiring dancers. But before I get started, I want to share with you a little bit about my dance background. For eight years, I taught cardio dance, basic Latin dance, and Hip Hop. I've hosted and taught cardio dance masterclasses and several states and worked with professional dancers in the ballroom business. I've also done local TV appearances and performances. One of my favorite aspects of being a dance instructor was creating choreography. It's an art form that inspires and helps dancers of all levels stay connected to their kinesthetics. For this course, I will be teaching you how to create memorable choreography and share with you creative ways to dance outside the box, whether you're new to the dance game or experienced. This course is for dance instructors who are dealing with a creative block. So have a pen and paper ready put on your dance shoes and let's get started. 2. Learn & Grow: When you hear, see, or do something new, that creative spark within ourselves lights up from personal experience. Whenever I would go through creative block in my choreography, I would challenge myself to embrace something new. It was uncomfortable, sometimes a little frustrating. But that was when the ideas would form that motivation just eventually followed. Now I love to listen to hip hop, house, EDM or house music. But when I wanted to get out, out of my comfort zone, I would listen to country waltz, reggae and see if I could find The possible and what seemed impossible. I believe that there is a dance within each song. When I would try to listen to things that I normally don't listen to. I was able to understand music better and even understand that there is ways to create something brand new. I would envision this routine in my head or if I had the time or the space, I would dance it out in my living room. Now, it wasn't always spectacular, but it was just to be able to get my creative juices flowing. I would also take ballroom classes or ballet classes, which also helped for me to learn something new and be able to incorporate certain moves I learned within my dance routines. When you expose yourself to something new, you're able to create better and expands. Here's some ideas of maybe worth a try. One, listen to new music such as new artists or the latest popular songs, checking out local bands, listening to new genres, and downloading Pandora an iTunes can definitely help with expanding your musical library. As you listen, notice how it makes you feel and how your body wants to express itself. Those moves at first come to mind tend to be the ones that make the cut. To watch dance related videos such as dance performances, dance documentaries, music videos, and follow other dancers on social media because they tend to post their latest projects and you get to watch their fun choreographies. As you watch, notice their facial expressions, movements, and how the choreography worked well together from start to finish. Is there a dance move that spoke to you? Maybe you could incorporate that into your own routine. Three, Take a new dance class in person or virtual. And Tik Tok has tons of short and relevant dance routines that you can learn quickly. Staying up to date with dance moves helps keep your students engaged and you also get to learn. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it will help you expand creatively MBA student again, the ultimate challenge, learning to play an instrument. There are tons of benefits to play an instrument, and it will help you to create a better relationship with music and with dance. 3. Storytelling & Intention : Let's talk about telling a story. So within each song, there is a story that's being told. The story is within the lyrics and as well as the music itself. Seeing what your interpretation of that story is, is what allows for you to create something that is memorable and exciting. In this case, we will use the example of row, row, row your boat as we know what the lyrics row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. What would be the interpretation of that? If that lyric was combined with an R&B beat, you'd probably think, well, it's either something that's romantic or maybe they just had a heartbreak. I mean, this is just your way of interpreting what exactly the story is within your imagination. Let's say that lyric was combined with possibly like a poppy. Now it's something a little bit more happy. You're excited. Maybe you're there with your friends. Maybe it's just you and your having a self-care day. Try to focus on the story, on what you are trying to tell your audience. And that goes into the next concept, which is, what do you want your students to feel when you keep that in mind, it's easier to stay focused, stay motivated, and to find creative ways to fit that goal. So from personal experience, I want my students to feel as if they were in their own music video. Now, it might sound silly, but I grew up watching music videos. I would imitate their routines. I would sing along to whatever song it was and it just made me feel really happy. And also like a rock star. I wanted my students to feel as if they were in their own little music video, as if they were their own rockstar, even though they were in a room full of people. By doing that, I would incorporate moves that conveyed emotion, even zinging along with help and will lie. They did help. But that's what I wanted my students to feel. So I would try to focus on those emotions or on that intention, as well as trying to convey the story at the same time. Here's some storytelling thoughts. Be intentional with your storytelling. Your choreography should amplify the story. So think of dance moves that match the storyline and goals. Let your dance routine be an expression of your intention. As dance instructors, part of our job is to create the environment and mood. And by doing so, we focus on the story, the routine, and intention. Also don't forget to print out the lyrics of the song and study them. It will definitely help with your creative process. Having a goal or intention in mind can help you stay focus and driven. Here's some ideas, but you can definitely create your own. 4. Diversity & Transition : So let's talk about diversifying your moves. Sometimes we can get stuck on doing the same moves and it can kinda get a little repetitive. Try to think in terms of how can I diversify the moves. So some ways that we can do that is by going smooth, dynamic or sharp. As you're incorporating these diverse moves, you want to make sure that you think about transition. Transition. And my opinion is what solidifies a routine because you can have all these amazing moves. But if the transition is weak, eclipse students feeling frustrated. Practice, practice, practice. I cannot stress this enough and look for ways and possibilities to have a strong transition. Students like to be challenged. They want to be able to feel accomplished within the class. So don't be afraid to add a move that may be a little bit more challenging than normal. And you can even warn your students, Hey, we're going to try this move today, you know, do your best. You encourage your students to be able to do the move with you. Because at the end of the day, if they're feeling accomplished, if they're happy, if they're mentally stimulated, they will keep coming back to your classes. Let's review the types of dance moves that were discussed earlier. These are actually known as the elements of dance, and the ones listed below are just the basic elements. However, I would encourage you to do a little bit more research on them. So let's start with smooth. An example of a smooth movement would be body roles and hip rolls. And you would see it in dances such as by chapter, hula and Roomba. Dynamic would include arms in the air and even dance moves that include jumps. So think of Broadway and even break dancing. When we think of sharp movements, that would include isolations, even having strong straight arms or hands. And you would see it in hip hop and Flamingo. Transitions are what solidify your choreography. It creates energy and that feeling of accomplishment. Transitions are like the connecting dots and they bring together separate movements. So having strong transitions can create the right flow and make your choreography or performance look effortless. 5. Dance Ideas: These are some fun and easy dance ideas that you can do solo or with your class. So let's start by spelling dance. Spelling dance is about moving. With that much logical thinking, allow your body to express herself to take the lead as opposed to your mind. You can spell out the word dance with your body, or you can dance along with each letter. This requires some imagination. It's just like an artist. When an artist is creatively blocked, they may doodle before creating their original piece as a warm-up or as an inspiration in this droves, very similar. So in this example, as you can see me, I am doing both. I creating each letter with my body and I'm also dancing along with some of the letters. I'm just going with the flow and allowing my body to express itself, as opposed to allowing my mind to do all of the logical thinking. Try not to overthink the movements and allow your creativity to flow. The next example is isolations. Isolations as I going back to the basics, but it is one of the most important dance drills that you can do. This journal helps with muscle to mine connection and it allows for you to get familiar with your movements. It may seem simple, but it does take some concentration and determination. In my personal experience, my dance techniques improved due to isolations. So here's how it works. You can start with your head and you can bring it down to your feet, isolating different parts of your body along the way. So as you can see here, sort of with my shoulders and I'm working my way down until I reach my feet. Now this is just a basic isolation routine, but you can definitely create your own or you can do some research on different ways to do so. So let's talk about dance drills. This is about moving across the dance floor, whether it's an align or around the entire studio, alternating between smooth, dynamic or sharp movements. You can be as creative as you can with this, and it requires some quick thinking, especially if you're doing this drill in a group. This drill is great for warming up your class and getting your students pumped up. Here's some more examples. Now some of these drills you can do solo or with your class, starting with mirror me. You have a partner in front of you and you mirror their movements and they do the same for you. Interpretive dance, you can be as creative as you can with this one, I've seen teachers tell the story to the class and the students have to interpret that story with their movements. Follow my lead. You can have your students form a line. The first student will create a movement, the SEC 1, we'll copy that movement and then create their own. And it just follows down the line. Then we have a dance battle, which is you just have two groups. One battles, the other one. And you can again just be as creative as account with this one. Then last but not least, we have freestyle. And freestyle is just one of the original ways to get creative. Allow your body to flow and just feel the beat.