Check out the all our tips for choreography in the free Cheerleading Guide to Choreography! Choreography In Cheerleading Adding choreographed moves to routines or sideline cheers help cheerleading squads amp up the energy of their performances and their audiences. Having moves planned out takes some pressure off of a squad and allows them to concentrate on being loud, having high energy and smiling. Combining unique moves with traditional school favorites at games to show spirit can impress the crowd and encourage them to cheer, shout and get up and move with you! Choreography is especially important at competitions, and is a big factor in how the judges score a performance. Sideline Cheers Be sure your cheers are engaging for the audience and focus on creating an interactive experience your squad can share with spectators. One of the most powerful ways to involve the crowd during your routine is through body language. Using signs, banners, flags, hand gestures and anything else that may pull the crowd into your cheer will only positively impact your influence, and your football or basketball team’s inspiration. Before you showcase your cheers with added performance level moves at competitions, practice them on the sidelines during your school’s regular season games. Videotape the cheers and watch them back so you can see how they look from the audience’s point of view. You can also pinpoint any areas in the cheer that aren’t working, and see if any team members need some additional instruction. Competition Performances Practicing your cheers on the sidelines will help you get them just right before you need to combine them with a dance routine. Watch out for awkward silent moments between your dance and cheer routines. Try to make the transitions as smooth as possible. Choreography is a major category that is judged at competitions. All of a squad’s movements must be crisp and everyone must be in sync with all the movements, beats and counts of the performance. Judges give extra points for originality and amplitude of movements, so don’t be afraid to get creative, take risks and showcase your skills! Choreography Elements There are four major elements to cheerleading choreography: cheers, dance moves, stunts and tumbling and music. Your choreography should leave room for some of your school cheers. Working in a few moments for the squad to show their school spirit really pumps up a crowd and impresses judges. At some regular season performances, and at all competitions, your routine is going to need to integrate dance moves. Stunts and tumbling for cheerleading are major parts of both sideline cheers and competitions routines. Your choreography will have to include some tricks, and it will add another level to your routine. You’ll need to have your flyers, bases and tumblers performing the stunts, but you’ll also need to have the rest of the team continuing with dance moves. The music. The beat. It can make or break a performance. Be sure that you choose your music carefully, and use a professional to mix your songs and voice overs for competitions. Responsibilities Coaches & Captains A squad’s coach and captain are responsible for coming up with the choreography and teaching it to their team members. Captains really need to tap into their leadership skills to make sure that they are motivating their team members, and helping those that might be struggling without embarrassing or disrespecting them. Coaches need to have an active role in the choreography, making sure that all safety standards are followed and any safety issues are addressed. They also need to make sure that they review the specific regulations for any competitions they are entering so that the choreography does not violate the rules and get their squad DQ’ed. Squad Members Being a squad member that is learning a new routine is pretty much like being a student in a classroom. You need to be respectful (no side talk!), concentrate on the lesson and stay focused. If you are a returning member that is already familiar with the routine, you should be watching the new squad members to see if they need help with the choreography. Tips: You will no doubt be anxious to start working on a routine yourself, but make sure you take the time to watch the routine performed in its entirety before you attempt it yourself. Don’t try to learn the whole routine at once. You should be learning sections, and steps, and mastering them one at a time before you put it all together. Take notes. If you are watching and practicing the steps, but still having trouble with them, write the steps down. Include stick figures too if that helps! When you have down time, instead of stressing about learning your moves, actually practice them in your head! Visualization is the key to mastering choreography. Take visualization one step further by recording the routine being performed in whole, and watch it as often as you can. Listen for musical queues, like a shift in the beat or a sudden stop, to help you remember steps and make sure you are in the right position at the right time. Be sure to check the blog every Wednesday this month for more cheerleading choreography tips and tricks!
Cheer Choreography: Beyond Spirit Fingers
