Does anyone have ideas for a lyrical routine?

Question

I'm 14 and I have been dancing since I was five and competing since I was 8. I just made liuetenant on the high school drill team and now I'm going to choreograph my own lyrical solo for competitions. I'm a really skilled dancer, and when I say that I mean I am trained very well and I guess you could say I'm advanced. It's just that sometimes when I'm coming up with choregraphy, I feel like it doesn't flow very well and that I'm doing too many "tricks" like seconds etc. To all the fellow dancers out there, help:) let me know if you know any suddle movements that would have impact on judges but are good moments for breathing.

Answer 1

i have to disagree with keeping it slow. sometimes being fast then all of a sudden slowing down to almost a stop can lok really cool. try it. look at this solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxmTk3zWh...

see how she goes from walking to an intense move then back to slow.

as far as movements go, extensions and tilts are great and if executed correctly, will  have a good impact on judges.

also make sure you keep your face soft. i dont know you and have never seen you dance so i dont know if you do or not.

if you're still stuck, go to a park or zoo and watch people and/or animals. see how they move. it may help.

Answer 2

the best thing to do for a lyrical dance is to make it flow. don't do a lot of stiff movements!!!

I would also recommend doing some floorwork in the dance.

Don't forget that lyrical is all aboute motion, and that is 1 reason why soo many people love to watch it!!

~hope this helps!!

Answer 3

Maybe some compass turns or splits

Answer 4

do whatever flows and seems like comes next. don't purposefully put something that doesn't necessarily look like it would come next but is a trick.

the best thing i've learned in my contemporary training (which came after my ballet training) is the concept of movement that flows. Its not about jumps right after two chasses or a triple pirouette just because you did a tombe pas de bouree. its about doing movement that feels right but not necessarily placed and that is more gooey and hearty.

for example. if you just made your arms do overhead circle swooping motions, maybe take that arm in a diagonal in front of your chest and make your leg do a similar parallel movement. Take it to the ground. do some backwards rolls. Make it look seamless instead of forced.

my favorite exercise to do to come up with ideas is to put on some wonderful classical music or slow music (elisa, landon pigg, mandy moore, jon mclaughlin, etc) and just close my eyes and dance. if i notice myself doing a ballet/jazz/hip hop move, i stop and make myself doing something else. don't do any set movement that you would see in choreography (pirouettes, tombe pas de bourees, etc).

or maybe just take a movement improvisation class if there is one around your town. if you're near a college, the college dance dept probably has one.