Remembering Routines and Choreography

[samina]

okay guys...I've got 4 open smooth routines, at least sort of (some of it remains in the not done fiddling around with it stages)..but at any rate, it's alot of new stuff...what is some of your learned wisdom about how to approach new choreo particularly open stuff...how much of it would you work on in a day?...do you walk through it first for recall? ...and about how long do you think you need to work new routines before you try them on a comp floor?

Lol...I'm so not one for good advice on this subject...have been pretty quick to throw in new stuff without consolidation. Just assembled a full open waltz routine this week and we'll compete with it next week. My strategy: focus on staying in the moment and on dancing principles all the way thru the routine.

But that's exciting stuff, fasc. Do you guys have a target launch point for the routines?

 

[etp777]

I like to walk through it, have it written down (for me to look at later), then for actual dancing try to break it up into smaller parts, whether it's one side, X measures, whatever.

 

[fascination]

Lol...I'm so not one for good advice on this subject...have been pretty quick to throw in new stuff without consolidation. Just assembled a full open waltz routine this week and we'll compete with it next week. My strategy: focus on staying in the moment and on dancing principles all the way thru the routine.

But that's exciting stuff, fasc. Do you guys have a target launch point for the routines?

if it was standard, i.e remaining in closed and/or just a few components that were somewhat new, I would be inclined to view it the same as you, Sam...and ultimately the principles will be the focus which is why I would like to get the basic gyst of the choreo under my belt so that we can focus on what is truly important...as for timing...it is hoped that it will show up sometime in the Fall...but not unless it is worth showing

 

[samina]

if it was standard, i.e remaining in closed and/or just a few components that were somewhat new, I would be inclined to view it the same as you, Sam...

Yes, definitely different for smooth and latin due to the separation. We just finished assembling bronze latin routines, but turns out we're launching latin at silver, so am hoping 8 weeks is enuf time to pull that together. I'm used to going on the floor for standard with "whatever" in my head, and now it's a whole new level of ownership with latin. Guess I'm gonna hafta know what I'm actually doing, lol.

 

[cornutt]

I'm envious of people who can throw something together during the week and then dance it in a comp that weekend. I need several weeks of good solid practice. For me, it absolutely has to be committed to muscle memory so that when I dance it in the comp, I can be thinking about musicality, presentation and floorcraft as needed. If I have to think too much about mechanics, it won't place well.

I don't usually "walk" routines as such. When I'm starting to learn a new routine, I will dance it through without the music, a bit at a time, just to get nailed down what goes where. Once it starts to come togehter in my mind, I can start doing it with music. There's a check at this point to make sure it basically fits -- it's not too long, it stays in sequence with a typical piece of music for that dance, etc. This is also where I want to think about long and short sides, what should be done where depending on how the judges and audience might be seated in the venues you expect to dance in. After that, it's practice, practice, practice. Run through and identify any trouble spots, smooth those over, run through it again, etc.

I used to try to write routines down, but I've found it easier these days to just tape a run-through without music, verbally annotating things as needed. The video I'm finding is actually very helpful, not only for remembering things, but for checking the presentation. Sometimes you run into sequences that might feel good to dance, but don't look so good to the observer.

I'm currently working on a show routine. This is the sixth week, and it's just now that I've gotten where there's a reasonably good probability that I can dance it all the way through without any errors. However, it's also about four minutes long, so it takes me more practice to get it together than a 90-second comp routine.

 

[Debra]

I'm like Cornutt on this issue. when I am learning new choreography I need several weeks of practice before I am ready for a public debut.

My approach is each day to stary with a segment of the choreo, walk it through once and then dance it a few times. I then move on to other stuff and at the end revisit the choreo one more time. After a few/several days I add the next sequence, lather, rinse and repeat.

 

[mamboqueen]

fasc - I'm probably about 6 months into learning open routines. I tape them right off the bat and constantly look at the tapes to help memorization. We progress through the routines by first running through the choreography over and over again to the point of memorization. Then after maybe 3 lessons of doing that, we start to break the routine down into segments and start working on the technique/connections in each section. Then after a few weeks, I tape again for review.

You will probably get yours down quicker because you take more lessons per week than I do. But, I started working on one routine and had it "floor ready" (cough, cough, if that term will ever exist for me) in about 2 months (although I still did a comp in silver and training for that kept the progress on the open routine a bit lagging). In about 3 months after that, I have two more to the point of putting them out there, and I'm hoping by fall I'll be comfortable enough with all five.

I think this is going to be very different for everyone, though. We all learn at different speeds, and I'm really nitpicky about the routines being good enough so as not to completely embarrass myself. I tend to learn choreography quickly, but technique rather slowly.

Edit -- I purchased this little camera:

www. amazon.com/Video-Ultra-Camcorder-60-Minutes-Black/dp/B000V1PXMI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1210340822&sr=8-1

and find it extremely helpful in progress/review.

 

[samina]

I'm envious of people who can throw something together during the week and then dance it in a comp that weekend. I need several weeks of good solid practice. For me, it absolutely has to be committed to muscle memory so that when I dance it in the comp, I can be thinking about musicality, presentation and floorcraft as needed. If I have to think too much about mechanics, it won't place well.

that's understandable... you're the lead, which is so different from following. if i were in your shoes, i'd feel the same WRT to a new standard routine, that's for sure.

 

[samina]

i think taping must be so helpful... thanks for mentioning that, MQ & cornutt... am going to do that.

i've done that for showcase routines, but never comp routines.

 

[LucyDiamond]

Taping is VERY useful. I like to convert my lesson videos and put them on my iPod. That way I can look at them anytime.

 

[mamboqueen]

Well, I figure if I tape every week vs. every comp, I'm going to have an easier time ridding myself of bad/ingrained habits (like settling my butt instead of my hip). It's easier for me to fix a problem if it hasn't been around too long. I email the vid to my pro so he can look at it and see things that he can't see (or doesn't feel) while dancing with me.

Edit: Lucy - good idea. I also am starting to do a "recap" of the lesson at the end and have that taped, and look at it over and over. Honestly, I hate to have to spend money re-learning things. It is much more helpful to me to have video than notes as I am a visual learner.

 

[fascination]

I definately must get a video...now that we don't have a studio to call home and neither pro nor I is in possession of a camera...it is getting dicey...thanks guys....

 

[jjs914]

I like to walk through it, have it written down (for me to look at later), then for actual dancing try to break it up into smaller parts, whether it's one side, X measures, whatever.

I do this too. Kind of a quick review of the routine and then focus on either specific pieces of steps or specific aspects of the dancing.

Taping every lesson is a great idea. I don't currently do this. We do take all our comps though to review and work on anything that doesn't seem to be working.

 

[LucyDiamond]

I agree Larinda. Until my feet know what to do, forget about the rest of my body. :wink:

 

[fascination]

I like to get a good understanding of the routine before I try fixing anything.

I would rather be able to walk through the whole thing simply, before trying to actually dance any of it correctly. That way I get a good feel for each part and its relation to the whole.

lol...GOD bless you........update is...light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to appear in the waltz...the otehr three are still a murky mystery...but I will take my baby accomplishment and work on it