Pre-Session Prep

19 things choreographers need gym owners to know, do and say before they set foot inside your gym.

By Jennifer Renée Smith

CBN Jun/Jul 2010

Hiring a choreographer is an aspect of your job that requires a great deal of research, deliberation, instincts and money. Read on for insider tips on how to maximize the return on this annual creative investment.

1. Forgo the idea that there’s such thing as TMI (too much information). “The more details, the better,” says Craig Monte, one of five directors for V!ROC choreography. “It’s always extremely helpful when coaches send me an information sheet with skills mastered, videos of past performances (or at least footage links) and specific guidelines for the various events their teams are scheduled to attend.”
Amy Acosta Logan, a freelance choreographer based in Texas, feels that she can do a more thorough job when coaches provide a team roster detailing every member’s standing and running tumbling skills, jump and motion abilities and stunt group positions—as well as athletes’ limitations. “It also helps to have additional notes on who is the stronger top or Basket Tosser, who shines in dance and even who always drops at Nationals,” she says. “The little nuggets that only an everyday coach knows are always useful.”

2. Articulate expectations. “Communication is key,” says Jibreel Rayam, who heads up Pure Energy, a West Coast–based choreography company. “And dream clients communicate all their needs up front.”
Conversations leading up to a session should cover everything from the type of music you want to include—most choreographers suggest providing a list of five to 10 songs or artists to lean toward and stay away from—to the improvements you’re hoping to see in your team’s presentation and style based on feedback received during the previous season. If you’re honest about what you want from the get-go, the person you hire will be honest about what he or she can do for you, eliminating potential misunderstandings.

3. Be honest about your team’s abilities. It’s senseless to inflate your team’s skill level over the phone to the point where the choreographer comes in with a routine based on skills your team doesn’t currently possess. “Coaches who encourage their teams to work on skills outside their levels have a tendency to be disappointed when they’re told that they’re not going to be able to perform those skills due to legality,” says Monte. “Just because you see other teams do things doesn’t mean those same things will work for your team.
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Acosta Logan often comes across coaches who don’t realize that their team doesn’t meet the ability requirements for the level at which they’d like their team to compete. “Coaches ask for a Level 3 or 4 routine, and there’s no way their team will ever hit it,” she says. “It ends up being dangerous for the kids, and the coaches end up angry because their kids are struggling to learn the material.”

4. Maintain the line of communication. “Coaches who don’t give me updates before I arrive make my job harder,” says Acosta Logan.  “When I’ve done all the formation changes to make them smooth, and they lose or add two or three girls or change stunt groups and don’t tell me until I arrive, then we waste teaching time on reworking formations when I could’ve fixed them at home.”

Bend over backward to make your choreography experience a great one for all involved.

5. Make timely payments. As a business owner, you should be able to relate to this one. Take the pressure off choreographers by presenting them with payment before they’re forced to ask for it. “Having been on the flip side and run a cheer program before, I understand that collecting funds from parents is as difficult a task as setting up practice dates,” says Acosta Logan. “I set up two due dates for my clients so they can space out payments.”

6. Lend a hand with the travel itinerary. Choreographers (especially those in demand) are constantly traveling. The more details you can help arrange when it comes to their lodging, transportation and dining options, the easier you’ll make their job, which, in turn, allows them more time to focus on your team’s routine.
“It’s important to have the choreographer as comfortable as possible—arrange for them to fly in early enough before the session begins and placing them in a hotel that they’re comfortable with,” says Fountain.

7. Avoid unnecessary distractions. Your team may or may not have designated matching outfits for practices, but make an effort to at least ask your members to wear something similar on choreography days. “One of my biggest pet peeves is when I go into a gym and the kids are wearing anything they want to practice,” says choreographer Eric Little. “It’s difficult to visualize elements in the routine when everyone is wearing different outfits. Say you have a girl in one corner wearing black, and one in another spot wearing bright green. Your eye goes to bright colors. If everyone is in the same color, it’s a lot easier to read the routine.”

8. Give your team a pep talk. Aside from the obvious “Show this person the same level of respect as you do me” speech, make sure your athletes are prepared for the fast pace at which the choreographer needs to teach the material. If your students have never attended a camp or had the experience of learning material in a short time, they may get frustrated. Remind them that they’re simply learning, not auditioning. The dance doesn’t need to be perfect at this stage of the game.

9. Cheat the name game. Since the choreographer only has a limited amount of time with your team, help out by making nametags and having the kids stick them on their shirts. This will prevent the embarrassment of the choreographer calling someone by the wrong name or worse—“Hey, girl with the braces and pink bow.”

10. Know your score sheets. It’s not the choreographer’s job to research the score sheets for the various events you plan to attend. Do your homework before a choreographer arrives so you can have specific questions ready.
“Try to work the level requirements during the summer,” says Tiy Fountain, a freelance choreographer and coach at World Cup All-Stars in New Jersey. “So when the choreographer arrives; he/she can incorporate the transitional skills to enhance the new routine. When working with advanced teams, some like for me to add in the kitchen sink so they can water down, and some like for me to give them the basic skills and videotape the weaker stunt group with the advance skill so they can add it in later.”

11. Brush up on the basics. “Choreography is traditionally based on accenting the skills a team already has or judging whether a team could possibly advance their skills,” Monte says. “If a team hasn’t worked on the basics, it’s hard to move on. You almost have to teach from square one.”
Acosta Logan has experienced this with newer clients. “Sometimes I find myself teaching them the basic stunts and jumps they should know for their levels, not the creative ones that should come with my choreography,” she says. “But I never mind helping new teams along. I’d rather show the kids how to do things safely, and maybe water down their routine, than see someone get hurt.”

12. Start conditioning and stretching early. “Prior conditioning is very helpful,” says Monte. “We do most of our choreography in the summer, when the kids are out of school, and if they’re not conditioned to handle 12 hours of practices in two days, then we see them get tired faster and give up on skills.”
Acosta Logan places a heavy emphasis on stretching your top girls. “These kids are doing skills their bodies weren’t exactly made for, but they can be trained properly over time,” she says. “Protect athletes from injuries by building their muscles so they can lift and hold these stunts and tumble using good form.”

13. Don’t pull a disappearing act. Many choreographers invite coaches to speak up when they see something amiss that should be addressed sooner than later. Choreographers also recommend having one or two coaches physically learning the choreography as well. “Having your coaches present is crucial,” Little says. “It’s important to have someone else learning the routine so later coaches aren’t constantly calling with questions because they’re unsure of a move. It doesn’t matter if they’re coaches for that specific team, just as long as someone knows the material and there’s a physical reference to it.”
Monte relates. “It’s always very hard to have a coach leave to work on other things while the choreography is being done. Because I’m not sure of cheerleaders’ names or their abilities, it just makes it hard to work in that environment.”
If it’s not possible for a coach to be there the entire time, set up a video camera so you can at least have an accurate account of the 8-counts learned.

14. Avoid turning into a backseat coach. On the flip side, there’s a fine line between actively monitoring the session and taking full control of it. “When I’m working to teach a full routine in a short amount of time, I need to stay focused on getting the routine taught,” says Acosta Logan.  “I have no problem with a coach changing or adding to it once I’m done, as I expect the routine to evolve as the season goes on—it belongs to them after all. But for the two or three days I’m there, my focus is getting the material to them so that our time is spent wisely. I think it’s better if coaches see the finished routine before they make changes.”

15. Encourage all members to schedule family trips and other personal interests around session dates. “No one likes to use a stuffed animal or trophy in place of a missing child,” says Fountain. Plus, you, the coach, will have to make time in your busy schedule to teach the absent athlete upon his or her return.

16. Place your team’s interests in front of gym politics. “A lot of people are wishy-washy about which girls go where in a dance,” says Little. “Try to avoid your own politics from getting in the way of making your team look good. The girl who can best sell your routine should be in the front, not the gym owner’s daughter just because she’s the gym owner’s daughter.”
If you do have a valid reason for why certain girls need to be placed in specific spots, save your choreographer the headache and supply him or her with the basic formation.

17. Save your money when it comes to younger teams. Hiring a choreographer for your Level 2 Peewee team may make them feel special, yes, but is it worth it? Little advises coaches to take advantage of the creativity among their own staff. “If you have people in your gym who are qualified coaches, then they should be qualified enough to create routines for lower-level Minis and Youth teams,” Little says. “It’s not as much about innovative choreography at this stage. It’s about making sure they cover the score sheet and execute skills.”

18. Have essentials on hand. Always have water, healthy snacks, a pad and pen and possibly a video camera on hand. Do you really want your choreographer going on a scavenger hunt on your dime?
Adds Fountain: “It’s easier to work in a low-key environment, so we’re able to focus on producing winning routines for you.”

19. Allow short bouts of downtime. Teaching material for six or more hours in a single day is draining. Keep in mind that your choreographers will be at their best if they’re well rested and have mini breaks to decompress. “If your choreographers want to take a break, let them take a break,” says Little. “You’re bringing them in for their creativity, and you’ll get the best out of them if you treat them right.”