How to Choreograph a Modern Dance Routine
Modern dance has become very popular in the past few years due to its element of being able to express yourself however you see fit without regard to proper technique or training. While many modern dancers are classically trained, there are just as many nowadays who are not. Here's how to choreograph a modern dance routine.
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Instructions
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Listen to the music several times. Get to know the story, or create a storyline if there are no lyrics. Listen for changes in the music where things are no longer the same, and make those story beats.
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Bring the dancers in and have them listen to the song a few times. Ask them how they feel about it. Explain your concept and story. The quicker they connect to what you envision, the better the routine will turn out.
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Give the dancers characters to play, and use sense-memory techniques to bring the dancers to the emotional place and level they need to reach. Teach them the steps that you have decided upon, but allow them to interpret the music as well. You never know what you may spot when someone improvises to the music.
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Continue to teach the dance steps and movements. Watch each person dance as an individual if doing a group number, and then watch them as a group. If choreographed really well, it will be entertaining to watch even just one member of a group because the story or concept will still make sense.
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Allow yourself to get swept away with the music. Move to it and take note of how your body reacts. Teach your dancers this, and watch how it looks when they mimic you. Continue until you have a routine that you are proud of and something that an audience will connect to, have a reaction to and hopefully embrace. Good luck!
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Tips & Warnings
Make the music mean something personal, and connect to it.
If the piece is too abstract, no one will understand it or be able to appreciate it.
