slave of choreography

[Ahava_Melantha]

help! i think I've become a slave to choreography!!!

I had a favorite song with all these awesome moves to it, yeah I forgot them so now it frustrates to no end.


I can't even dance to the song now!

any advice?

 

[Darshiva]

Relax, close your eyes, and just breathe throughout the song and imagine someone (yourself? someone else? doesn't matter!) dancing to the song. While you're imagining it, tell yourself how beautifully they are dancing and that they are improvising.

When you open your eyes, take a moment to realise that not only did you improvise that song, but you can do what the imagined dancer did. Put the music back on and dance. Don't worry about doing it right. Of course you will do it beautifully. Relax, enjoy, breathe the moment and remember that it is the music you like about the song, not the party tricks it inspires.

 

[AndreaSTL]

I don't know how long ago you danced to this song, but is it possible you're just a different dancer now? It's OK to not do the same combos every time for 40 years. Your taste changes with your ability when you grow as a dancer. I'm so grateful that I didn't get rid of the music I didn't care as much for when I first started. Some of it I still just plain old don't like, but some I just couldn't appreciate at the time. As my skills and cultural understanding grew so did my interpretation and appreciation of the music. I still like some of the songs I did as a beginner, but I wouldn't dance the same way to them now.

 

[~Diana~]

Might be your body and mind telling you that you have evolved since then and the song feels slightly different, which leads to your body wanting to do different things. It is not a disaster to change a choreography to an old dance.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

it hasn't been THAT long, but my dancing has been drastically improving and changing cuz of all videos I'm watching (i'm a visual learner" and all the home practise I do

 

[Daimona]

There you go, Ahava Melanta, you've developed as a dancer!

When you learn or make new choreographies, do you video tape or take notes of them down in the process or do you rely on remembering them later? If the latter is the case, the choreographies will most likely change during time; you may remember the framework, but the details are gone.
Writing choreographies (or videotaping them, preferably from different angles) could be a good idea if you want to repeat them later and are afraid of forgetting the combos.

From I started to dance I've written down (or videotaped) almost every choreography I've learnt (i.e. until I decided I wouldn't perform any one else's choreography unless being part of a group doing the choreography, since then I've only written down the most interesting explanations or combinations) or made myself, which actually make me repeat most of them pretty accurate if needed even if I've developed as a dancer and hear the music differently.
Though, for several of them, particularly the old ones I learnt ages ago I wouldn't need to read the notes as my body reacts to the music.. The ones I didn't write down or videotape are mostly forgotten.


Apart from that, I like Darshiva's advice of closing your eyes and listening to it.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

thanx Daimona. I should try that. I have no idea how to record myself dancing. what kind of camera or webcam should get for that? I say that cuz I usually dance in my computer room, hehe.

would love to know. it would be interesting to see how I ACTUALLY dance.


and for me< I"d love to learn other choreographies, if anything to give me ideas, and give me a feel for say, egyptian dancing. even though authentic egyptian is improv, just to give me a better "feel" y'know?

 

[Daimona]

thanx Daimona. I should try that. I have no idea how to record myself dancing. what kind of camera or webcam should get for that? I say that cuz I usually dance in my computer room, hehe.

would love to know. it would be interesting to see how I ACTUALLY dance.

You don't have to use or buy a fancy camera. The webcamera on the computer is probably fine if you have one. Other possibilities could be if you have an ordinary digital camera that can record short videos? Or perhaps a smart phone with a camera?

Seeing yourself on tape for the first (and second and third etc) time is most likely terrifying. I've seen myself several times, and I still hate it - but if I manage to see it more or less objectively it is the only proper reality check I get on my dancing when practicing and performing.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

okay well I have no camera now and don't have anyone else to cam me. have no idea what to get hehe

 

[Daimona]

and for me< I"d love to learn other choreographies, if anything to give me ideas, and give me a feel for say, egyptian dancing. even though authentic egyptian is improv, just to give me a better "feel" y'know?

I don't know your (re)sources, but there are several DVDs teaching choreographies if you find some within your budget with the dancers you like.
Youtube is also a great source for inspiration for choreographies. Have you tried analysing performances, writing down combinations you like and then learning to do them?

Oh, and do also remember to work on improvising (start with 2-3 moves).