My girls were five years old when they joined our studio’s competitive team. For their first two years, they competed just one routine. All of their at-home practice and in-studio rehearsal time revolved around that one jazz dance, so that was all they needed to focus on. Ah, those were the days.
In their third year of competing, a second competition number was added. In rapid succession, my girls began performing more and more routines as the years passed. During 2025, Jocelyn learned and performed ten competition routines (eight groups and two solos). Plus, she had a handful of recital numbers, too.
How do they keep track of all of these? Thinking back to my Pop Warner coaching days in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, I remembered how I taught my dancers the choreography for our competition routine. These kids had such varied backgrounds that made teaching them all a challenge. While a couple trained at an advanced local studio, others had absolute zero dance experience. I had to make all the choreography very learnable, so I utilized some strategies to make the material accessible to all the kids. In addition, I asked our Facebook community for their ideas.
Name the Movements!
I used this trick the most often, and it had a bunch of benefits! I would choose a defining pose or movement in a specific 8-count, and use that as the name for the whole 8-count. For example, I used the name “The Boxer” for an 8-count that had two punching motions. The names were not always creative (like “Fan Kick”), but using one name for an entire 8-count saved time. Rather than describing the movement, I could just say the name!
Even if the choreographer does not name the movements themselves, dancers practicing at home can! Saying the names out loud while dancing can help learners that need multiple “layers” of exposure to really internalize the choreography. At a convention, your dancer can mentally create a name for each movement that they can recall while executing.
When my girls were about seven or eight years old, they attended NYCDA and took a class with Andy Pellick. He used a similar strategy; a decade later, Jayden and Jocelyn can still recall the combo while reciting “Funky grandpa, field goal, field goal!” While it makes no sense to those of us outside the ballroom that day, this technique helped them to remember each movement with perfect clarity.
Slow It Down
One year during my coaching experience, I created a slowed-down version of our cut of music to teach the choreography with. The girls then had enough time to think about what movement was coming up so they could prepare to execute it. Seeing how successful this was, I produced another version that was a bit faster than the first. This helped the team pick up the pace while still having a bit of time to mentally process what was coming next. By the time we used the “regular” cut, they were really familiar with the material and ready to tackle the tempo!
For practice at home, request a digital copy of the music from your studio. Then check out YouTube for free ways to change the speed of an audio file.
Clap It Out
Matching movement with the tempo can be a challenge for younger kids, less experienced dancers, or when the music has tempo changes. Before starting to actually teach the choreography, I would play the entire cut of music while my dancers sat on the floor. They would clap along with the beat with their eyes closed to really familiarize themselves with it. Because we used several songs within a cut (we worked with themes), they were better able to adapt to tempo changes.
Go Full Out While Learning Choreography
Yes, there are times when it is appropriate to “mark” a dance. But the learning phase of choreography is NOT one of them! To build the muscle memory they will need, dancers need to execute the movements fully during this critical time. Encourage your child to go full-out while learning choreo (even if the teacher doesn’t require it). I would get very cranky if I saw my dancers “phoning it in,” and they would be on the receiving end of a public correction if they did.
Before entering a convention class, clinic, or combine, remind your dancer to go full-out while learning the choreography as well.
Let’s Go to the Videotape!
Geez, I’m really dating myself with that reference. But seeing and hearing the choreography while they’re not performing it can be really helpful. Many studios already create recordings to share with the team, so encourage your child to take advantage of this resource! If your dance school does not have this practice in place, suggest it. My girls’ studio shares the videos on the Band app, which we use for team communication.
But if the studio does not want to go this route, you can always record your dancer at home on your own. Making the video as soon as they get home from dance is the best time, while the memory of the choreography is still fresh. While they might be less than compliant (“But Mom, I’m tiiiirrreeed!”), encourage them to give it a try. Or as I have told my girls on countless occasions, “Suck it up and deal!”
Mentally Rehearse
If you’ve ever walked through a warm-up area at a dance competition, you’ve likely seen kids with earbuds or headphones in while they mark the movement. Your dancer can mentally rehearse with or without the music; my girls often do this on the car ride to the venue.
Talk It Out
Your dancer can literally “talk” through the movements, either mentally or out loud. Simple prompts like, “Left, battement, down, pop” can be enough to engrain the choreography into their brains. They can do this at home or in the studio; if they’re in private, they can start by talking out loud until the material is familiar enough to think through. This strategy can literally be used anywhere.
Write It Down
Over the years, I’ve developed a type of shorthand for creating and remembering my choreography. These abbreviations, initials, symbols, and sketches would read like a long-dead language to anyone else. But that doesn’t matter, as long as it makes sense to me! Suggest to your dancer that they create their own system for jotting down choreography as soon as they learn it. You can even buy them a fun notebook to keep their notes in!
Freeze Dance
To reinforce learned choreography, you can help your dancer to make a game of it with a round of classic “Freeze Dance”. This is especially fun for younger kids (although I’ve known some older kids to have a blast with it, too)! Play the music, randomly pause it, and watch your dancer try to freeze themselves into position!
Build Brain Strength
To build their memorization skills and overall brain strength, our dancers can indulge in some non-dance fun! Community member Danielle encouraged her dancer to play with puzzles, engaging her focus and concentration skills. Danielle reported that these actually did help! Card games, word games, and other “brain games” help to increase these cognitive functions, which transfer to the learning of new material (including choreography).
The Final Word
Keep in mind that every one of these suggestions will not be suitable for every dancer. As your child grows, they should develop an awareness of what works for them and what doesn’t. They may be able to use most of these techniques, just one or two of them, or an altered version of one. Our dancers are ultimately responsible for learning their choreography, so they have to be willing to do what it takes to get there.
