Who Should Control Your Cheer Moves?

Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the amount of time good cheer choreography takes; it’s more than just telling a group when to throw their arms up, clap their hands or step to the left. And it isn’t just about the moves; it’s about the entire experience. A cheer choreographer needs to understand how to select the best music for their routine, choose the right transitions, build exciting formations, combine chants, dance and stunts, and choose the best cheerleading uniforms to bring the whole show together. Stand-out choreography is a must for most competitions, but how do you decide if you have the time to accept the challenge of creating your own or if you should outsource? The first step is to evaluate your own skills, your team’s skills and your overall goals for the season. Levels. You should have a good grasp on what your team’s strengths and weaknesses are. Knowing that will be vital to making sure that you have the best choreography for your team. Cheer choreography has many levels of difficulty, including transitions, formations, tumbling and stunting, and the most important consideration is your team’s safety. Giving an honest review of your team’s skill level will help you determine what level of difficulty can be used in their choreography. Types. Not all cheer choreography is the same. Just like there are many types of dance, there are different categories of cheer choreography. Some choreography will be only cheers, some will be very heavy dance, some will revolve around stunting, and others will be some combination of all of those elements. Make sure you know the difference and figure out which type is best for your team. Routines. You need to determine what type of routines you need choreographed. Your regular season can consist of sideline cheers at games, pep rallies and half time shows, while competition season may include several different shows. If you are limited with your budget, you probably want to save your funds to have a choreographer help for competitions instead of during regular season. Rules. If you are developing or outsourcing choreography for a competition, you need to make sure that you are following the rules and guidelines for that specific competition. Since cheerleading is not yet a sanctioned sport, the rules for competitions are not standardized. Each competition will have their own little tweaks to the guidelines. Once you have evaluated your team and your season goals, you need to decided if, and when, you should hire a choreographer. Hire. If you have a new, young or inexperienced group, your time as a coach or team leader is going to be best spent dedicated to coaching and building your team. If budget is an issue, try to use fundraising activities to help. You can always reserve the choreography expense for the most important performances, like homecoming or a competition, and think of creative ways to get through the rest of the season. Ask one of your school’s former cheerleaders or a local college cheer team if they have some time to work with your team and their choreography. Do It Yourself. If you have an experienced team and reliable captain, and you understand all the different aspects of choreography, you might be able to take on project yourself. Just make sure you choreograph for the right performances. If you have some experience, you can do regular season choreography, but you might want to outsource or at least have a consultant for competitions. If you choose to do it on your own, check to see if any choreography courses are available in your area that can help you navigate through your choreography objectives. The big choreography decision is going to be different for each team. If you decide to outsource your choreography needs, you want to make sure that you hire the right person for the job. Hiring the wrong choreographer is just as bad as not having a choreographer at all! Check out this list of helpful tips to consider when choosing your choreographer. Check out what they offer. Know what you need – and make sure they offer it! Do you need them to create a completely customized and unique routine, or do you just need them to be a consultant? If you go with a company, make sure you get a choreographer that has enough experience to get your team where they want to be. Find out if they are offering their services at an hourly, daily or flat rate. Don’t forget to consider whether you need them to choose and mix your music. Check their availability. Make sure the choreographer is available in your time frame, and can show up at your practices. Does the choreographer offer additional availability, such as by phone or email, that might be useful in case you have any questions? Check into them. Finding out something about the choreographer can help you decide if they will be right for your team. Some things to look into or ask about are: awards, cheerleading experience (former cheerleader, judge?), level of expertise and certifications. You should also ask for references and check around to see if anyone you know has worked with them and can offer some feedback about the choreographer’s program and attitude. Check out the all our tips for choreography in the free Cheerleading Guide to Choreography!