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| The Components You Must Possess For a Truly Amazing Routine |
Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals. -Charles Baudelaire
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I rarely enjoy anything as much as I enjoy choreographing.
Besides the people, it is the thing I miss most about my owning my own studio.
It was life changing, empowering and incredibly satisfying to choreograph all
day long… Foxtrot, Cha Cha, Waltz, West Coast Swing and Salsa... everything!
Then love, marriage and life happened. Now that I'm
traveling for the WCS community again, it’s
been a little shocking. I'm discovering that many widely known benefits and
expectations of putting a routine together have been lost over the years.
Things that used to be universally known or expected are now, I’m discovering,
completely lost and forgotten. I’ve
found this to be true for much of our dance, not just the area of routines and
choreography, but I shall address that in the future.
But if you or someone you know is interested in doing a West
Coast Swing routine, and you want to get the most out of it that you can, here
are some things you should know before you even pick a partner, never mind a
song or a choreographer.
Whether you're starting on this journey to get better, to
make your partner happy, to showcase your accomplishments or to make your coach
happy, at the heart of it all you really have only one goal that matters: to
put YOUR best foot forward. The audience will only see YOU. And nobody else can
be you. Nobody! And that's a GREAT thing!
West Coast Swing is stunning in its ability to showcase your
individuality within its strict parameters. So the main goal of your routine
should be to showcase your strengths, your stylings, your lines, your footwork
and your own personality.
I have choreographed routines for students with movements
that look terrible on me. Don’t roll your eyes. I have enough students do that.
I’m serious- there are moves that I would never ever, in a million years, allow
myself to be videotaped doing, never mind putting into a routine of mine to be
played repeatedly by others. However, those moves have often worked for others
beautifully. If they look fantastic on my student, I’m putting it in.
Take my husband Nick versus my dance partner Josh. Both Nick
and I have long forearms, but very short upper arms. When we do routines together,
such as our Salsa routine, there are drops, tricks and moves that work, and
then quite a few that don’t. However, Josh has super long slim arms. They
eliminate certain moves Nick and I do, but they also open up quite a few moves
Nick and I cannot do without my head getting caught in his armpit or my hair
tangled in his wrist. Naturally a lot of this is learned the hard way, but it’s
an expected part of the routine process.
In short, choreography is sometimes about your dance level,
but quite often it’s about other things you can’t change. When Josh and I first
partnered up, we’d never really danced together. So I videotaped us dancing to
a few songs, and very quickly noticed that our legs were the exact same length.
If you know my routines, you’ll notice that I very much capitalized on that in
my choreography. But I also noticed that our arms were completely and utterly
different. Therefore I had to eliminate all “in-sync” arm stylings. If Josh’s
arm was up in a long line, my arm would stay down in its own line, not parallel
to his, as you see here.
(available in book version)
Choreography that capitalized on our
strengths and smoothed over our differences: arms vs. legs, etc. (Photo by
Kermit Dukes)
Any choreographer should know about these expected
similarities and differences, and be able to see it. Even if they can’t explain
why as I just did, they should understand certain moves and stylings don’t work
on every single couple they give choreography to.
Yes, long distance choreography is popular today. You send
music to a choreographer and they send you a video with your choreography back.
If that’s the case, then you need to choose your choreographer very wisely, or
be prepared to change your choreography accordingly, either on your own or with
another coach or choreographer.
Because of the Universal Goal, I’ve also choreographed
routines to music that doesn't move me, but it moves my students. It’s not
difficult to do, unless the music doesn’t match the kind of dance they want
choreographed. For example, a wedding couple brings in “At Last” as their
wedding song, and they want a Cha Cha routine.
Okay, that’s an extreme example, but still, people today
rarely know what kind of music works with what kind of dance (thank you very
much, Dancing with the Stars and
“iPod” DJ’s!). I’ve been lucky to work with couples who have had, for the most
part, swingable songs. And though they don’t match my tastes, I can tell how
much a couple loves their song. And so I wrap the choreography around their
passion for it so that the audience can see their hearts on the floor.
I remember one couple that had already won the US Open in
their division. They were trying a completely new direction and had received
choreography for a 100% lyrical song. But they loved it. I mean, they really really
loved this song. Even though it was chosen for them by somebody else, I could
see that it made them want to feel. But they held back. And since the song
wasn’t swing, it made the choreography they’d been given seem awkward.
Yes, I fixed a lot of the choreography, but my biggest
change was to how they approached the song while dancing. I said, “Look, you
love this song. I can see it. Don’t hide it! Let it envelop and fill you all
the way through and just groove to it while you dance it. I want you to get
totally lost in the song.” And so they did. And it gave me goose bumps.
Later, when they did their next “demo” in preparation for
the Open, my own coach came up to me and said they had tears in their eyes
after watching them. She said, “I didn’t know they could dance like that.” Exactly.
It wasn’t a swing song, and it was hardly a swing dance, but all of that and
the awkwardness it would normally have produced made the performance one of
their best yet. As a judge, my job would have been easy, but as an audience
member, I would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing “them,” in all their joy and
passion, enjoy their song the way only they could.
(Imagine if they did that with a real swing song and a real
swing routine! Oh my. I believe it would’ve brought the house down! And they
would’ve placed much higher. There is nothing on this planet like watching
swing dancers jam out their alive-ness in full expansion, with unfettered feet,
against a ridiculously awesome swing song. It’s better than a triple shot of
espresso, and it’ll charge you with so much energy you won’t be able to sleep
that night! But I digress…)
The fact remains that no matter who you are, no matter what
your background, level or experience, it’s vital that you understand this one
thing before anything else.
If you are going to invest the money, the time, the training
and the practicing... make sure you keep one goal in mind: to be yourselves.
Never underestimate an audience. They know if you are pretending to be somebody
else. And never underestimate the power of your "true self." It will
fight you every step of the way if you try to be something you're not. You'll
reduce your hours of investment, practice and coaching while increasing your
enjoyment and benefits of the routine by taking the steps to ensure that it
reflects YOU… and no one else.
This may sound obvious, but at the core you are doing a
DANCE routine. Whether or not you're competing or simply showcasing your
routine, never forget that you're doing a dance routine. So pick a song that
makes you want to do just that: DANCE. And no, head-bobbing doesn’t count. It
has to make you want to get off the couch, not lay back on it.
Trust me, whatever song or combination of songs you pick,
you will end up hearing it a million-ba-jillion times before you ever perform
it. You'll hear it at slow speeds, at fast speeds, in your head while you take
a shower and in your head while trying to go to bed. If it inspires you to
dance, and dance now, you'll enjoy the entire routine process and every
performance a lot more than if not.
I am not a morning person. Not even a little bit. I don’t
now how in the world I survived teaching high school and I don’t now how in the
world I’ll ever survive kids. When the sun rises, I get tired and when it falls,
I start to rev up. So when I have to stumble out of bed for a 6 AM floor trial with only three hours of sleep,
I’ve never had to worry about not having the energy to practice. I put in the
time and the work to get the right song. I know that, without a doubt, I'm
going to want to dance no matter what the moment the DJ hits play.
The same applies to you. If you’re a morning person, then
you’re going to have to be ready to dance at 11
PM at night. Either way, have a song that starts your engine is
everything. Help yourself out and take the time to pick the right song ahead of
time. It's worth the investment.
While we’re on the subject of music, let me let you in on a
little secret. We pros with real training know that you choreograph, practice
and rehearse to music that is 2% slower than what you will actually perform to
on stage. You see, we know that adrenaline will make the speed you’re used to
feel like mud when you’re out there.
Some pros no longer do this in WCS
because they are no longer nervous. They know exactly how they are going to
place or there is very little at stake. Others no longer do this because they
are no longer energized by their routines or the crowd. But the majority of the
real professionals dance it at 1 or 2% up from what they practice to, and for
everyone else, 2% is considered the hard and fast rule. And what a little
nugget of gold that rule is. I can’t even tell you. It’s quite the performance
booster.
So if your song is 130 bpm, you may want to practice and
choreograph at 2% down and then make a CD with your song at its normal speed.
Or, as most people do, practice and rehearse at its normal speed, and then ask
the DJ at the event to increase it by 2% when they play it. NOT at floor
trials, mind you, but only for the big show. Trust me, you won’t notice a
difference out there at all! The adrenaline will make it feel as if it’s the
normal speed you’ve been practicing to all along, which will give your
performance a much greater shot at being smooth and powerful.
I'm not going to lie. Partnerships are not easy. They are
like marriages. They take mutual work, conviction, love, honor, respect and
humor to run smoothly. I think I've seen a perfectly equal partnership on all
fronts... twice. I learned very early on that for every two minutes we see of a
partnership on the convention floor, there are hundreds to sometimes thousands
of hours that we aren't seeing of that partnership. But it’s those hours that
really matter, much more than those 2.5 minutes on the floor.
So here's the deal: everyone's different. Some people need a
50/50 partnership. Some can handle 90/10 partnerships. Decide what you can
handle and grab a partner that fits. Be aware that most partnerships break up
before they ever make it to the floor. There's no shame in that at all. Have
pride for trying because you will have learned a lot no matter how far into the
process you made it. It's worth the risk.
Keep this in mind, too. No matter how many times you’ve
heard it, height, hair color and body types are NOT the thing to look for in a
partner. All of that can be solved in choreography and costuming. Michelle
Kinkaid was more than a full head taller than Phil Trau when they won the US
Open Classic Division three times in a row. They rocked it like nobody’s
business out there. Lance Shermoen, the King of the US Open, danced with more
than three different partners over two decades, none of whom looked anything
alike, and all of whom were phenomenal dancers. Yes, all of the routines looked
different, just as they should have, but they were all amazing. Looks and
levels don’t matter. Those can be worked around in routines.
What does matter? Abuse. You absolutely must be on the
lookout for that. Routines are highly stressful projects. The tend to bring out
the absolute worst in the absolute best of us. No one is immune. Verbal abuse,
emotional abuse and mental abuse... these are the greatest pitfalls of
routines. Learn how recognize the signs, how to protect yourself and when to
walk away. If you have a partner that respects and honors you, no matter what
their level, you can get an incredibly satisfying and even highly successful
routine experience.
Oh there are so many things to know about choreography!
Especially in today’s environment. It is only too easy to pay a ton of money
and get a routine you can’t dance all the way through after even as much as a
month of practicing. Now, more than ever, you must be attentive, aware and
ready when it comes to choreography.
Here are the things to know:
A) If you plan on
hiring a choreographer, remember that you don't have to pick only one.
Some couples have two, three or even four choreographers
work on their routine. But whoever you work with, be aware that it's easy to be
intimidated and accept changes, choreography or music out of fear (submission)
rather than trust (joy). I don’t think people understand how much fear controls
their decisions in today’s climate.
One of my most life-changing lessons was that a business
attracts people who are like the person who owns it. We’ve had Nissies running
and winning things for more than decade now, and so we’ve spent the last decade
slowly but surely losing teachers who are healthy and helpful and replacing
them with Nissy instructors, who are more interested in their own visions and
desires than they are in you and your success.
As a result, it will be quite easy, no matter where you
live, to end up getting choreography from a Nissy. And you will instinctively
fear them enough to stay quiet. Very quiet. Watch what your body does when you
are around them. It will tell you wonders. Last year, for example, I was
working on a couple’s routine for the US Open. They were taking with another
coach at the same time. At floor trials, as I worked with them, they were open,
giddy and asking a lot of questions. They had freedom.
Then it was time for me to work with another couple. I went
up into the bleachers. As I waited for the couple to take the floor, I noticed
that the “other” coach had approached the couple I was just working with. My
jaw dropped. The woman’s shoulders were wrapped tight around her body. Both of
them were kind of hunched over. The coach was chattering away super fast as
I’ve seen him do before, even with me. But I’m strong enough that I’m not
afraid of him, and I can chatter away right back rather easily. But the couple
never said a word. Literally. I think she kind of nodded her head at one point,
but for the most part, they were caught in his Nissy tractor beam. They looked
deflated by the meeting, the exact opposite effect you want from a coach. But
he was a ‘name,’ and he had youthful energy, so still and quiet they stayed. In
fear.
How unfortunate. And how easily avoidable! So take note.
Fear will slow you down, cost you more and paralyze you. A good coach and
choreographer will make you feel empowered and excited about getting on the
floor. Remember, this is your routine. It’s your time and it’s your money and
it’s your performance. Only. Nobody else's.
As the old saying goes, “the only one who can fight for you
is… YOU.” If you fight to choose your choreographer wisely before you begin, as
in doing some research, taking some privates to see how they operate or asking
around… you’ll save yourself the pain of breaking up with the choreographer in
the middle of the routine. You might have change mid-choreography, but be
assured that this happens so incredibly often these days, that I’ve never heard
of a single pro asking where their couple has gone once they’ve lost them. Very
few are keeping track the way they used to, and if they are, then that’s kind
of a red flag anyway. So enjoy flexing your freedom muscles.
B) Don't be afraid to
ask!
9 out of 10 couples I've seen in the last four years have
had their choreography done by one pro and then partially or completely
re-choreographed by another pro in order to "fix" it. This isn't
cheap. But this expensive practice is perpetuated by a nonsensical trend:
couples give their original choreographer credit and label the other choreographers
as "coaches." I constantly see couples hit with surprise at the
routine they've received, simply because the choreography that inspired them in
others was actually done by a completely different pro. So when you ask a
couple where they got their routine, find out exactly what pro choreographed
your favorite parts. It'll save you a lot of money in the long run. Then pay it
forward. Give credit where credit is due.
C) And finally, don't
be afraid to make your own changes.
You can keep yourself in check by videotaping yourself.
You'll learn what to keep and what to toss and, depending on your eye, save
yourself a lot of money in coaching and choreography. If something feels awkward, stop watching the
video for the eighth time and change it to feel less awkward. Sometimes it’s
something as simple as turning your shoulders or hips to a different wall that
makes everything feel better. Sometimes it’s putting in more footwork to
protect your knee from being twisted. Trust your body to tell you when
something isn’t working right, and do what needs to be done to fix it. You
don’t even need to point out the change to your coach.
Too often I see couples making a change they love, and then
they show their coach, like proud teenagers wanting their mom’s approval. But
the coach feels threatened instead, and makes another change to it. Now the
couple is uncomfortable again, and they avoid making any changes in the future
out of “consideration” for their coach. If you have a feeling it’ll go that
way, then just enjoy your changes on your own… and you’ll rock it a lot harder
on that floor as a result.
When I was studying at UCLA I was hired as one of their
fitness instructors. During training, they pounded one big lesson into our
heads again and again: choreograph to the major phrase. I had already learned
about phrasing in Swing, but was surprised to find it so underlined in a
fitness program. The staff would literally fire instructors who didn't phrase
their fitness choreography. Why? Because whether you’re educated in music or
not, your body knows a major phrase change when it hears one.
The UCLA trainers considered our training in phrasing as a
"protective measure" against injuries. If we choreographed our step
routines, for example, to start over on the major phrase, the body’s internal
instinct to change is fed, and nobody trips or falls over by instinctively
changing when the music does but the choreography doesn’t. I’ve seen a few of
those falls go down. It’s not pretty.
UCLA knew phrasing was a powerful tool, and back then, swing
did too. Being able to ‘chart’ a song is everything.
It’s a powerful and easy tool that will make your routine
look amazing, more professional and more exciting to your friends, family and
audiences. So whether you are choreographing your own routine or bringing it to
someone else, try to phrase out your music or hire someone else to phrase it
out before even touching it with choreography. Make sure you start a new
pattern on the "1" of each major phrase.
So there you are. Doing a routine is not a small task. I
didn't even touch on costumes! Or Timing, Technique or Teamwork (any coach that
has any actual training will build these into you and the choreography they
give your to make you both look and feel fabulous!). But it's worth it. And
worthwhile things take work.
I'm keenly aware that one routine can impact every level of
dancer in the audience, no matter what division or what place the judges give
you. I'm not a fan of routines that are clearly unrehearsed, uncomfortable or
uncontrolled... the things that make your eyes gloss over while watching them.
C.S. Lewis once said, "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten
which is not equally - and often far more - worth reading at the age of fifty and
beyond." I believe it's the same with choreography. If a routine I put on
the floor doesn't make kids and kings want to dance, then I've wasted my time.
As the nature of Jack & Jill's change, as more and more
people are injured, and as more and more people feel sidelined in the dance,
routines have the potential to change things. For the good or the bad. Follow
these tips though, and you’ll be part of changing things for the better. You
can love, live and grow through routines... visibly expand and shine... if you
take the right steps.
Above all, I wish you the strength and courage to be
yourselves out there…
and NO ONE
ELSE !
