anondancer_15 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Does anyone have any tips about creating an audition solo? i literally don't know where to start, anything i start putting together i then decide isn't good enough... i don't remember it being this challenging last year! i'm also struggling because i don't have any music yet and i prefer to choreograph to the music, but i don't know what kind of thing i want so it's really hard to find.... to top all of this off my first audition is in less than 3 weeks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramascientist Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Anondancer I suggest you spend a couple of hours searching for the music first. Your solo does not need to be classical so you can choose music that effects you emotionally (probably best to steer away from anything with inappropriate language though). Then I suggest taking a friend or asking your teacher to be there so that they can make suggestions about what looks good and you can bounce ideas off them. Then just spend a bit of time lying down listening to the music to see what pops into your head before you start. You just need one movement to begin with then go from there. Seems to work for my DD and me anyway. Good luck DRSC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 i've been looking for music for weeks now and nothing is inspiring me it's so stressful :/ but i like having the music before i start choreographing so i really haven't got very far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Have you tried 'Yann Tiersan' (check spelling) ? He composed the music for the film "Amelie", it is mostly piano music but really lovely to dance to! He has about 3/4 albums. We also found 'Satie' good for dancing, especially the "Gymnopedie and gnossiene"- Good Luck 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taximom Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 (edited) Have you considered using the spoken word instead of music? Heather Aka Taximom Edited November 26, 2016 by taximom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird22 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Not sure what style you are after but some of the cirque du soleil stuff works well for dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 Have you considered using the spoken word instead of music? Heather Aka Taximom someone else mentioned to me using spoken word....I like the idea but I'm not sure how I'd find soemthing to use or where to even begin looking for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 My DD used to do a classical Greek dance to spoken word. It was to Wordsworth's daffodils. I found a nice version on iTunes with a bit of music at the end. Have a dig around on the various on line music stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParentTaxi Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 DD has used spoken word for a solo, or rather spoken word with a minimal amount of backing music. I have seen extracts of audio books and also poetry danced to very successfully at festivals too. Youtube is a good source if you have an idea of the kind of thing you want. The only issue, I would say from experience, is that it is VERY hard to cut and edit, so if you need a precise length then it can be much harder to create that with spoken word than with music, where cutting and pasting to shave off or add a few seconds is much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParentTaxi Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 (There is free software available to extract sound from youtube clips and convert it to MP3, which is then editable on Audacity or whatever editing software you usually use) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletbean Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Does anyone have any tips about creating an audition solo? i literally don't know where to start, anything i start putting together i then decide isn't good enough... i don't remember it being this challenging last year! i'm also struggling because i don't have any music yet and i prefer to choreograph to the music, but i don't know what kind of thing i want so it's really hard to find.... to top all of this off my first audition is in less than 3 weeks Is there a routine that you or a fellow student at your studios that has performed previously in a festival or comp that you liked that could be used or tweaked obviously with permission. Sometimes that helps when researching, quite often the teachers will have the choreography written down or even videoed that you could borrow and adapt. This process takes some pressure off incl time than starting from scratch. Incredibly stressful I can totally appreciate. My DD asked one of the younger teachers at her studio and they readily offered to help for her audition piece. Of which she was successful. Yeah. The teacher welcomed the project as it was away from regular syllabus work. Does the music have to be be on CD or ipod/ipad for the audition? An existing piece will also cut down on time to edit any music as the teacher will already hold a copy. As it will be a closed audition there shouldn't be any copyright/performance issues but also well worth checking Does it specify length of piece? Obviously if you do have lyrics it needs to be 'cut' at an appropriate place. Classical ballet or lyrical modern? Ballet, try to steer clear of well known ballets, a simple piano/orchestral piece should suffice, or even music from films like Chocolat can work well Modern Lyrical, "Some Where Over the Rainbow" not the film version but one sung by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole, Fields of Gold by Sting, some recent hits by Jess Glynn and Adele, The other popular one is Take me to Church by Hozier, to name just a few. If push comes to shove and nothing is working just youtube any dance competitions/festivals that spring to mind, you may have a eureka moment when watching them. As already mentioned by other posts, please please please double check all lyrics (if any) in the piece used, even if you google them. Just to ensure no inappropriate language or insinuations are included, there can be a sneaky one word or line. Also any theme that maybe controversial. I do hope this may have helped. Good Luck and please let us know on your final choice. It would be lovely to know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilac Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 When is your audition. DD has one on 12th December and is struggling to find time to choreograph her solo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummy twinkle toes Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Theme from Morse is a lovely piece of music. Friend used it for her A level solo. It was very successful. My dd did a solo to leaving Walbrook road from the film Rainman. This is good for lyrical/contemporary. Depends with genre you want and your strongest attributes. How long does it need to be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 When is your audition. DD has one on 12th December and is struggling to find time to choreograph her solo? my first one is on the 15th, i have another on the 7th jan! i'm surprisingly finding i've got quite a bit of time despite being at uni, but i keep booking the studio and then doing absolutely nothing with my time in there and just panicking about it instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 to answer a few things i left out of the original post - it needs to be between 1min and 1min30secs, last year i think i did exactly a minute. and it's a contemporary solo (for the place and northern) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummy twinkle toes Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Watch Ghost Dancers by Christopher Bruce. Some very good music and could help to inspire. I know it is popular as it has been a set study for A level and GCSE for over 20 years. There are also numerous YouTube videos uploaded by people that may help. You could also look for videos uploaded by both schools to see the kind of style they like. Have a listen to the Walbrook Road song as it is very good for Contemporary. Happy choreographing ???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 Watch Ghost Dancers by Christopher Bruce. Some very good music and could help to inspire. I know it is popular as it has been a set study for A level and GCSE for over 20 years. There are also numerous YouTube videos uploaded by people that may help. You could also look for videos uploaded by both schools to see the kind of style they like. Have a listen to the Walbrook Road song as it is very good for Contemporary. Happy choreographing i love ghost dances! have used that for inspiration for previous a level solos i have also been living on the schools' youtube channels for inspiration the last few days i found that very useful actually and i'm listening to walbrook road as we speak i really like it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Dd likes choreographing to The Piano Guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilac Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Interesting you should say that, DD was recommended to one of their pieces for A level choreography by a forum contributor last year and it worked brilliantly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted November 27, 2016 Author Share Posted November 27, 2016 just to let you all know i've gone for Our Deepest Fear - DJ Phil Ty I performed in a piece to it a few years ago and really liked it - not so stereotypical lyrical contemporary but still works i think, it's something a bit different! It's based around this quote: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world, there is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people do not feel insecure around you. We were all meant to shine as children - it's not just in some of us, it's in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give permission to other people to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Which i think is really interesting, and appropriate for auditions! Thanks for all your suggestions! Turns out I had the answer i was looking for all along. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletbean Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Good Luck Anondancer_15, hope all goes well for your audition 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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