Remembering Choreography

Dancers aren't just born with the ability to pick up and store thousands of choreography movements in their brain. It is something that has to be mastered with time. There are a few ways to help your brain, and I would like to share with you my favorite ways to improve your memory of choreography.

When you are given a bunch of choreography, don't try to digest it all at once. Find the main components of the dance and focus on those. You are going to drive yourself crazy trying to remember every single step. Choreographers will give a lot of information, but it is not to be mean. It is because different things will make sense to different people and most choreographers do not expect you to remember every single little thing right away. You will actually surprise the choreographer if you do! If it is a long audition piece, I try to focus on the first move, the last move, and any main jumps or turns. If you muddle through everything else, no one care. Obviously, the more you practice the more movement you will begin to pick up at first glance. This is only if you are trying to pick up brand new choreography. If this is your 6th week dancing the same piece, this is unacceptable. Start well. End well. Hit those big cues. It will make it seem like you know more than you do. Fake it 'til you make it!

One thing I know for sure is that the choreographer will either give counts, cues, or make noises. Use them! They are given for a reason. These cues act as a GPS to guide you through the movement. Don't just listen to those cues and then try to go through it without reviewing them. Those cues are incredibly important. Say them as you do the movement. Other times, I like to find additional cues to theirs. Now I didn't say I make my own cues and only follow those. I said additional. Those cues could involve beats, music, or even breath. Try to find a dance online, watch it once or twice, and then see how much of it you were able to pick up. To develop this skill, don't continue to use the same choreography over and over again. Pick a different video a week and it will help train your brain to capture things faster.

Moving past auditions, lets talk about storing choreography for the an extended period of time. Rehearsals are usually held once or twice a week. It is frustrating as a choreographer when you spent 2 hours teaching and advancing the dance only for your dancers to return the following week and have forgotten everything. There is not really a trick or hack to storing choreography. You just have to revisit it everyday. I like to record myself or someone else doing it. I watch the video once a day. I mark through the dance once a day. I even have my own 2 hour weekly private rehearsals at home. That way I am giving myself 3-4 rehearsals a week, instead of just one.

This will prepare me for the next rehearsal because it is not the choreographers responsibility to remember movement for me. It is not the steps that make the dancer great, but the artistry. How could you ever get to that point, if you can't even be bothered to learn the movement first? I also try to listen to the music multiple times a day. If I know the music backwards and forward, when I get musical or lyrical cues at my next rehearsal I will know exactly what they want. If I get asked to hit a pose on the ding of the bell, I know exactly what they mean because I have learned the music and beats of the song. "But Wendy I don't have the music to practice everyday." Ask for the music! If you approach your choreographer and say, "I want to be able to continue practicing at home and it would be easier to have the music. Is there any way you could give me the title and artist of the song?" If a choreographer tells you no, that choreographer wants you to fail. Run away! (lol) Most choreographers will gladly hand it to you.

Try these tips out and let me know if they helped.

-Wendy B.