Have you ever gone to a dance recital/performance and seen a dance number that blew you away? Have you ever seen a dance number that just seemed to fall flat? So what was the difference? What made one dance brilliant and the other something you never ever want to see again?
It's not always about the quality of dancers. As a dance teacher and choreographer, my job is take a group of students, what ever level they are, and make them look good on stage. This is not easy with beginners, but it still can be achieved. Here is a general list of elements that need to be considered to create a dance.
1. Choreography: Choices of what dance steps to use
2. Theme of dance
3. Music and how it relates to the theme
4. Use of stage and props
5. Student attendance and knowledge of routine
The number one thing to remember is to give them choreography that will make them look like they know what they are doing. If they can not pirouette, DON'T CHOREOGRAPH PIROUETTES! Do not choreograph a routine that is too difficult or too fast for the student's age and level. They will look horrible, and worse, they will feel unsuccessful. The challenge is to find the few things that they can do well, and use them in a variety of ways. Never show favoritism by consistently putting the best dancer in front to lead. Every dancer needs an opportunity to get to be in the front at some point in a dance routine. Give them something to do that they can handle.
Next, choose a creative and age appropriate theme. In Jazz, Tap, or Lyrical routines, choreographers often match the theme with the music, which in my opinion, is not a sin (if you're are dealing with children). Just remember that children should dance like children and not like burlesque dancers. When choreographing for a ballet or modern class, you might find yourself needing to be more creative in coming up with a theme, because most likely you are choreographing to a piece of music with no lyrics. Again, I repeat, be age appropriate and always remember to be entertaining.
Number 3: Music. I like to choose music that I know my audience can relate to. I also like to choose music that the dancers will enjoy and relate to. They are the ones who are going to perform so they are the ones that need to be happy about what they are performing. I also consider the fact that most kids don't necessarily have musical training and therefore can't necessarily count music. I'm not saying that I don't try to teach the kids to count, but sometimes you're in a time crunch and it's just not going to happen soon enough. Because of this, I often choose very dynamic music with lots of strong beats or obvious instrumental changes. That way if the kids can't count, at least you can get them to all arabesque when they hear the trumpet.
When it comes to the use of stage and props, this is where I often times see a dance that starts out great, but then quickly becomes boring. Never leave your dancers in the same formation for the entire dance. Please, I beg of you, move them around! Audiences most likely don't know that much about dance technique and which step are more or less difficult. They just want to be entertained by a dance that moves. So when choreographing, consider using many formations through out the dance piece, and try to use the whole stage. Also, if you have props in the dance make sure that the dancers use them frequently and in a number of different ways. Don't use a prop in the beginning and then forget about it the rest of the dance.
Finally, this is a dance deal breaker. Do the dancers know what they are doing? Did they show up to class enough times and get enough chances to rehears? Are they able to go on stage and smile or do they all look like deer in the headlights? Although attendance is the one thing that is out of the choreographers control, it doesn't have to ruin your efforts. In his famous ballet piece, "Serenade", the amazing Mr Balanchine choreographed entrances and exits for his students at the School of American Ballet. Those of his students who came regularly to rehearsal were choreographed in more sections of the dance. Those that missed rehearsals, were choreographed out of other sections. This kind of policy encourages good attendance. However, make sure that your parents understand why their child was not in a certain part of the routine so that they don't jump to a conclusion that you just don't like their kid.
In the business of choreography, I am always learning something knew. I still make plenty of mistakes and by all means, don't claim to be great, but I always try to use the steps above to keep my dances entertaining. And I'm not afraid to change choreography if something in the dance just ain't working.
