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Dance Choreography
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Researched by Shannon O.
2003-04 |
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Research Summary
Job Responsibilities: Lots of dancers use choreographers,
who make up new routines and create different versions of dances from the
past. Because little dance routines are written on paper, choreographers
instruct dancers at rehearsal to get the wanted effect. Choreographers
also decide by auditioning, which dancers get what parts. Choreographers
commonly are older dancers with many years of experience. Through
their performances as dancers, they develop reputations as skilled artists.
Then usually this will lead to opportunities to choreograph their own productions.
Work Schedule: Daily rehearsals take long hours, very
long hours. Many dance companies tour for some of the year.
Performances are mostly in the evening with rehearsals and practices taking
part during the day.
Where they work: Choreographers sometimes work in
modern buildings and comfortable spaces but other times they might work
in not so perfect conditions. Maybe the studio they can afford is
too small or not air conditioned where they are less comfortable.
Specific kinds or categories: Dance choreography
is the art of designing movement for dancers. All types of dance
on stage, from ballet to hip-hop, need choreographing. Some choreographers
teach only ballet, or another type of dance. Some do all categories.
There are even some choreographers who have designed dances for elephants
and other animals at the circus!
Tools used: Choreographers depend on music to create
their dances. They listen to the moods and rhythm of the music to
inspire them. Most studios if not all have full mirrors in them so
choreographers can see what they and their students look like as they learn
the routines. Benesh notation is a system used to write down ballet
steps. Not all ballet is written this way though. Some teachers
develop their own system. Some don’t write down the dances at all.
Some keep records with video so they can add new steps to old routines.
Some choreographers use props in making up their dance routines.
Sometimes using the props makes designing a dance easier. Other times
it can be harder. A prop could be as simple as a glove and a hat
or having to use a folding chair.
Good Aspects of the Job: Choreographers get to work
with all sorts of different people. They get to choose what music
they want to work with and what movements they would like to use.
Most choreographers are their own boss.
Not so Good Aspects of the Job: One problem is having
to think of new steps that have not been overly used before. Having
to deal with different types of people can be trying. Competition
is very difficult in this field and it is difficult to find work sometimes
especially if you are young and haven’t developed a reputation yet as being
a good dancer.
Schooling and Training: While many girls who study
dance begin training when they are young, men usually don’t start training
until the ages of 10 to 15. Choreographers usually have many years
of past dance training before they ever begin to teach. There are
some dance institutes and special academies that teach choreography.
Many colleges and universities offer bachelors and masters degrees in dance,
usually in music, theatre and fine arts. A college education is not
needed for choreographers, but the skills they learn in college classes
may help.
Personal Skills Needed: Choreographers need self
discipline, patience, perseverance, a devotion to dance, good problem solving
skills, ability to work with people, good health, physical stamina, flexibility,
agility, coordination, grace, sense of rhythm, feeling for music, creativity
and high motivation. They must function as part of a team and face
the anxiety of occasional unemployment and rejection after an audition.
Professional choreographers in 2000 earned on average $27,000 a year,
with some getting as little as $18,000 and others earning up to $42,000.
A few very famous choreographers earn much more.
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Who I Interviewed And What I Learned
I interviewed Mary Jill Rodgers on Friday, January 16th at Footlites
Dance Studio in Selah. She has been involved in dance choreography
for 30 years and owns and operates a dance studio. Her mom taught
dancing so it kind of was handed down to her. She learned from other
teachers and just loved doing it, so she kept learning and teaching.
After taking classes from her mom she would take classes during the summer
from other instructors and take as many seminars as she could from other
instructors.
She teaches ballet, tap and jazz. She enjoys the variety.
She enjoys listening to different types of music so it is not the same
style all the time. She has been inspiredby many people back east
who have studios. Her mother inspired her too. She used to
watch Mikhail Barishnokov. Martha Graham was also inspirational.
She loved watching old shows with Gene Kelly dancing and she loves to see
the new shows with Chris Judd and Paula Abdul.
To Mary Jill the most challenging thing about dance choreography is
pulling things together from what she’s learned. She thinks coming
up with new ideas so that all of the dances don’t look the same is one
of the most difficult things she has to do. She likes to do character
dances. That way things will stand out.
Hip hop is what is new in the world of dance. Mary Jill does not
teach this style of dance, but her daughter Mandi does. People are
going to “street style” dancing. That is the craze now. Everybody
wants to take hip-hop. It’s totally a different style. It used
to never be offered. Hip hop is new. Ballet has been around
for years as has tap, but jazz is relatively new on the scene. Street
style tap, like STOMP and street style dancing such as hip hop are now
the rage.
Mary Jill thinks the future of dance is just going to grow and grow.
She thinks we’ll see new TV shows with dancing. More shows are coming
out featuring dancing.
She says it is hard to be a dance choreographer. You can
listen to music and sometimes things just click, but other times it can
be really hard to be original and different. Keeping kids motivated
is hard too. You need to keep them excited about learning dance.
Dance choreographers usually work in a studio in front of a mirror.
Sometimes they might be hired by a studio to teach that routine to others.
They might go to different cities and work in other studios. The
average salary depends on what you do. For instance sometimes when
you’re affiliated with a studio it’s different from working on your own.
When you own a studio you earn money from teaching students. If you
work on your own you might be hired to teach a seminar at $100.
If you are teaching a 3 minute dance you earn about $300. In New
York it can be a lot different. It depends on the region.
The music, movement and the story of the dance are the inspiration for
her choreography. Sometimes one thing starts you off … but every routine
includes all of the above.
The advice she has for students is take many classes in as many different
styles as you can. Take classes from many different teachers, even
if you don’t like it at all…so you learn as much as you can. She
learned from a formal, male ballet teacher. He taught with just counts,
no music. She learned a lot… but she knew that wasn’t how she wanted
to teach. She thinks music has a big part in being able to teach
the art of dance to kids. When she’s choreographing on paper she needs
to know how many kids she has in the performance. She finds the music and
listens for high and low notes to add in steps like kicks and leaps. She
counts and makes slashes for jumps, etc. She just lies there and listens
to the music over and over, to figure out the routine and formations.
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Bibliography
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 2004-05 Edition, “Dancers and Choreographers”, on the Internet
at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos094.htm (visited March 09, 2004).
“Choreographers.” Minnesota Department of Education. Dec.1, 2003 http://www.iseek.org/sv/13000.jsp
Cosgrove, Holli R. “Choreography” Career Discovery Encyclopedia, 2000
Cosgrove, Holli R. “Choreography” Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational
Guidance, 2000
Flender, Nicole. Cool Careers without College for People Who Love Movement,
The Rosen Publishing Group, 2002. pp.35-40.
Goldberg, Jan. Careers for Extroverts and Other Gregarious Types, VGB
Career Horizons, 1999. p. 31
Matheson, Katy. "Choreographers.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2002
Rogers, Mary Jill. Personal interview. January 16, 2004
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