Choreography Guidelines for all Jr (middle school) and Sr (high school) dancers at CDA.
required music time limits
2nd - 5th grade: = 2:00-2:15 minutes in length + dance off tag
Jr. level songs: 2:15-2:30 minutes in length + can have a dance off tag
Sr. level songs: 2:30-2:45 minutes in length + can have a dance off tag
No fade out endings. All music should end on an actual note. No abrupt cuts.
If you need help with editing, please reach out!
holiday
You have a short amount of time to teach Holiday choreography! It goes fast! You have only 6 weeks. Keep in mind you lose 2 weeks with Thanksgiving break and costume week!
Use combo’s in your choreography that you have already been working on in August / September. Use a lot of group work! If you don’t have dancers strong enough to be onstage alone, do not put them onstage with a small group. If one group looks very weak, let another group be doing something else on stage at the same time.
EXAMPLE:
The step is “ballchange battement, step prepare, pirouette, land like a soldier.” Some girls can do it – some girls cannot do it. Here’s what I do (without making it obvious). Create 2-3 groups: Group A does something like “touch my knees, windmill arm over, reverse and shake.” Group B does the actual step. Group C does floor work (which could be just drop to belly and kick legs behind you with cutesy face.
no critiques in class by peers
When you let half the class watch, they are not allowed to give critiques. You are the only instructor in that room. If you must have them each say something, you can ask them to tell them to give one positive comment!
Remember for those that are not in the show – encourage them to keep learning.
“A big part to a dancer’s training is being able to learn and retain choreography; regardless of if they perform it onstage.”
Give those not performing placement, corrections, and encouragement just as you would a dancer who is performing!
placement and formations
As dancers, it’s natural for us to want to keep the strong dancers up front. Change your formations often. When you have weaker dancers up front - give them choreography that looks good on them. It may be just sitting on knees and doing an arm combination. Please change your formations often. Keep rotating throughout the song.
NO TWO LINES. The girls are too big at this point to dance right next to each other. There is not enough room and it looks sloppy. Stagger them, use diagonals, etc.
If you need to add props to your piece to give them something to hold onto or make it better – let me know asap and I’ll work to get you what you need!
Talk to them about what happens if there is a mistake. Middle schoolers, especially start to get frazzled and giggle and talk to cover up their mistake. The audience won’t know it’s a mistake unless they show it on their face.
recreational dancers:
NO FAN KICKS, EXTENSIONS, ILLUSIONS, TRICKS
Fan Kicks: Just don’t do it. Recreational dancers cannot do a clean fan kick. Just say no!
Only do a battement in a dance if the dancers can seriously do them with a straight leg. Substitute with a passe.
If you are doing an illusion or extension with elementary recreational dancers - please be sure it looks neat and clean. On stage is not the time to practice and learn tricks.
recreational LEAPS
No leaps across the stage one at a time. It takes up too much time for them to go one at a time - and quite frankly, it’s boring.
Generally, no leaps at all for elementary age students, they are not skilled enough to properly do leaps and have them look good. I would stay away from them unless you have some unusually talented recreational dancers.
NO FAN KICKS, EXTENSIONS, ILLUSIONS, TRICKS
Fan Kicks: Just don’t do it. Recreational dancers cannot do a clean fan kick. Just say no!
Only do a battement in a dance if the dancers can seriously do them with a straight leg. Substitute with a passe.
If you are doing an illusion or extension with recreational dancers - please be sure it looks neat and clean. On stage is not the time to practice and learn tricks.
BLACK OUT’S
Please tell your dancers to hold their arms out in front of them when entering and exiting the stage in a blackout.
It’s important to really work on this prior to the stage. We’ve had a broken nose collision in the dark – we don’t need that to happen again!
EXIT back left corner. If they come running off the side towards the door – they will plow over little ones!
LYRICAL TIGHTS FOR PERFORMANCES
Teach your lyrical students how to properly roll their lyrical tights for performance. No footies hanging out!
If you work on this with them, they will be sure it is correct backstage before they go on! Mom’s won’t know to do this.
This photo is a great example!
ABSOLUTE NO NO’S FOR JR. & SR. CHOREOGRAPHY:
No leaps or chasse’ across the stage. Individually or with small groups.
No fan kicks. Only battements when everyone can do them cleanly.
No extensions if they cannot do so with straight legs.
No pirouettes if they can’t turn the correct way, keep arms up by shoulders, and cannot pick up the correct foot.
No ballet preps for turns in jazz class. All of your jazz turns should be prepped as shown in this video.
No two lines: skip a number and stagger to use the entire stage.
No pirouettes if they cannot do it clean. If a dancer cannot do it cleanly, picking up the correct foot, turning the correct way and strong arms – the do not do it. There are many different options you can give groups to do something different while the other turn. Drop down to floor work, etc. Please let me know if you need ideas. You don’t have to hold the entire class back, but you can’t let those that are not ready perform onstage.
This age group does not bounce when they get to their number to finish the 8 count.
L arms on battements: The arms are in L at the start, they do not come down by the side at any time. Ballchange Battement, the arms rotate to the opposite L, but they never drop to the side at any time.
