5 Tips To Create A Choreography

I love to improvise and to express spontaneously what the music makes me feel. But I also love to create my own choreography, through which I tell my story to the audience. Here goes my process for creating a choreography:

Catarina Branco Method: image of my Choreographic Creation structure.

1. Listen the music really carefully - do it in bed before going to sleep. Firstly, I listen the music one thousand times. In the beginning I am just listening and feeling it, but as soon as I know well the music, I start analyzing it to acknowledge the instruments and the rhythms that compose it, and for that, I generally like to lie in bed with ear phones and pay close attention to the music details.

2. Structure the music and decide the feeling for each part. After I know the music well enough, I structure it according to energies and decide on what message/story I wanna tell in each part. I ask myself: what does this part of the music makes me feel? This is key for a balanced and structured choreography and will fasten the process.

3. Choose the different dynamics for each part. Knowing the message I want to pass in each part of the music helps me decide on the movement dynamics I’m putting in the choreography, regarding space, level, intensity, perspective and speed. For example, in a part of a music which transmits me sorrow, I will probably assume a spot (instead of moving on the stage) far from me the audience so to be more introspective, probably choose a low level (my knees may be bent), or perhaps just be with my back to the audience. I would probably want to do slow movements as well, but wide with intensity. In another part of the music, where I feel more joyful, maybe then I will move on stage, expand myself opening my arms, be in a higher level with my hills out of the floor and just next to the audience where I can be more communicative. To know more details about this topic, read the post 7 Dynamics to Create Contrasts in Your Dance.

4. Improvise without mirror and record the rehearsals. Having decided the mood for each part of the music and the movement dynamics for them, I just dance freely and let the movements come out of my body naturally, always without mirror as it tends to block my creative process. I only want to be concerned on letting go, feeling the music and transmit the message I want to pass. I am recording every time so I can then watch and check out how is my technique, posture and arms, but not while I dance. In the beginning when I am improvising, I improvise the whole music, but then I will focus on the different parts of the music (according to the structure built before) and improvise several times on each. Some movements will stick right away and I will memorize them, but others I will check on video, find the ones I like, and just do a puzzle until I have finished the choreography. To know more about this fundamental theme in a performance, read my post My 5 Tips To Improve Stage Presence.

5. Show the choreography to fellow dancers so to have their feedback. I always show my brand new choreography to colleagues of mine and students and ask them what they think of it. Sometimes during the creation process I lose my ability to see the whole picture. Some friends help me make final adjustments that can make all the difference.

Do you share the same process as mine? Did you find this useful?