How to Create A Winning Routine

Stacy Goldstein

Competition season can be the most stressful time for a dance team. But it can also be a rewarding, challenging and enriching life experience. Dance team is not higher math, yet when it comes to competing, it is easy for coaches and dancers to think of nothing else but taking home that trophy. What can make this whole journey more pleasant for all involved is proper planning, preparing and practicing before competing. Remember, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. There are some techniques that have worked for me and my team…I hope they can be of some assistance to you and yours!
PLANNING
Choose music carefully –

• Have music professionally spliced and learn how to chart songs
• Sometimes less is more when it comes to number of songs (even in pom), squeezing in too many songs becomes confusing to the audience.
• Pick crowd appealing tunes – they love to know the song and sing along!
• Choose music that is unique and refreshing – how many times have the judges heard that song today?!
• You may or may not choose a "theme", but the song should at least suggest a "mood" and choreography and costume should compliment. This is very important.
• Utilize music well (background noises, different pauses, lyrics)

• Go for current styles; even if you use school colors (as we do) try to stay current on dance fashion trends
• Costume should look flattering with choreography
• Strive for a "clean" look and make sure Nothing Falls Off of head or costume!
• Bra tops do NOT look good on everyone – choose an outfit that is flattering to all! Your team members will perform better when they fell comfortable with their appearance.

• At the beginning of the year: do across the floor, stretch, practice pirouettes, leaps, kick, turns… Start early on year’s goals – challenge the squad to rise to meet expectations, but don’t expect the impossible.
• Before choreographing…establish what dance elements your squad has acquired and don’t include moves in your routine that they can’t properly perform.
• Be consistent with expectations. Being really hard on them two weeks before competition (making them run to build stamina, or stretching like crazy) is too late.
• Building a team physically, mentally and socially takes time…and when they are finally a perfectly functioning dream team…they graduate!

• Plan ahead! Make sure whoever is choreographing has time to implement changes is necessary. If you have a combination that you are unsure they will be able to master, have a back up plan.
• Beginnings and endings are so important, as are smooth formation changes.
• When setting formations, move girls around; believe it or not, judges do not want to see your star dancer the whole time.
• Incorporate level changes, group work, isolation.
• Try to show the audience something they’ve never seen before not the same arms taken from a routine five years old.
• Pay attention to small details: a delayed head, a shoulder roll, intricate footwork
• Don’t over-choreograph. Sometimes a move for every count is too much (not to mention the fact that there is not time to breathe!)
• For teams that have a high degree of difficulty – strive to get your whole team to perform harder skills and work on innovative choreography.
• Establish your team’s own style!

• Begins with proper stretching and knowledge of proper technique. If you as a coach have no dance experience, take a class, read up on dance and dance injury prevention (very few coaches are well versed in all areas of dance and some have never taken a single class- this is okay). Stretch with the girls, they do not expect you to know everything, but they will be noticeably appreciative of your efforts! Hire an assistant if you need help with choreography. My girls and I choreograph together – it allows me to be creative and is my favorite part of the job!
•  Encourage students to work on their own posture, stamina, flexibility
•  Unify your squad’s technique (many have taken from different studios with a variety of dance methods). At competition it is easy to tell which teams have not done this, as all their pirouettes have different port do bras.
•  A most important question arises: Does a team attempt harder moves that they do not always hit perfectly? Or simpler moves that are clean? Different judges look for different things and you can never tell where they are coming from on this point. However, I believe a clean double turn should beat a triple that goes off relevé and is bounced around to completion. So what do you do? If your team is not ready to perform five fouettes in a row, and you believe the competition is, consider putting in a single fouette into a pitch, attitude or double turn. Judges should always be looking for synchronicity and a clean routine. Be creative with what talent your team does have. Also, this is a dance TEAM, not dance solos, so watch out for overuse of group work where only a few girls are performing harder moves.

• Every team’s practice styles vary so greatly that I am going to touch on this subject and leave the rest to you to determine based on your facility, practice schedule, size of squad, personal style, etc…
• Work hard on proper spacing…remember lines will not be there when competing!
• Practice smiles, facials, pointing toes, the little details.
• Watch routine from all sides including the back. Trust me, you will find mistakes you didn’t know you had!
• Find a proper balance in using music and simply counting. This will probably vary with each routine.
• Don’t over practice. When my team doesn’t expect it, I let them go a little early. They love me until the next time I keep them late!

•  Talk to other directors about worthwhile competitions.
•  Go to competitions at a variety of difficulty levels so that girls can be successful and challenged.
•  Contests and parent/money/judging problems don’t mix…save it for another day. You can always make a phone call or write a letter later, but you can’t take back words said under nervous/stressed out conditions.
•  Do everything you can to help the girls stay healthy, focused, and positive.
•  Don’t compete every weekend – take some much-needed time off to relax.
•  Hold a party to celebrate your successes!

•  Coach of the Six Time National High Kick Champions Lake Mary High School Marionettes
•  Universal Dance Association Southeast Advisor Trainer
•  Former Lake Mary High School Marionette