You might already be an old hand at creating choreography for yourself, but creating choreography for a group of people is a completely different challenge. With that being said, there are some tips and tricks that you can use to make sure that it goes off without a hitch.

YouTube video

Before we begin, I’d like you to check out this video as a case study for our today’s article. Later we’ll discuss some good things about this choreography and some things that could be improved. The video itself is a Kizomba Lady styling choreography by Vika Shcheglova.

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So let’s discuss how to actually create group choreographies:

1. Decide on your concept

Having a clear idea of the story your dance wants to tell, or its theme, is key if you want your choreography to make sense to the audience. Like in this example video you can find above there isn’t much story to tell, however the whole Kizomba Lady Style dance is a statement on its own. Those who dance it and love it will know what to look for. If you want to appeal to a larger audience however you’ll have to plan your dance accordingly, and an important role in all this will be played by dance costumes and accessories you will use.

2. Get to know the song

You need to have a deep understanding of the song you are going to use. Listen to it over and over again and get to know the different phases, how the dynamics change, and the different emotions that the different parts of the song elicit. And again – in today’s featured video, you’ll notice that the original music was replaced half way probably because of some youtube licensing issue (which happens quite a lot). You can see that all the movements and the energy of the choreography doesn’t feel right anymore.

3. Focus on a section that inspires you

Often, the best place to jump off from is to find a section of the song that inspires you. Once you have created the choreography for that phase, you can branch out and create the rest of it.

4. Be very specific

For a group choreography to be a success, it needs to be clean. And this means being very specific about every single movement your dancers will be performing. You need to have clear guidance for body alignment, what they need to do with their arms, what direction they should be facing, etc. Our today’s video has both, clarity and synchronicity and the opposite which is perfect to help you understand what to do and what to avoid.

5. Have fun

Highly recommend to have fun in the process and don’t try to get everything perfect. Group choreography is sometimes not just about hitting all the beats on time. Sometimes it’s about communication, socialization and spending time with people that share the same passion as you do. It will be fun regardless how polished you dance moves are.

Don’t be afraid to play around with your dancers’ placement and timing. You could split them into groups and have them “have a conversation” by having one group perform one phase and the other group the answering phase. You could even stagger the start of the phase to create a cannon. The choice is yours!

If you liked this article, feel free to share it with your friends! As online learning becomes more popular, we’ve added a new section for online dance classes. Online classes are a fun and easy way to learn dance from the comfort of your home. You can take lessons from world-class teachers, practice at your own pace, and it’s super affordable too! Online dance classes are just great if you want to get moving and learn new dance styles, check it out.