A guide how to make poi and circus choreographies

I finally have a new computer since my old one broke down! I spend a lot of time studying for the exam week, but we have also moved a little forward in the progress of making our own show with the poi at staff club at uni.

We will now start making choreographies and I wanted to share the process with you!

Before I started making poi choreographies I have competed with different choreographies in figure skating, which might have helped. I have also done some dance courses and played cello, so i feel that i have a good sense of music and beat.

I usually to things in this order. Below I will explain a little bit more about each point.

Suggestion on
how to make a poi choreography

1. Choose music
2. Cut music
3. Write the music down
4. Write a list of tricks
5. Pair up tricks with highlights
6. Play around to find transfers between tricks
7. Look for feelings and poses
8. Practice, film myself and evaluate
9. Rethink
10. Practice
11. Thinking about costume, light color
12. Perform

Choose music

When I chose music I always chose something that I like, because when practising you will hear this music a thousand times. It is good to chose a music that is not a super popular track on the lists, because since it will take some time to make your performance people will think that it is as old and outdated as the music. 

I also often chose something that has a good beat. Especially with poi, the beat is very important so try the music out to see if you can spin in rhythm with the beat. Remember that it is the length of the string that decides the period time!

It can also be a good idea to chose a music with many changes of style or one that contains some high light where you can put your best tricks.

Cut music
If your music is longer than 3 minuets, cut it down. I think about 3 minuets is how long the audience can hold their interest. When cutting music, make sure that the cut edition has a good start and finish.

Try to include some different moods, themes or parts from the music.

Write the music down
I always start with writing the music down. I count the beats, write them down and divide them into sections, and write out where the highlights are. If you are not so good at this or think it seems tideous, one way can be to print out the lyrics (if there is any) or just write "beginning", "flute starts to play" and so on.

I do this to get an overview over the music.

Write a list of tricks

Now, write a list of tricks you want to include. Write only tricks that you can actually do.

Pair up tricks with highlights

Now, put your down written music and list of tricks down next to each other and try to pair them up. Put you spectacular tricks on the highlights in the music. When you add in your trick, try to add them in an order so they contrast each other, like high vs low, slow vs fast and so on to make your choreography dynamic.

Play around to find transfers between tricks

Put on you music and try to do your tricks, and to find smooth transfers. If there are any empty spaces in the music, improvise and see what you think can fit there.

Look for feelings and poses

When playing around, try out some different start and finishing poses. Don't forget to put some applaud poses in the middle as well. You can also experiment with some dance moves or poses, or try to express different feelings and thoughts.

Practice, film myself and evaluate

When you are happy with your outline, it is time to practice. Just do it over and over again. Sometimes it helps to do this in front of a mirror, or in front of a video camera to watch how it looks like from the audience perspective.. You will find out what works and what doesn't.

Rethink

Did you fins something that needs to be changed? 

Practice

After the changes, continue to practice. If you want, you can continue to practice and retink until you are really happy with you piece. Then practice again until you can preform you choreography in your sleep.

Thinking about costume, light color

It is getting closer to the show. Think about what kind of costume you want to wear, what kind of fire or LED color you want, how you will enter and leave the stage and so on. How can you do this so it enhances your theme? Remember to practise in your costume.

Perform

Now it is time to show your amazing choreography. Good luck!

I know that there are other strategies on making choreographies, and there might be a continuation on this topic since I find it very interesting.