Dance improvisation (improv for short!) is the process of creating movement without a choreographer planning out the dance before it happens. It requires active and quick thinking on the dancer’s part, as they make decisions in the moment and express themselves with limited guidance. At Prestige Dance Studio, we love improv! It is an essential tool for training smart and expressive young dancers.
Want to see our dancers in action? Check out this video we posted on Facebook of one of our dancers performing her improv. Beautiful!
We know that improv may not be everyone’s favorite part of class. It can be nerve-wracking and scary to have to think on the spot, especially when others are watching! For other dancers, it’s their time to shine and they LOVE it. Either way, it is so important for dancers to consistently work at their improv skills. A dancer is not a well-rounded mover if they can only perform choreography that others give to them. Their range of movement and sense of expression must also come from within themselves. Executing technical skills is just part of the equation. Dancers must be able to think and create as well!
Improv is an important skill as dancers to prepare to move beyond Prestige Dance Studio. All future teachers and choreographers will need to be extremely comfortable with improv! When improvising, dancers can often find themselves creating innovative moves or thinking of something that they’ve never done before. Everything you create while improvising then becomes part of your choreographic toolbox. Sharpening your improv skills is the first step in becoming a phenomenal choreographer!
Improvisation also teaches a dancer how to think on their feet, a skill that is CRUCIAL in the dance world. Whether it be a costume malfunction, a tiny stage you’ve never rehearsed on, or an injury that flares up in the middle of a dance, the show must go on. Improvisation gives your brain AND your body the skills to keep moving and make split-second decisions.
Lastly, we find improv incredibly freeing, and we love sharing that with our dancers. Because improvisation comes from within yourself, it is often seen as the best opportunity for dancers to express themselves. No one is feeding you the moves, it’s up to YOU, and only YOU. It is your time to shine and let everything inside be free. After improvising in front of people, it is almost inevitable that a dancer will gain confidence. It feels good to discover what you are capable of on your own!
We love watching our dancers improvise! We incorporate time for improv in our lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop classes as well as in our performance team rehearsals. The growth we see over the years as our dancers find their voices is so rewarding. Let yourself be free and find out what YOU can do with improv!