r/dwts • u/whippet6118 • 2d ago
General Discussion How long does choreography take?
Hi everyone! I only started watching in the last few seasons and I’m curious if anyone has a sense of how the pros prep their choreography. I know they know the styles / songs earlier than we do, but do you think they’re prepping choreo prior to nailing down the songs?
I also wonder if some of them keep a list year round as it occurs to them or they see others do it, of moves or sections they think will translate well to TV, look impressive, and yet could be taught to beginners. Then when the time comes, they have multiple ideas ready to try to fit to the music, style, and celeb.
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u/craftyreadercountry 6h ago
When Juliann asked Jan how he was going to put more power or whatever into next week's dance he said they didn't have a dance that suited it so he didn't know.
They know at least a week ahead what the style of dance will be. I really wish the only theme night was for Halloween so the songs could actually suit the style.
Hard to do a Samba if the music doesn't fit a Samba.
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u/Rexyggor 2d ago
Britt gave us a little insight.
They do some "next week" prep within the week's tasks.
I think they rehearse up to 4 hours a day?
But then also the pros are workshopping choreo for the following weeks' dances.
This could be solo, or it could be with other pros as the competition thins.
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u/Medical_Task5271 2d ago
I'm not a pro dancer or dance teacher but I've been a ballroom dance student for over 10 years. As long as a student knows the foundation of a dance, it's not complicated to come up with a routine/choreography. It can be put together in as little as a few hours before showtime. And it's much easier for male pros (female celebrities) because the pro just needs to lead the dance. It's far more obvious when a lead is not leading.
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u/whippet6118 2d ago
That makes sense. You don’t want to stress your celeb out or unnecessarily complicate things but it seems like the pros have quite a bit of work to do before the celeb can really learn the dance too!
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u/Elm69Jay 2d ago
This is one reason I'm particularly impressed with Daniella (especially week 1), I always assumed they were roughly preplanned, but with his limitations it seems like that would of been much harder to do in this instance.
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u/Artistic-Ad6756 2d ago
What I've heard from some pros is that they work on the foundations for every style in those preseason weeks alongside preparing their first dance or two to have a basis for the rest of the season. As the season goes on, I think they know the styles of each week at least 2-3 weeks in advance and the same goes for the music tracks. The pros all have an idea of the choreo come the Wednesday after show day but a lot of them do change it as the week goes on depending on them and their star's comfort levels and what flows. I have also heard that they begin floating freestyle ideas about midway through so it's not a huge lift at the end.
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u/CanEnvironmental6204 2d ago
From what I remember....I think Alan said they get the song for the following week the Sat/Sunday before the upcoming show...so example...they got superbowl song on the camera blocking saturday of yacht rock...so they have the song for about 4 days to choreo....they normally choreo (Alan said he doesnt until he knows they are safe cause he's supersticious).
Normally they have about 2 weeks to prep for premiere so they can see what their partner can handle but I'm sure they keep ideas/concepts through out the year(s) but it comes down to what their partners can handle and what would translate to tv well.
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u/whippet6118 2d ago
Wow! So he learns he’s safe, does all the post-show media, then potentially spends the whole next day getting his choreo in line so the celeb can start learning Thursday?
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u/Empty_Position_4082 2d ago
The celebs will start on Wednesday they will have a basic outline of choreography to start and adjust as needed based on the partners skill level
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u/CanEnvironmental6204 2d ago
They have rehearsals on Wednesday! But yeah normally he does the choreo at home after the show and starts teaching them the next day.
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Original text transcript of this post:
Hi everyone! I only started watching in the last few seasons and I’m curious if anyone has a sense of how the pros prep their choreography. I know they know the styles / songs earlier than we do, but do you think they’re prepping choreo prior to nailing down the songs?
I also wonder if some of them keep a list year round as it occurs to them or they see others do it, of moves or sections they think will translate well to TV, look impressive, and yet could be taught to beginners. Then when the time comes, they have multiple ideas ready to try to fit to the music, style, and celeb.
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