Tricks and suggestions on how to approach the dance creation task, and not to be frustrated with creative blocks or dissatisfaction of the work-in-progress.

Choreographing the dance is a whole set of skills that is usually not taught in a regular belly dance class. Often you simply learn a bunch of choreographies from your teacher, and suddenly you are expected to figure out how to create your own dance routine.

There are many ways that you can start creating your own choreographies. Sometimes it begins with an idea and general vision, sometimes with a melody, sometimes with a teacher's assignment... For the sake of this article, let’s assume that you have already chosen the music and now you are questioning yourself: Ok, how can I start creating the actual dance...? Here are some tips/steps that can help you with it, although they don’t need to be necessarily in this order, and can be alternated as you wish.

First.
Listen to the song as many times as possible.

You need to know the music really well. By knowing the song well, I mean not only knowing the main melody, and how each section changes, but also listening to all those layers within the music. For instance, at the beginning you may notice the changes in the main rhythmic structure, next time you pay attention to the ornamentation (all those little Dums and Taks that may not be obvious right away), then pay attention to what the violin says, then separately to qanun or oud, etc. It doesn’t mean that you have to choreograph your dance to each single aspect of the song, but knowing your music's ins and outs provide you with a range of possibilities, and cues on how to make your dance more interesting. Maybe instead of doing four simple hip drops, you’ll notice that a drummer added a quick tremolo on the third count, so here it is – you vary your combination with an unexpected shimmy accent. At some other point, you may want to emphasize a violin section, at other times you can bring attention to an accordion part. All this not only helps to come up with a more engaging choreography, instead of repeating the same three-four moves, helping you to capture the audience’s attention.

Second.
Find out the translation of the lyrics.

Even if your recording doesn’t have any lyrics, make sure that what you have isn’t just an instrumental arrangement of some famous song. If the music originally has lyrics, you should stick to their meaning even if the recording you are using doesn’t include a voice.
Why is it important to know and understand the lyrics of a song?

Firstly, it will give you an idea of the general feel: happy, sad, lyrical, etc. In Arabic music, it’s tricky to rely just on the “feel” : sometimes a melody can be very happy and upbeat, but with some dramatic and heartbreaking verses.
Secondly, it can save you from many embarrassing situations. For instance, prayer-sons or songs with a religion theme are probably not the best choice for a belly dance performance. Another example is modern shaabi songs in which singers often mention drugs or curse words. It may be fun to dance in a nightclub, but you probably will want to avoid using such songs in family oriented restaurants, or at a wedding setting.
Thirdly, understanding the lyrics gives you lots of choreographic ideas and cues, the same way as melody or drum ornamentation. Your dance should reflect not only the instrumental music or percussion, but the voice and specifically words too. Of course, don’t go into extreme of mimicking every single word. Your task is not to repeat exactly what’s already has been said in the lyrics, but to color it with your own emotions and artistic expression. For instance, if a singer sings about falling in love with those beautiful eyes, you can either put your hand to the heart, or to your eyes: just one little detail to reflect the lyrics in your dance. And it can be already an independent movement, or a layer on top of your shimmy or maya, or whatever else according to your artistic vision.

P.S. If you want to learn this choreography, check out the detailed breakdown with step-by-step instructions inside the Iana Dance Club library. Click HERE for more details.

Third.
Start with improvising and listening to your body.

Setting up a camera and capturing your dance impulses and how your body naturally wants to move to a specific song can help you dramatically, especially if you haven’t developed your choreographic memory yet. And even if you are already an experienced choreographer, sometimes it’s almost impossible to recreate that beautiful combination that you somehow magically did just a second ago… Documenting your process always helps. Always remember that at this point you are capturing just a working process, so there shouldn’t be any pressure on creating a perfect piece/movement/combination right away. Otherwise it may block your spontaneous creativity. Let yourself be free and experiment first. Later you’ll shape it in a more structured way.

Fourth.
Understand that your first draft won’t be perfect.

Of course, miracles happen, and sometimes you may get it right away. But most often it will take you X number of revisions until your choreography gets to a decent level. Just remember that in order to do even your first revision, you need to have a draft first. So take the pressure off your shoulders, and start doing something, even if it’s just a simple marking, even if you need to skip a part of a song for now because nothing comes to your mind. It doesn’t matter. You’ll come back to those gaps later. A first draft is a first draft: nothing more, but also, nothing less than that. You need to have some base to work with, and in the case of first draft, “done” is better than “perfect”.

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Fifth.
Break down the structure of the song before you start.

Dance is like storytelling. It has particular parts: beginning, development, and culmination. And each of these parts can have smaller sub-parts. Listen to the entire song and decide how you will build up your dance story, and what is your focus on each segment. I’m not talking about the plot or anything like that, I’m talking about building up excitement and energy.

You don’t need to start with everything at once. If you pack all variety of moves and things you know into the first minute, then what are you gonna do for the rest of the song? Also, imagine you’ve just been introduced to a new person at a party, and they decided to tell their entire bio even before you finished shaking their hand. It would probably scare you… The same is with your audience. Don’t overload them right away: take it easy.

Introduce new ideas one at a time. Some parts will call for travelling steps, another part may be your floor work, the next segment focused on shimmies, etc. Decide according to your music and your interpretation of it, and think how you can finish your choreography on a high note. That’s why breaking down the song in advance can make your choreographic process so much easier. Instead of panicking with a feeling of “I need to do SOMETHING”, you’ll have a much narrower focus for each section of the dance.

Sixth.
Two magic moves.

There are moves that I use as my help tools in case I get stuck on a certain section of the song. They are shimmies and turns. I can’t explain it logically, but somehow at least one of them magically fits on almost any music, lol. I use this trick whenever I can’t come up with something at all, but want to keep going with the rest of the song. These are my helpers. Usually by the time I finish my choreography and ready to present it, such “shimmy” gaps are substituted for something that reflects music more properly, but sometimes they get adjusted accordingly and stay there even in the final version. In any case, next time you get stuck on some music section, see if shimmy or turns can solve your problem.

Seventh.
Study the work of other dancers.

Watch videos of dancers who you admire, and notice which combinations/movements caught your attention. I’m not talking about coping someone else’s dance. That’s absolutely unprofessional and against any basic creative ethic norms. However, maybe, you found interesting how that dancer put her arm during a turn, or that she unexpectedly combined two movements that you had never thought about putting together…

These kind of jewels could and should be incorporated into your dance. This is not only a tool to widen your movement vocabulary and train your body with new challenging skills, but also a way to vary your dance, and give you more creative ideas instead of repeating again and again the same familiar movement patterns. I also LOVE learning choreographies at different workshops. It is not necessarily that I will perform those routines, but it always provides valuable insights, and multiple combinations that I can deposit into my “movement bank account”.

Eighth.
Work until you can. Then push a bit more. But then stop.

Not all of us are geniuses who can choreograph all day long. And even if once you happened to be so inspired to work the whole day, and completed the choreo in one set, it doesn’t mean that the next time will be the same. Choreographing is both a physical and mental process. It’s too easy to get frustrated when our inspiration flow gets stuck, and we start feeling incapable of anything, or not talented enough. Sometimes we simply need to take a break and come back later to it with some fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm.

Ninth.
Make sure you are playing around with different directions, levels and speed.

Often it’s good to literally ask yourself: “Am I constantly facing just the front?”, “How can I equally address both sides of my performance area, as well as the centre part?” Also, don’t forget about one more direction: facing back! The same hip or hair movement that you usually do facing front will look completely different if you show it from the back! Plus, many costumes have very nice fancy designs from all 360 degrees, so why hide half of their beauty, lol.

Playing with levels and speed is even more straightforward. Maybe instead of doing four regular mayas, you can do them going down and up. Or instead of being safe and taking all two counts for a turn, you can complete the movement much faster, and then use the rest of the phrase to slow down and stretch in a nice pose! Give a chance to the photographer to capture a nice image, while also making your dance more unexpected and engaging.

Tenth.
Don’t think only about movements. Think about the audience’s attention.

At the end of the day, it’s not about your technical abilities, but about the audience’s experience. In this regard, people’s attention is the central point. For instance, if during a specific section of the dance, you are focusing on detailed belly or hip technique, maybe it’s not the best moment to throw a small movement of the hands high above your head. People most probably won’t even notice it, because their attention is down on your belly & hip area. You need to find the way to make a smooth transition between their focus on hips, to your hands all the way up. Maybe a reverse undulation can help in this scenario, or any other movement. But direct people’s attention consciously. Don’t just hope that they pay the same attention to all parts of your body all the time!

Another powerful tool to control and guide the focus of the audience is your own gaze. People will automatically follow where you turn your head, to see what you are looking at. So don’t underestimate your eyes and face. They are a part of your dance as much as your arms and legs, or in our case, hips.

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Eleventh.
Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.

Share your work-in-progress and explore the advantages of having a third-person perspective. It can be your teacher, dance colleague, or a friend. You may even consider getting a private class in person or via Skype with some dancer you admire, in order to hear their feedback and suggestions about your choreo. Be open and ready for what they may tell you. I would even say, be willing to hear the critique. In this situation, you are not looking for someone to praise your choreographic skills, but to indicate what can be improved. Give them full permission to be honest and straightforward because at the end it will benefit YOU. The preparation process is a safe time to be vulnerable and face your own weak points. It means that later you’ll be more prepared to the main presentation of your dance. Also, always remember that the final decision is in any case up to you. You don’t need to blindly follow whatever your mentor suggests. At the same time, the opportunity to hear the other person’s opinion can give you huge advantages because they are treating your dance creation from the audience’s point of view, and may see things that you as a creator don't notice.

Twelfth.
Practice the way you are planning to perform.

If you are planning to perform your choreography with loose hair (which we do in 90% of belly dance shows), choreograph it with your hair down right away. Later, during your practice sessions, you can put it up in a comfy pony tale, but here are are some reasons why you should start with your hair loose.

First, you won't limit your movement vocabulary. If your hair is fixed, and you don't feel its natural flow, most likely you'll cut off all potential hair moves, though it may be good if that's your conscious intention. I do so sometimes on purpose - or at least try - knowing my love to certain hair accents, lol, but otherwise I don't see reasons why limit yourself?... Hair is a part of your body, the same way your arms or legs are. Use it wisely and to your benefit!

Second… have you ever seen a dancer fighting her own hair during a performance? Or simply letting it be messed up all over her face for almost the entire duration of the show? This is a common issue for less experienced dancers who don’t understand the value of rehearsing with a loose hair, as well as not building in some “recovery” moments that can help you to manage your hair battle gracefully and without distracting the integrity of your dance. For instance, if during your choreographing process you notice that a specific movement or a combination always causes your hair to finish all over the place, maybe you can think about following up with a movement that would help you take it away from your face. This way, it's already build in your actual choreography, and you don't need to worry about it afterwards. In fact, this can be applied not only to hair, but any unusual or tricky elements of your dance, like short or open skirt, super silky veil, long sleeve on one side, etc.

Thirteenth.
Think about your costume in advance.

Of course, we often don’t limit our artistic souls to performing a specific dance in just one costume again and again, but you should remember that dancing in a narrow skirt is completely different from a wide one, with entirely separate set of possibilities and limitations. Sometimes, depending on the complexity of my idea, I will work even on my very first draft already wearing a costume, or at least a skirt. I prefer to check if my dress will let me do what I actual intend to. Costumes also can be a great inspiration for your choreographies, because you can see how to incorporate it into the dance to your best benefit.

Fourteenth.
Most impressive parts of your dance.

Although every moment of your dance is important, there are some parts that will influence your audience’s experience the most: the beginning and the end of your dance.

Beginning is your introduction, opportunity to create a positive first impression, and either capture or lose people’s attention. It’s the moment when the audience is intrigued by the novelty of a new dancer on stage, but also where they unconsciously decide if they are gonna pay attention to the rest of your dance, or if it's just not very interesting.

The ending, or final part of the dance, is their last impression, the part that they most likely will carry home with them. I’m not talking necessarily about the visual aspect of it, but rather an emotional one. Even if you had some kick-ass moments in the beginning of your dance, but the rest of your presentation was monotonous and low in energy, it doesn’t matter what you did before. People won’t have that wow feeling after you leave the stage. The beginning of a dance sets the tone and expectations, but you need to develop your dance progressively, building up the excitement, and leave your audience craving more even after show is finished.

Fifteenth.
Repeat the choreography as many times as possible.

Once you are comfortable with a general sequence, and don’t need to focus too much on what’s next, then you can dive into the details. You’ll notice that with each run you’ll discover something new, and will want to add small things into your basic structure. Maybe you’ll spontaneously do a turn of your head, or place your arm in a specific way, or hear an extra drum accent that you didn’t notice before... Practice time is when you embellish your dance with those juicy details that highlight your unique artistic voice, and transforms any movement sequence into a live dance creature with its own character. ☺

Hope you’ve enjoyed these suggestions for your choreography process! Let me know which tip was your favorite, or which one you’ve found the most useful.

Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto

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