Dance Routine Choreography
SUU EDGE Project
Hometown: Star Valley, Wyoming
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Psychology, Photography
EDGE Engagement Track: Creative
Dance Routine Choreography
For my EDGE project, I decided to further explore my passion and experience in dance and choreograph a competition dance routine for the local high school. I was on my own high school drill team and I always enjoyed when we got to learn new choreography. I also received my associates in dance 5 years ago but have gotten little experience since. I wanted to give the local team a fun and successful dance routine and also jump back into opportunity in the dance world. This project was my third idea and I am glad I chose something that challenged me and could open up future opportunities.
This project, specifically, was to choreograph and teach a two minute and thirty second POM dance. Choreography includes many intricate levels within the movement itself but also includes creating formations and transition pathways. The team I was able to choreograph for had 30 girls which would be my set number for choreography. I would also be giving my time to teach and clean the routine. Cleaning a routine consists of making sure it is performance ready and helping each individual hit their part within the team. The finished product would be performed for their student body and then later at competition invitationals in the Southern Utah area.
As mentioned, this was the third EDGE project I proposed. I had decided that I had a capstone project coming up that would be geared toward my major; so, I wanted a project that bridged my past into future opportunities. I have always had a passion for dance, making inspiration to start this project easy to come by. Music inspires me to be creative and when ever I hear songs I enjoy or songs with good energy, I start to choreograph dance moves in my head. With this project, I was able to make all that musical daydreaming come to life! Choreography always starts with the music; I found two songs that inspired me to start on the dance. I used one song from one of my own high school routines and mixed it with the more current song, “Uptown Funk”. I feel the inspiration from the music allowed for fun and energetic choreography to be crafted.
There was a few challenges that came across the evolution of my project completion. The first challenge was creating dynamic movements and coinciding parts that built an athletic, fun and appealing routine that included the required technique. I had never before choreographed a dance piece with so many girls and had such high competition. There was some visions that did not transfer to the dance floor well. An example of a section that was worked on multiple times, trying to force the original vision, was a turn section were half the dancers go one direction while the others go the opposite direction. The team was struggling with the technique of the turns choreographed and how they coincided with the previous movement. This section was changed to dynamic ripples that ended looking clean and well danced.
Another key challenge, was I started with 30 girls and ended up with 28. It doesn’t seem like a big difference but each person missing leaves a hole in the set formation. The girls had to learn new formations and transitions to get there. A few girls even had to learn new parts. We worked well through this challenge by taking it one step at a time, formation by formation. After taking the dance this way, we would practice the transitions for those that had new places.
Both the intended outcomes and these challenges were able to help build and benefit the members of this drill team. The girls were able to learn how to be adaptable to change, along with supporting their team members. I could see support being fostered when two of the team members were injured and could no longer be in this dance, the team helped each other make it work. Most of all I think growth happened in the individuals own creativity. The few parts of my choreography that did not take well to the group were able to be transformed by the dancers themselves. They were able to give their input and build their own parts that increased their experience and confidence in their creativity and dance knowledge, along with their performance.
This project benefited myself in many ways, some more unexpected than others. I went into this thinking it was something in my “wheelhouse”. However, when I started I found just how far out of my comfort zone it was. I had never before choreographed for so many dancers in one piece and I had never choreographed for the purpose of competition, and tight competition at that. This project helped me to push myself to be dynamic in my creative process. Above all, this project helped me with creative endurance. Often when we decide to create something, if it doesn’t work out or if it gets really hard, it is very tempting to stop or just rebuild from the beginning. Learning this creative endurance, choosing to move forward always from where I was already at, benefited me in different areas of my life as well. Lastly, I was benefited with the chance to work with and mentor high school students. This aspect of my project will help me in future endeavors as I continue to gain more experience and increase my ability to affect others in a positive way.