Choreography Workshop IIA: Custom Choreography Creation

Course Overview

This semester long workshop is perfect for artists ready to create powerful group choreography with 3 or more people. The first offering of this class yielded this choreography and the second offering yielded this choreography. Winter 2006 classes yeilded this choreography and this choreography.

The focus of this workshop is to create customized choreography designed to:

• fit the specific artist's needs
• work well with the selected song
• highlight the strengths of each performer
• create a performance piece that will be compelling to watch again and again
• provide a fully choreographed performance of approximately 3 minutes where every beat for every performer is planned

By meeting at a specific time each week, the group will have an opportunity to practice on their own and then share their progress in a weekly group practice. This reduces the challenges associated with finding additional group practice times since each artist is present at a specific time each week.

Class structure

After the initial goals are established in class one, each session will include new choreography and practice. The group will often be split up, based on the material being added, so that some artists will be practicing while others are receiving new material.

Approximately 1 minute of choreography will be completed per month, totaling about 3 minutes total, with recommendations for reuse of existing parts of the choreography. Below is an outline of the material covered in each class.

Class 1 (80 minutes each)

• select song
• determine dynamics between artists
• assess artists skills and strengths

Classes 2-12 (80 minutes each)

• on a very limited basis, teach new skills as required by the choreography
• develop and teach choreography to the group
• refine focus and choreography as needed to support the overall flow of the piece

Classes 13 (2 hours)

• run through troubled areas
• develop "workaround" (alternate) choreography as necessary
• drill weaker areas of choreography

Class 14 (2 hours)

• full run throughs
• feedback for each artist
• practice

Prerequisites

Students should bring a musical selection to share and use to choose from the first evening of the class. Also, each artist should complete a survey form assessing the moves they know and do not know prior to the start of class. Details about this survey are provided after registration.

Students should know have taken at least 3 of the following classes or have equivalent knowledge:

• Int IIA: Introduction to Polyrhythmic Poi
• Int IIB: Behind the Multibeat
• Int IIC: WallPlanes & Lockouts
• Int IID: Transition Flair
• Int IIE: Split Direction
• Int IIF: Behind the Waist Wrap

We also advise students take at least 1 of the following classes or have equivalent knowledge, though this is not required:

• Int IIIA: Polyrhythmic Combos
• Int IIIB: Multibeat Combos
• Int IIIC: Wallplane & Lockout Combos
• Int IIID: Dance Flair Combos
• Int IIIE: Split Direction Combos
• Int IIIF: Behind the Back Combos

Finally, a strong understanding of our developmental model is useful for this workshop.