Professional Solo Choreography

Professional Solo Choreography Information

This information is for LiveWire Students only.  If you dance somewhere else and are looking for choreography please contact the office at 801-455-4450.

 

THERE ARE THREE STEPS TO REGISTERING FOR A SOLO / DUET / TRIO:

1. Read through this page for all the info

2. Fill out the form below

3. Click the button below to pay your deposit

 

We are so excited to have you doing a solo this year! You will find that competing a solo will make you more confident, will help you learn choreography quicker, and will improve you as a dancer ten-fold! The great thing about a solo is that you are not dependent on anyone else- however much time and energy you put into practicing your solo will reflect how well you do on stage. Of course, perfection does not exist- however, hard work will get you anywhere you want to go!

A professional solo choreographed for your dancer costs between $250-$400, depending on your choreographer costs.

Your solo fee gets you 3 hours of lessons, a song that is edited to the time limits and delivered to you electronically, and your choreography ready for you on your very first lesson. You will either have three 1 hour lessons or two 1.5 hour lessons. During these lessons you will learn all of your choreography. You are not expected to have it perfect by the time you leave your practice, we know that it will take a lot of work. But you should be soaking in every correction you can. It is a fast paced lesson for sure! Younger students typically have three 1 hour lessons. For older students, bringing a notebook to write down important things is completely appropriate. 

Parents are also welcome and encouraged to film whatever portion of the lesson you want. You will definitely want to film at the end so that you can have video of the routine in order to practice. Choreographers are not responsible for recording/posting your dancers' choreography- that is the dancer/parents' responsibility. Parents are welcome to stay for the entire lesson, or come back for the last 15 min to begin recording. We suggest that parents stay to take notes and record. As a coach it doesn’t matter to us, some parents take down notes for their child during the lesson, others are just there for moral support. The most important thing that we ask of parents who stay is that once the lesson starts, that the interaction is between the child and the coach- so no talking to your dancer. We want the student fully focused on the coach so they can learn their routines. And we ask for no interruptions from the parent during the lesson- any questions you may have please write them down and we can address them at the end.

FAQs:

How does it work once we sign up?

Once you sign up, our choreographers begin choreographing your dancer's routine based around your dancer's abilities and strengths. We will then get you scheduled for your lessons. Depending on the schedule it might be three, 1-hour lessons or it might be two, 1.5-hour lessons. Your dancer will show up in dance clothes with a water bottle ready to learn and the choreographer will teach as much of the dance as possible in the first lesson. That way, you can practice as much as you have learned until the next practice! Payment in full will be expected by your first lesson. Parent's are allowed and even encouraged to stay during the lessons, to hear the corrections/instruction being given and to write it down or record it. We strongly recommend recording the dance both being walked through with counts and to music at the end of your lesson. The second/third lessons will be used to finish teaching choreography and any time left will be used to begin cleaning the dance. Once your 2 or 3 included lessons are done, you are welcome to contact the office and schedule a private lesson to clean the dance even more if you would like to. 

 

Can I choose my own style? 

Yes, or you can ask the office/choreographer what style they feel would work best for your dancer. Sometimes we compete a solo in a newer style to get better in that style, or learn something new- other times we compete a solo in our best style so we can score really well- and sometimes we compete a solo in a style that we just love. So I think it depends on what the goals and expectations of your dancer are. Talking with a coach can help determine this as well. 

Can I choose my own song? 

This is a maybe- we are picky about what songs we will put on the stage. Also, choreography is an art form, and some choreographers choose to only choreograph to certain songs. We cannot guarantee your dancer will be able to choose their own song(s).

How many competitions do I have to do? 

There's not a set amount of competitions you have to do, however we recommend competing in at least 3, and no less than 2. Entry for a solo in a competition costs around $100+/competition, depending on the competition. You can do as many or as little as you like and you can attend whatever competitions you want! The only rule we have is that LiveWire dancers must compete under the studio name of LiveWire Tumbling and Dance (they cannot be "independent") and that the office must sign you up for the competitions unless the office tells you otherwise. We can recommend some competitions for you, but you can also tell us what comps you'd like to attend and we will get it all set up!

Can I compete at a Convention? 

This depends- some conventions limit our solo numbers and priority will be given to the soloists who have competed at conventions for the longest/have been scoring the highest. If you don't get chosen for a solo spot at a convention, there will be plenty of competitions to choose from to compete at. 

Do I get to choose my own costume? 

Yes! If you want to choose your own costume from our supplier you can. Or we can give you 3 options to choose from, or you're welcome to provide a costume yourself. However, any costumes not purchased through LiveWire must be approved through the office.

Can I choose my choreographer? 

Yes! We have Kennedi Webster, Abigail Fisher, Sienna Cafferata, Hailee Dalton, and Marina Davydova to choose from. Jen Gruber's choreography slots are limited and are not guaranteed to be available. You can select Jen and we can contact you regarding if she has availability. If you are unsure who you would like as a choreographer, select "Undecided" and we can contact you with who we feel would mesh well with your dancer.

Do I contact my choreographer for lessons? 

No, you will contact the LiveWire office and we will arrange any private lessons. All communication should go through the office to avoid any miscommunication or double booking of space.

 

 

Students are expected to practice between lessons, that way if you get done with choreo your coach can give you corrections on what you have already been practicing on. After your allotted lessons are complete, you will also have the ability to access the studio on weekends to come in for your own practices with a parent present. 

If you would like more one-on-one attention for cleaning, you are welcome to contact the office and set up additional private lessons with any coach you wish to clean your solo. This can be very helpful to work on any details that might be missing or focus on places that could help your score. Please keep in mind that coaches’ schedules can get very full, so planning lessons months in advance to ensure you have a spot is extremely important. Most soloists will need at least 2-3 lessons. Many soloists choose to set up monthly to weekly private lessons to clean their routines.

 

 

Some tips to help you with your private lesson:

·        Come dressed to impress. Hair pulled back with no fly-aways so that the dancer doesn't fuss with their hair, dancewear that you love (and don't have to fidget with) and proper dance shoes. If you feel amazing, it helps you dance amazing!

·        Bring a full water bottle.

·        Don't come hungry! Having eaten a good meal 30 mins before your lesson will help your child be able to focus and be fueled for their lesson.

·        Record choreography from the front and back so you can practice with it.

·        Ask a lot of questions! If you don’t know what the arms are doing, ask. If you are confused on what direction something goes, ask.

·        Take a picture with your coach before the lesson begins so your dancer is fresh. Feel free to post on social media and tag your coach and LiveWire. We love reposting your cute kiddos!

 

 

Some tips for practicing at home, because if you practice incorrectly you are just going to create bad habits that we have to spend time fixing:

·        Make sure you know your counts/timing to the music

·        Practice with pointed feet and straightening all the way through your knee (unless it’s a move with a bent leg or flexed foot of course!)

·        Work on your arms- make sure you know what they are doing at all times

·        Practice facing different ways in the house/room. That way you learn to turn over your own body (direction changes) rather than being dependent upon the space.

·        Practice FULL OUT! Practicing halfway isn’t going to help you, I promise. And you can create muscle memory to a non-fullout move, which we definitely don’t want.  So practice full out every time.

·        Work on your facials and your emotions while you practice. Sometimes if you are new to dance this can feel silly- but if you want the judges to absolutely love you and give you those high scores- facials are the secret weapon! You can practice in the mirror to yourself, just turn your solo music on and face the mirror and practice what facials you are going to do during your dance.

 

 

Learning a solo is such a confidence builder for dancers and gives them a chance to have a little "Me Moment" on stage. The growth you will see in your dancer will be astonishing from the time they start learning their solo, to the time they take that bow on stage. 

 

Duets/Trios

All of the same things apply to the Duets and Trios - the only difference is that you will want to talk as parents/families of the different dancers to ensure all parties involved are committed to the same amount of practice time, have similar schedule availability for practicing on your own, and have similar goals for the season (fun, trying something new, competing for winning, etc).

 

Pricing

Solo pricing ranges from $250 - $400 depending on the choreographer.

Duet pricing ranges from $165 - $225 per person depending on the choreographer.

Trio pricing ranges from $135 - $183 per person depending on the choreographer.