How to Choreograph Your Own Dance Routine

At the auditions, a lot of professional dancers will be part of the audience. That includes current pro cheerleaders, judges, and the coach of the pro cheer squad you’re applying for. They usually set the bar high when it comes to the art of dancing and would prefer to have aspiring cheerleaders be creative on their showcase dance.

That’s why you should do exactly that to land a spot on the squad. But first, learn the tips on how to create your own perfect routine.

1. Find the perfect song listen to it non-stop

If you haven’t decided yet on which song to use for your dance, it’s best you start looking for it now. Once you have found the perfect music, listen to it like crazy but with intent. By that, I mean getting familiar with the auditory cues such as the beat of the bass or the sound of the hi-hats.

2. Identify the audiences for your performance

Before picking your dance or creating new moves, think about who will be watching you as you perform. Since you’re an aspiring pro cheerleader, your audience will likely be the judges, the squad coach, other aspirants, and current squad members. Knowing who your audiences are will help you create dance moves that are appropriate.

3. Pick the best dance style for the event

Your reason for choreographing a dance is for the pro cheer auditions. There are many dance styles to choose from that would suit best for this event. Read this blog for more info. Choose the dance style that best represents professional arena cheerleading.

4. Take inspiration from other artists

Do you find it difficult to make new dance steps? No problem. Search the web for online dance classes. They’ll teach you what moves you should use in your showcase performance. Or you can use YouTube as a reference to remix the dance steps of other artists with your own.

5. Freestyle dance to the song

As you listen to the song of your dance, groove with it in any way you can. You won’t remember most of the spontaneous moves you perform but you’ll still retain some of it because they match the music you have chosen perfectly. These small freestyle dance steps would then add up to be a full dance routine later on.

6. Start creating your own moves

Now that you have chosen a song and a dance style to perform, you’ll slowly get a clear idea of what your dance routine should look like overall. This is the part where you start creating moves based on each energy level your music progresses into.

If your music starts in a relaxed tone and becomes more energetic as it plays, create an intro routine that is easy, sexy, and slow. Follow it up with difficult and energetic steps in the middle. Then, end with an explosive outro like doing tumbles.

7. Polish the execution of your routine

Practice your routine every day and keep on improving your dancing until you’re able to perform it with proper memorization, technique, and sync. Shoot a video of yourself or invite a friend to score your performance. You can also dance in front of a mirror in your home dance studio.

8. Make room for small changes

As you polish your showcase dance, you might feel that there’s a need for improvements or additional dance steps. Don’t hesitate to add them to your routine for you may be right. However, don’t make major or too many changes as it will affect your memorization.

Choreography isn’t easy. You’ll need a lot of time, practice, and effort before you can achieve an all-star level of dancing competency. But if you have patience and foster a persevering attitude, then there’s nothing that can stop you from earning the favor of the audition judges.

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