Some pole dancers love to choreograph routines for public performances, while others prefer to improv. Both choreography and improvisation have their pros and cons, and sometimes a mix of the two is best.  How do you know which way is best for you and your personal pole dancing style?   

Choreographing Pole Dance Routines

Choreography can be a very freeing method for letting you work on the dance and performance of your routine, since you don’t have to think up what move to do next. It is the method of choice for new dancers, group performances, and stage productions.

The pros:

• You know what you’ll be doing during every part of the music.
• You can plan the routine to avoid any pole moves you aren’t sure of.

The cons:

• Stage fright can make your mind go blank, causing you to forget your moves.
• If you confuse a move, it can make it difficult to know how to keep going.

Improvisation and Pole Dance Routines

Improvisation is the dance equivalent to being able to cook without a recipe.  It hones your creativity and teaches you adaptability on stage.  It is very useful for dancers who get up to perform on a whim and for those who like the freedom of not planning the details of each performance in advance.

The pros:

• You don’t need to worry about memorizing – or forgetting – any moves.
• You can stay focused on interpreting the music.
• You can adapt your dance quickly to circumstances.

The cons:

• You can get stuck wondering what pole move to do next.
• It may seem daunting to try to fill up an entire dance on the fly.

So how do you make the choice that’s best for you?  

Generally, new pole dancers will do better performing a choreographed routine.  This is why beginner classes often culminate with a routine that they can all perform.  It can be very hard to learn new pole moves while also trying to spontaneously put them together into a dance.

As you gain more experience on the pole, you can start trying improv and seeing if that works for you.  One great way to encourage yourself with improv is to start doing the pole dance challenges on the pole forums. Both PoleJunkies and StudioVeena do regular pole challenges in which people post videos to show one another their dances. The challenges may be to dance to a specific type of music (classical, pop, 80s, etc.) or to do only transitions, or some other restriction. Since the best way to learn to improv is to do it, the challenges are a fun and easy way to practice.

Choreography may become important if you start entering pole dance competitions. Competitions have requirements for specific pole moves to be included in the performances, and choreography can be a way to make sure you have included everything you need.  

Both choreography and improv can be combined for performances in which you wish to include a certain series of moves, but don’t wish to be locked into a routine. A combination of the two can also be useful when you know what you want to do at a particularly dramatic moment in the music, but don’t wish to plot out the entire song.

Stay tuned:  How to Put Together Pole Dance Routines and How to Use Improv with Pole Dancing

In the next weeks, I’ll go into specifics on how to put together a choreographed routine and how to learn to improv a pole dance.  

Please leave a comment below – let me know what you think, and what else you’d like to read about. Thank you!