How to Plan a Perfect Dance Formation: The Ultimate Guide
Do you have a great dance team? Do you want them to be the best they can be? Then, check out this article to know all about formation dancing. If you’ve never danced before, it might seem like a new world to you. However, once you get the hang of it, there’s no going back! And with that in mind, read on to know more about formation dancing and how you can plan perfect formations for your team.
Formation Dance
What is formation dancing?
Formation dancing is a method of dance where a team uses certain formations to create certain movements and to make the dance flow naturally. When you’re forming a team, the first step is to make a formation chart. A formation chart is a diagram or chart that shows you where the team members are in relation to one another. This chart helps you create a formation for your team, whether it’s a marching formation, a square formation, or a fan formation.
Why do we need to plan formations?
Dance teams can be really tight. Some members might have been dancing together since they were in kindergarten, while others might have just met. Maybe you want to make your team the best it can be; maybe you just want to make your team unique. Either way, you need to plan formations to make sure your team is ready for competitions. When you’re in school, your dance team might need to enter competitions. In these events, judges will watch your routine to decide how well your team did. If you plan formations correctly, the judges should be able to see your team doing what you want them to do with ease.
Different types of formations
- Square Formation: Also known as a 4-on-4 formation, this is the most common formation and easiest to learn. This formation is usually used for floor routines, where every team member takes four steps forward and then steps back. To make a square formation, all the dancers line up in a straight line, then have the person in the middle turn to face the person on the left. - Fan Formation: A team makes a fan formation by spreading out the dancers. The team’s strongest dancers are usually in the center, while the weak dancers are at the edges. However, a smart team will use a fan formation to have the strongest dancers in the center, while others have a flanking position. - Marching Formation: This is one of the most advanced formations. You can read more about formations to help you with your competitions here. It’s ideal for competitions like jazz, jazz fusion, modern, or hip-hop dance, where you want your routines to look more complicated than just four steps forward and four steps back. To make a marching formation, the team walks in place.
Benefits of formation dancing
- Respect: When you’re in formation, the members of your team are respected. When you enter competitions, the judges are watching to see how the members of your team dance. You need to make sure that they know that they’re capable of doing amazing things. When the members of your team are in formation, the judges should feel that they’re watching a team, not just one person. - Intimacy: When you’re dancing, you’re sharing your time, energy, and attention with the people you’re dancing with. Formation dancing can help you build stronger relationships with the people in your team. When you’re in formation, there’s no room for ego, and you’re in this together. If one person is doing something better than all the others, then you need to work out why that person is being special. - Trust: Trust is important when you’re dancing and competing. You might not trust one member of your team, but you need to trust that they’re going to lead you safely and to your goal. When the members of your team are in formation, then you need to trust that they’re all going in the same direction.
Ways to prepare for a perfect formation
- Learn the routines: The best way to know how your formations are going to look is to know what your routines are going to look like. Each formation has a different name depending on what style of dance it’s used in. If you don’t know the names of your routines, then you’re going to have trouble knowing which formation to use. - Practice your dance skills: Formations are based on dance skills such as transitions, footwork, and spins. In order to use your formations effectively, you need to know how to do all of these skills. Practice so that you can apply your practice to the competition. - Build your routine: One of the best ways to prepare for a perfect formation is to build your routine. When you know what your routines are going to look like and how they’re going to be structured, then you can build your routine around those ideas.
How to do a perfect formation?
- Learn the formations you need: Before you go to a formation meeting, go through your formation chart and learn which formations you need to use for each routine. You can figure out the formations you need by seeing which routines you’re entering competitions for or those that are popular at your school. - Practice the formations: Once you know which formations you need to use, then practice using those formations in your practice routines. Perform your routines as if you’re in a competition, and make sure that you use the formations that you need. - Focus on the routine: Make sure that you’re practicing your routines as if you’re going to be dancing in formation. If you’re just practicing what you want to look like in competition, then you’re not practicing in formation.
Conclusion
Formation dancing is a great way to show off your team to the judges. You can also use formation dancing to help differentiate your team from others in a similar style of dance. If you’re ready to learn how to plan formations for your team, then read on. Formations are an important part of competitive dancing, and they can make all the difference in how your routines are judged.
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