So you want to write a dance. . .
© by Susie & Gert-Jan Rotscheid
More and more cuers and dancers are starting to write dances to their favorite piece of music. Because of that, we thought we would set down a few guidelines and ideas that we have found helpful.
One thing to keep in mind as your favorite pop tune keeps going through your head is, that in order for a dance to be used, the music in some form needs to be available. Today many pieces of music, even older music, is available to download from various websites. One that I can recommend for dance music is the Casa Musica website. This is in Germany, but if you click on the British flag on the top right-hand corner, the site will continue in English. Even if you have a CD with the music on it from Casa Musica, I recommend that you check their download site to see if they still have it; they also don’t always carry what they used to. Of course you can try popular music (and even dance music) from Amazon or iTunes.
We also have a list of some music companies and places to find records and music on our page “Finding Music“. Please realize that this is a constantly changing situation, and some of these links might not work any more. If you come across a link that does not work, please let me know and I’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.
So, now you have your music. How do you get started? First, listen to the music several times to decide what would be the best rhythm for that particular record. While almost all music, except for the waltz, is written in either 4/4 or 2/4 time and therefore you can do the steps of almost any rhythm on any music, each rhythm has its own special “atmosphere”. This is one thing you should feel and establish as you listen to the record. If you are not sure, try dancing basic steps in the various rhythms to your record and see if that will help you decide which is best for your record.
After you decide what rhythm you will use, you will need to continue listening to your record to decide the phrasing of the music. Most all music is phrased in 8-measure sequences, or two 8-measure sequences together. There will sometimes be breaks or interludes between the sequences. These are usually an even number of measures. When you compose your dance, it will “feel” better if you arrange your figures within these 8-measure sequences. It is also usually better if you can start most new figures on an uneven (1,3,5,7, etc.) measure, and let them continue over 2 measures, if needed. If you are using a single measure cue, it will feel better if you can get the people back to dancing on the main “1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.” measure as soon as possible. You could write a dance where you didn’t do this, for example, (starting in PU position) 2 fwd 2s;; fwd,lk – twice; prog scis to SCAR & BJO;; fwd hitch; hitch/scis thru (BFLY); 2 sd 2-steps;; back away 3 & tch; tog 3 & tch; box;; rev box;; (SCP) walk 2;. In doing this we have used a 16-measure sequence, but after the “fwd,lk – twice” we are constantly having the dancer begin a series on even (2,4,6) measure that continues for two measures. Try dancing this to some 2-step music, and you will see that this dance, although technically correct, feels awkward. Then try something like this next sequence, and see if it doesn’t feel better: (starting from PU position) 2 fwd 2s;; prog scis to SCAR & BJO;; fwd hitch; hitch/scis thru (BFLY); 2 sd 2-steps;; back away 3 & tch; tog 3 & tch; box;; rev box;; twirl 2; walk 2 to SCP;. This is almost the same sequence, but has the dancer beginning each series on the main measure.
After you have listened to your record you should make note of how the musical sequences repeat themselves in the dance. That will give you your “A,B,C,B,C” sequence. Be sure to determine this by the music and not the words. Sometimes the same musical sequence will be repeated with different words, or with no words at all. After determining your rhythm and musical sequences, you are ready to sit down (or stand up) and do some actual dancing and composing.
Often in round-dancing figures are used so that the “quicks” and “slows” actually fit to the “quicks” and “slows” of the music. This is not a must, but certainly is unique to our type of dancing. This can be one thing that makes a dance special and causes people to say, “That dance really fits the music.” This will also sometimes make the dance easier to learn and therefore more enjoyable. Very few dancers enjoy dancing a dance they can’t do. Which brings us to another point.
While we don’t always write a dance just for it to become popular, it is nice to have this as one of your goals. If that is a goal, remember who your public is. A well-written phase II dance has a much better chance of becoming popular than a phase VI, just by virtue of the number of dancers that will be able to dance it. It is also much better to be consistent in your level of difficulty within one dance. It is usually best not to write, for instance, a phase II waltz, but then add an ending of “back to a hinge”, which is a phase V figure. Also, a dance in a popular rhythm will probably be more used than a less-popular rhythm. Dances are sometimes composed with a different goal in mind, such as a teaching aid. In that case popularity is not an issue.
One thing that makes a dance pleasurable to dance is its body flow. Good body flow means that your body will naturally move in the direction of the next figure. After you have the figures and sequences in mind that you feel fit your music and dance, you need to dance them through with a partner to see how the body flow is for both people and how it dances as a couple. It is often quite different than dancing it alone, so don’t be surprised at, nor reject, your partner’s reactions and suggestions. You may have to “go back to the drawing board” with a few things, but it will be worth it to produce a nice-flowing dance.
When you are finally satisfied with how your dance is arranged, you then come to the hardest part, putting down on paper just how you want your dance done. In some cases you might find this next to impossible and wish you could just enclose a video (not a bad idea, huh?!), especially if you are using non-standard or modified figures. (I suggest that you use non-standard or modified figures only if you are sure they are needed to enhance your dance. They will always need to be taught, and therefore limit the use of your dance to one that has to be taught, no matter what level.) As enclosing a video is not financially feasible, you must try to convey what you want in as short, concise, and easy to understand a manner as possible. You do need to try and make it as short as possible – try to remember how many times you have looked at a cue-sheet that looked long and complicated and said, “I don’t have time to bother with this one.” If in your heading you include the statement “directions for the man – woman opposite unless noted”, you will save yourself a lot of words in the explanation. Then don’t waste time and space describing the woman’s part unless it is different from the normal opposite. When you write your cue-sheet you should be consistent with RAL (ROUNDALAB) standards. In your description you should be sure to include all the ending facing direction and positions for the figures you use, any non-standard holds or positions or movements, or any time that you start a figure in a different position that you ended the previous figure in (blending to another position), and of course the timing, which is shown by the punctuation marks. Your cue-sheet will also be easier to read if you set up your measure numbers and head cues apart from the rest of the descriptive text.
After you have put everything down on paper put it away for a few days. Then go back and check it for consistency and errors. Be sure to check both parts, man’s and woman’s. Be double sure about your music/beat notations (see enclosed). Using the wrong notations makes a cue-sheet difficult to interpret and wrong. Remember, most cuers will only have your cue-sheet to learn the dance from. If you want someone to dance your dance the way you intended, you must make your cue-sheet as clear and accurate as possible.
Last, but not least, give your completed, checked & re-checked cue-sheet, and a copy of the record, to a cuer you know and ask them if they will look at your dance, work it out from the cue-sheet, and give you their honest comments. In this way you can see if your cue-sheet is written to say what you want. But prepare yourself for their critique, which won’t always be only praise. Evaluate it, and use it to your best good.
Now you are ready to mail your cue-sheet to a record-distribution company, the cue-sheet publication magazines – and wait for your dance to hit the popularity charts.
Have fun and good luck!
For a round world
Gert-Jan & Susie
STANDARD PUNCTUATION FOR ROUND DANCE CUE SHEETS
; | the end of a measure |
, | the end of a beat |
– | a hold or wait during a beat |
/ | either split timing (2 steps on one beat) or a split figure (man does one figure/ woman a different figure) |
( ) | use only to show woman’s steps |
[ ] | use to surround extra information |
{ } | used for figure name in detail portion of cue sheet |
SOME STANDARD ROUNDALAB ABBREVIATIONS
NOTE: These are just a few of the standard ROUNDALAB abbrevations. If you want to write a dance using the correct abbreviations, you can get a complete list from ROUNDALAB.
1. All positions, directions are shown using capital letters (OP, COH, LF)
2. Any number may be used in numeric form (two forward two’s = 2 fwd 2’s)
3. A hyphen (-) may replace the word “to” (face-to-face = fc-fc / change places right to left = chg plcs R-L)
In 4/4 timing, the timing for most 2-steps, foxtrot, mambo, cha cha, rhumba, tango, etc., you have 4 beats to one measure. That is shown by the top number. You would write 4 even, quick steps like this, “L,R,L,R;” In the same timing, to show 2 quick steps and one slow step, you would write, “L,R,L,-;”
Waltz timing is 3/4, which means that there are 3 beats to one measure (top number). Therefore 3 even steps in one waltz measure could be “L,R,L;”