by Sarah Kleio
People often ask me what they can do to help them remember and retain choreography better. That is why I have put together this simple guide to share with you a few of my top tips. Hopefully a combination of some or all of these will work for you and you will be smashing routines and oozing with confidence in class in no time at all! Enjoy!
- Listen to the music outside of class – The more you know and understand the music the easier it will be to remember choreography. Listen to the lyrics, as we often choreograph to the lyrics but also listen to the rhythms and different instruments playing and familiarize yourself with the patterns and repetitions.
- When we say ‘Watch First’…Watch! – I know it is sooooo tempting to try and copy and join in from the get go but when we say watch it first, it is not so we can boost our own ego by having a whole class watching us, it is normally because it actually helps you learn by seeing first and then doing. Sometimes there will be a direction change or rhythm change that you might need to see first for your brain and body to process before then trying it out.
- Break it into chunks – It helps to break the choreography into chunks or sections. We almost always teach routines to you in sections so use these when you think about a routine. Think of each section as a sentence. Start with nailing sentence one, then sentence one and sentence two together and so on. As a beginner a great aim is 3 small sections, so if we do more and your brain goes all fuzzy don’t get annoyed/upset that you haven’t nailed it yet. In the words of Elsa… “Let it go”…concentrate on those first 3 bits for now and just know that soon you will be adding section four and five and…well who knows!!! My other tip for breaking it into sections is to think of a little story you are telling in each section. Anything to help trigger your memory for what is coming next.
- “Mark It” V “Full Out” – You will hear us say both of these A LOT in class. You may have no idea what either even mean…so here goes. “Mark it” means going through the movements either slower than the tempo of the music, to help commit each move to your muscle memory and getting all the details, or not at full energy but to the music to see where you are getting stuck and see how well you are remembering the moves and understanding them with the music. “Full Out” literally means go for it at full energy. This will help you see where you’re at and is the best way for it to really stick! BOTH are important and BOTH will help you learn choreography quicker. If you are in class and we give you the chance to mark it…mark it! But make sure you go full out a few times as well!
- Get a notebook – Divide it up into a few different sections. Use one section to make a note of the names of any new moves/grooves that you either covered in the warm up or that were in the routine (and if they don’t have an actual name make one up that will jog your memory). Then write one sentence by each one to help you remember (this could be describing the move or anything else memorable like starts on ‘and’ count). If words don’t work for you draw a picture or series of stick men. It’s your book so whatever helps really! The goal for this is that the moves will be easier to remember in a sequence if you can remember them on their own. The second section of the notebook is for writing the name of the song you were dancing to (we don’t bite…you can always ask us if you don’t know it!) along with any notes on the routine that will help you remember the moves and the order of them.
- Two Ways To Practice – Did you know there are 2 ways you can practice. There is the obvious one…actually practicing… pop the song on and dance around your kitchen/lounge/bedroom/the park etc..using your notebook to jog your memory. Then there is the less obvious and way less energetic one…practicing in your head…also known as visualising. No, I haven’t gone crazy…I know what you are thinking ‘how can thinking about it without even moving help?’ TRUST ME on this one! Research has actually proved your brain knows absolutely no difference between physically doing and visualising. So on your commute to work or even better, for 5 mins at the end of the day when you are laying in bed give it a try. Go through the moves in your head from start to finish a few times and try to feel like you are actually in the studio (or on stage with Beyonce if that works for you). Try playing the music when visualising if you can too. No excuses with this one as you don’t even have to stand up!
- Be consistent – Ok, I know you know this one is the key to success in anything already, what I mean is if you are looking to improve how well you remember choreography try and stick with a class for the whole time they are working on one routine. This will give you the best chance to feel good and build your confidence. It’s not like we are saying do that class FOREVER, normally we switch to a new routine roughly every three weeks! I hate to say it but if you can’t commit to making at least one class per week please don’t expect to be booking the job as lead dancer in a music video at the end of month one! The more you come to class the easier it will be. You gotta be in it to win it!
- Celebrate your success – I know this is a tough one as we love to beat ourselves up but if you get even some of the routine down in class give yourself a massive pat on the back and let your brain register that you did good! Remember it takes time and just like learning your times tables or a new language you don’t always get it all straight away. Just know that it gets easier the more you come to class!
It is important to remember everyone learns in different ways and at a different pace so try not to compare yourself to anyone else, especially when you’re in class. Also, trust me, you’re not the only one that struggles with this stuff! When I mentioned I was going to write some tips on this topic the amount of people that said ‘Oh yes please’, ‘I need help with that’ was incredible! See what resonates with you, maybe a couple of these tips will help, maybe all of them will. Hey…even if one of them helps you’re still winning!
Inspired to get to a class after all that? Then I would love to offer you a complimentary dance taster class at Studio K in Richmond.
To claim your complimentary dance taster class give us a call on 020 3417 4070. What have you got to lose…(psss…the answer is nothing).
I’ll see you there…
Sarah
Step Up Your Studio with Sarah Kleio 