Choreography

[black]

How do you do it? - Does your coach sort something out or do you find certain moves that seem to fit together. Are there any computer programs that can help design a routine, or pads of paper with hockey pitch markings for drawing ideas on?

[Scarlett]

I have yet to have a solo program but my coach is bringing music to my next lesson. Basically he will choreograph the whole thing and I am free to add extra steps that suit my personality.
If you want a copy of an arena, www.marylandiceskating.com (http://www.marylandiceskating.com)has a map you can use.

[Rusty Blades]

Well I am about to compete my FIRST program in 3 weeks and the choreography was a collaboration between my coach and myself. I spent a LONG time listening to music that I liked (MONTHS!) and picked a piece that wasn't too fast or complex for my skill level. Then I searched for the best rendition I could find - one that suited what I wanted for "flavour".

My coach prepared a list of my elements, from best to worst, and I started drafting parts of the routine. I used AutoCAD (since I am in engineering and have access to it), starting with a base drawings of a standard NHL rink to map out the program. I skate parts of it to see how it actually skated and how much ice it would use and readjusted as required. Then coach & I started working on parts of it, with an eye to the judging criteria, modifying, adapting, working out transitions, etc. It was probably 2 months (16 sessions with my coach) to smooth everything out and get it looking good. The "paper copy" pretty much fell by the wayside once I started skating the complete program again and again and I still tend to improvise if I start getting into trouble :roll: like if I am too far behind the music, I'll drop elements or if I am ahead, I add elements.

[Emberchyld]

I used AutoCAD (since I am in engineering and have access to it)

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: You are my new idol!:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

You win the award for "most creative use of AutoCad", IMHO!

[Isk8NYC]

Dianne is always engineering new skating methods and technology. Love it!

I make a list of what SHOULD be in the program or what the skater WANTS in the program. For example, one of my skaters can spin well in both directions, so I add that to the WANT list; it's not required (as in ISI) but it's nice to have in there. Then, I listen to the program with my music editor and cut the music to length. The program lets me add notes, so I "mark" key elements to the music cues. (Generic: spin, jump, spiral, etc.)

If you put each element on a slip of paper or a sticky note, you can then listen to the music and "arrange" the elements. Sometimes, I skate the program myself alone, but I skate faster than most of my students, so that doesn't always work out well.

For the first few sessions, I work with the student to arrange the program to match his/her skating speed and ability. I'm open to changing things and adding ideas that allow the skater to make the program his/her "own." I always write the notes in pencil, so I can erase.

Then I list the elements in order on a 5x7" card, with music cues written as well. It folds in half and fits in my pocket. When I leave the ice, I tuck it into my CD wallet with the student's CD. I give a second handwritten copy to my student to use during practices when I'm not there.

[techskater]

Usually, either my coach or I cut the music. We both listen to it several times outside the rink. Over the course of 1-2 lessons, we get the basic layout down, the idea for the transitions, and the elements "marked". We've been working together for 7 years, and now that I have a good understanding of what the "requirements" are, we collaborate well together.
I will work on the basic layout with the elements outside my lesson and when it is a little comfortable, I will walk through it with her at the judges' viewpoint, and we will make adjustments to jump markings (swaps, changes), transitions, etc.

Over the course of a time, the layout may change a bit, the transitions are adjusted, the location of jumps change, and other adjustments are made as something still doesn't work well or doesn't quite fit my style like we thought it might, and arms and body level changes get added. For example, my program originally opened with an Axel-double toe sequence followed by a camel-layback-back sit, but now it opens with my back camel-back sit-layback combination spin (which I learned AFTER we put the program together) and down ice with a cool transition (with the highlight being a big LFO swing rocker at center ice) into a double salchow-toe loop combination. The Axel-double toe is now the fourth jumping pass because it fits better that way.

[Rusty Blades]

You win the award for "most creative use of AutoCad", IMHO!

Well at least I don't wear a pocket protector and I didn't dimension the drawing (though I did "landmark" the transition points with a time stamp)!

[jskater49]

Our old coach would pick and edit the music for all her skaters - she used a professional studio so it always sounded good and choreograph the programs. She even picks what artistics the kids will do. She's very good a choosing music and programs suited to the skater but for adults and as kids get older, they like to have some input. My daughter is now at almost 17 choosing her own music for her next free style. She's wants to use the music from the movie Pride and Prejudice.

For my the fs I have now, I had a cut of music my old coach did for me, but we never got around to getting a program. I only get ten minutes a week freestyle coaching (it's left over from my daughter who has to leave for school, but now I treasure it so much when she doesn't have school I still claim it - alas cannot afford more) and I have a half hour lesson from my dance coach who also does freestyle. I had my dance coach choreograph my program since I had more time with her, but then my freestyle coach has tweaked it and works with it with me...(I did make sure both coaches were okay with this arrangment first) and then I've added some things. WHen we started I gave my coach a list of things I could do - since she was my dance coach and not real familiar with my freestyle ability. So it's a colloaborative effort between me and two coaches.

I've been learning mapping and choreographing in my LTS Artistry in Motion, so I was incorporating some things I learned in my program. For the next session we are going to choose music and choreograph a program. I've decided to pick music totally different than my freestyle - fast and jazzy - (my fs is slow and pretty) because I figure a learn to skate class is the best place to push my limits.

j

[peanutskates]

well, have my inexperienced opinion (as in, i have no routines under my belt or in the making...) but I can picture routines in my head as I listen to music. it's like dancing, i guess. just go with the beat.

if i needed a skating routine right now, first (after picking the music) i'd put it on and visualise some sort of routine. then I would skate around adding elements. then work from that.

[Mrs Redboots]

I am getting my coach and his wife to rechoreograph our free dance for us, as we reckoned there was masses more we could do with it.

But what I normally do is skate round listening to the music, and eventually something "emerges". If it's a couples' routine, Husband is usually skating round going "What are you doing? What am I supposed to do here?" and I'm usually just doing chassés as placeholders! But eventually we have something to show the coach, and he then tweaks it (or she, if it's coach2), usually utterly transforming it!

[Bill_S]

Are there any computer programs that can help design a routine, or pads of paper with hockey pitch markings for drawing ideas on?

This thread got me thinking that I've always wanted a drawing of a regulation NHL rink for planning a program. I got around to it today and put it on my web site for downloading and printing...

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/skating/images/rink_layout.gif

It's not a screen-resolution file - it's saved as a 300 dpi GIF file (but only a 51 kilobyte download) so you might be better off saving it to disk, then opening it in your image editing program for printing.

Modern iterations of Microsoft Internet Explorer will let you print to fit an 8.5 x11 page if you first go to File>Print Preview and be sure to select Landscape.

If anyone has any difficulty, let me know and I'll try something else on a different version.

[flo]

I do some, my coach does some. He's great about working with you and is a gifted choreographer.

[kateskate]

My coach does it all. They will ask what moves I like doing or if I step feels comfortable where it is. But I'm very uncreative and so it's better left to the pros.

[Team Arthritis]

First - little off topic -> one of my absolute favorite things to watch is a good coach choreograph for a high level student. The creative process is just magic IMHO!

My coach is wonderful! She choreographed for Stars on Ice for 11 years, sigh I just can't skate as well as she envisions me skating. Her programs are always unique and eye catching and always a challenge. (Warning - when you see a coach skating around with headphones on and looking dreamy eyed look out because they can and will do anything without warning at random intervals and spots on the rink without concern for anyone else.) The downside to working with someone that good is that she KEEPS changing the programs every week. You will eventually get used to it but boy it can be disconcerting. Once she even changed the jump sequence on me as I was going out for warmup during a competition.

Lyle

[black]

I got around to it today and put it on my web site for downloading and printing...

Thanks - I was thinking of doing the same!!

[Isk8NYC]

I had a similar rink layout that gary had sent me some time ago. *RIP*

I saved and resized the image, then copied it onto an overhead transparency.
Very handy as an overlay for the rulebook and PSA MITF manuals.
It makes figuring out the placements of strokes, turns, and crossovers much easier.

I guess it could help dancers map out the pattern of new dances on the rink as well.

[flo]

My coach drew mine on a napkin once. The week before Nationals someone asked us how I'd do there without him. I took out the napkin, and he said, "see, she'll be fine!"

I've also brought him thoughts and scribbles for new programs on airplane napkins. Good time to think.

[Rusty Blades]

Once she even changed the jump sequence on me as I was going out for warmup during a competition.

LOL! With my memory, it wouldn't matter - it would get skated the way it had been practiced! "You wanted me to do what? Oh yea, you did say that, didn't you!"

[doubletoe]

I start by listening to the music and writing down where I hear certain elements happening. Then I fill in the gaps with the other elements and connecting moves until I have a list of everything I plan to do in the order in which it will occur. Having video of myself doing my jumps, spins and connecting skating helps me get the timing right the first time (I just use a stopwatch as I watch my video. very handy!).

After that, I print out a few sheets of paper with an NHL sized hockey rink on it. Here's one that's actually to scale: http://nhl.speedera.net/nhlhq/cba/images/rinkdiagram800.gif

I draw where each of the elements will go on the ice and how I will get from one to the next. Where they are on the ice depends on how much time I have between them and how I need to use the ice surface. I want to make sure I cover every part of the ice, go both clockwise and counter-clockwise and don't have all my jumps or spins happening in the same spots.

Finally, I skate the layout several times and tweak it a little, then try it with the music to see if it really fits. Once layout is done, my coach and I work on the details together. Oh, and then we change the layout about 3 more times over the next several months, LOL!