So here's the thing. As any one of my many awesome former coaches will tell you, baby Maddie couldn't pick up choreography. And I don't just mean in the cute little 'stumbles a little but gets there in the end' way, I mean could not pick up choreography.
I used to go home after practice and spend an hour working it out, count by count. Then I'd get into bed and play the music over and over until I finally got it right - usually in the early hours of the morning. When I became a coach, I decided none of my dancers would ever have to do that. After all, the ability to pick up choreography quickly is one of the most sought after skills in the industry.
Here are the top four tricks I use to teach dancers to pick up choreography.
1. Landmarks
Like memorising a phone number, we learn better in small chunks. Teach your dancers to find landmarks in a routine or combination (for example certain skills, or a 'fun' movement) and then work to fill in the gaps from A to B. I would advise against using the standard slice of '12345678.' Instead, I'd use from the toe touch on '3' to the high V on the '4' in the 8 count after. Why? Well, most eight counts of choreography stand alone. When dancers get lost and confused, it tends to be because they can't recall what comes after the '8'. By changing up the way we segment these chunks, we greatly improve their rate of retention.
2. Take their eyes away
We tend to use coaches and choreographers as a crutch when we're learning a routine. We watch them and mimic their movements. Try this next time - encourage your athletes to only watch the leader once, then immediately take their eyes away and try to dance through the movement themselves. The coach will always be there to refer back to when necessary, but by forcing them to recall the movement right away individually they create the pathways of muscle memory more quickly.
So how do we as educators encourage this practically? Well I almost never demonstrate an eight count more than twice. If I do, it's because I've been asked a specific question. I also don't dance alongside the kids, though if they need it, I'll mark from the front.
3. Teach quickly
Picking up choreography is a skill which can be developed over time, but only if you use it. Give your dancers the chance to learn, and to learn quickly. Teaching a quickfire combo every so often will keep things fresh and challenging. Try to limit the number of times that you demonstrate and count it out for them, but always be there if they have a question!
4. Talk it out
If you've ever taught a tiny class, you'll have seen this one. Small children when learning a routine often speak to themselves and talk through the movement. By instinct they know that it's easier to learn things when they digest the information in a multitude of ways.
You might have heard about different 'types' of learners - visual, kinesthetic, auditory and reading/writing. As a dance teacher, if you demonstrate moves you have the visual learners covered. If you give athletes time to move through the routine themselves, you're teaching to the kinesthetic. If you explain exactly what you're doing, you can play to the auditory learners too. If a move doesn't have an official name, make one up. The more weird and wonderful the better - it'll stick in the memory, and the movement which goes with it will too.
And as for the poor reading/writing learners... I feel your pain! Remember that no one learns in only one way and we can become better at learning through other methods with practice. Take as many classes as you can from as many different sources and soon you'll be picking up choreography like a pro!
Love and cheers,
Maddie
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