I am in the process of my choreography for my competition pieces. I am interested in seeing what makes a competition dance stand out to you. Everyone propably has a different opinion, but I am really curious!!! Is it a certain kind of choreography, costume, precision, etc. Explain a little!

The first thing that makes me sit up and take notice is music!
If I hear something different, something I haven't heard a thousand times I will watch right away.

Once I start watching I enjoy seeing routines that are choreographed appropriately for the dancers level, I love it when the dancers can turn and leap together and look as if they are one dancer and it is effortless!
I enjoy seeing different leaps and turns instead of the same ol' thing.
A dancers emotion will pull me into the dance as well...I enjoy it when they look like they really want to be out there dancing their hearts out(not like mom bribed them to get up on the stage).

I think it's a balanced harmony between staging, choreography, music, and costuming. Don't max the time limit - leave me wanting more. Give me enough elements and transitions to keep me entertained. The choreography and costuming should be complimentary to all dancers. When everything falls into place, everyone should feel satisfied.

tcsso wrote:

I think it's a balanced harmony between staging, choreography, music, and costuming. Don't max the time limit - leave me wanting more. Give me enough elements and transitions to keep me entertained. The choreography and costuming should be complimentary to all dancers. When everything falls into place, everyone should feel satisfied.

So well said, I don't think I could say it any better.

Do the unexpected.

I remember the Olympics in Sydney. Synchroon swimming. Two girls doing an absolute unique choreography based on modern dance! Never seen something like that in a swimming pool before.
They won.

Figure skating always had ballet elements, but when Oksana Bayou did the dying swan, she won.

I'm sure the moment gymnastics put hiphop in their floor exercises, it will change that world.

Paul Potts stand out because he did what nobody expected from him. Same for Susan Boyle (I'm still wondering if that flesh-tone dress wasn't picked on purpose to make her voice stand out more. If she had dressed better at the beginning, her voice wouldn't have been such a surprise).

Same goes for dance: look for a different approach.
Anything is possible: add a trampoline or a bike on stage, rollerskates, unexpected team members, unusual costumes, adding tennis movements, not the ordinary dance music, ..... How about opera music for a hiphop routine?
Dare to take risks, judges and audience usually respect that.

But whatever you choose, work it out very well.

I agree with ALL of the above.. but let me tell you exactly what makes me cringe and want to walk out. Poor choreography - in my opinion, this means that just about every 8 count includes a 'trick' of some sort. It seems like the competition world is obsessed with shoving as many tricks into one dance as humanly possible. Now, I think it is wonderful when a dancer is able to do these tricks.. but it seems like sometimes it is trick, walk cute, trick, give a face, trick trick trick. Definitely be creative and show off the dancers' talent but don't shove everything you can into that time limit and leave no room for good ol' fashioned dancing.

I agree with many of the above thoughts. Music is first - I like songs that I haven't heard alot, but I also like songs that change within them...I don't want to hear the same beat and same words for 3 minutes.

Also, I can't stand to watch trick after trick. If I have to watch more fouette or pump turns with alternating spots....argh! I want to see real creativity! I want to see artistic choreography! Dance is not all about the tricks...just because someone has mastered the tricks...does not mean they can DANCE!

And also, age appropriateness. Like a million other posts on here...don't have 10 year olds dancing sexy in barely nothing of a costume. Kids grow up fast enough nowadays without being objectified so young. There are ways to show early talent without going to teenage choreography.

And last, neatness. Don't show me hair all over the place. Don't have things falling off your costumer. No excuse for that.

ooo.. I forgot... I hate "crotchments" (a stolen term from Nick Lazarrini and a play off battement). If I don't ever seen one again, especially with skin color booty shorts with no tights I would die happy.

Yes, music that has build up. Something that moves the majority of the audience.

Something that I have not seen in competitions before. I am so tired, as a teacher and judge, of the same old combinations. It bores me to tears. I never stay and watch in between my students' dances anymore because I see nothing new anymore.

Clean technique. If they cannot do it close to perfect, that step should be in the dance. As a judge, I will score it low. As a spectator, I will think, "Yuck!"

Better to have a dance that is simple in steps but interesting in story line, passion of the dancers, good formations, well-rehearsed, and costumes that do not distract from the dance.

I am SO over two-piece with booty shorts. EVERYONE does it and again, it is boring!!!

Dare to be different.

Of all the dances that scored high and won choreography awards at competitions, for me, they did not have switch leaps, fouettes, crotch-shot, turned-in battements in second, a million turns, but had true content, even in the smallest moves.

I hate to watch competition dances on line, too, because I do not want to be influenced by them in my own choreography. I would rather go to professional shows and concerts and watch older styles of dance in movies, too, to have the influence of the great choreographers.

It has to be entertaining - the dancers MUST be enjoying what they're performing so they audience & the judges can enjoy what they're watching. Enough of the "Angry" dances, the "Sad, lost my Lover" dances. Let's get some real jazz & some fun, happy dancers back on the stage!

I am so with you with the sad, banging on the floor, non-stop movement dances. I see a lot of that on SYTYCD and am bored of it. Imagine judging for two, long days at a competition. Being at a comp and judging one, are so different.

The other thing that is annoying, when judging, and I may have mentioned this before, but forgive me, is that I can tell you, after three dances from one school, what are their routines. The dances all look the same, with some variations. They use the same steps and combinations. They do that because they teach limited movement to the kids and that does NOT impress me at all. It WILL affect how you are scored, down the line.

I agree with many of your comments and I find it interesting that the post started out as pointing out the positives and has turned to the negatives- I was thinking the same myself!

I too am a judge and I am less impressed by a dance that has 15 beautiful RIGHT quad pirouettes than I am by one that has one or two doubles. Why? Because the former dancer is telling me that they only thing can she do is a right quad. This may not be true but if it isn't, why aren't you showcasing other areas of her talent?

I believe someone already mentioned something about emotion and pulling the audience in which are absolutely musts! As a choreographer, I always think of the personality of my students (particularly with solos) and find a song/dance that fits them. They enjoy the dance more which therefore translates and makes it more believable!

I agree with the levels but I think we are so far gone that parents won't understand why their previous platinum child is now receiving silver. I think (and this will probably NEVER happen) that in order to get back to how it used to be, all of the competitions should operate on the bronze, silver, gold method. Unfortunately, as many have said, that is how competitions gain their studios back. Studio A wins silver at one competition and platinum at the next, which do you think they'll return to?

If the dancer has great technique, show case it for sure BUT the dances that stand out to me are the ones with great transitions. I can't handle dances where the in between steps are so neglected. The other HUGE thing for me is musicality. If it is a soft song, dance soft.... what a concept! I can't tell you how many thrashy, all over the place dances I've seen to really simple or slower songs. Also, use of space. Nothing is more captivating than a dancer who can command the stage by just standing there or doing a simple step. Lastly, tying in with musicality, choreographing to something OTHER than the lyrics. OK if the song is acapella, yes you will choreograph to the lyrics and little movements in the space BUT most of the songs we use are not acapella. A dance that stands out to me is one that I watch, and based on the movement, can hear little accents or pieces of the music I've never heard before. Anyone who can do that and make you see the music is BRILLIANT in my books!

As a teacher, with dances that won high awards, including choreogrqaphy, these are comments that I received...

Very entertaining
Looks like a mini Broadway Show
Lots of personality
Age and level appropriate steps
Thanks for the song that fits their age
Beautiful and unique costume
Perfect precision (Large production number)
Wonderful musicality
I really believed the characters
You portrayed the story as it should be told
This number was so much fun
Most creative concept
Combined levels that everyone looked great

That was just a few, that stood out in my mind, and I have never forgotten.

The first time I ever won a choreography award, I had seen so many dances that I though deserved it more. It was a ballet piece with 60 dancers, ranging from beginners to advanced.

I thanked the judges after and asked why mine. I was told that every dancer had good technique for their level because it was obvious that I had mixed levels. They said that it was well-rehearsed, entertaining, moving and once again, not choreographed above the technical level of the dancers.

That is the problem with many choreographers who think that hard steps win. NO!! Hard steps win if done perfectly, with the technique. You may have won a gold but look at most of the high scoring dances (at a competition that truly scores properly).