Should people be paired based on matching height, body type, or similarity of movement execution? What makes an interesting and well-done duet in Tribal fusion? I've always done groups and now it's time to make duets and I want them to be outstanding!
Margaret
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Margaret
offline Margaret
Canada
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  • Basha
    Basha
    online 60

    Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

    Mon, June 30, 2008 - 11:57 AM
    I think spacial recognition... moving well around and with each other.. .it isn't just about mimicing moves... its about movement and engaging. I think one of my favorite duets is the Zafira one... and the Romka one from Tribal fest. they move... they react and interact. it is not just mirror movements. which is key... to me.

    that being said we just did our first duet this weekend, about a quarter of it was choreographed and the rest improv with a story so it was easy to move through. But I tried very hard to make an effort to choreograph planned movement into it and that really made me happy. =) whether it was liked or not is a different story... but that is all IMHO. =) good luck!
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    • River
      River
      offline 41

      Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

      Mon, June 30, 2008 - 1:26 PM
      We just finished choreographing our 10 min. duet... Holy cow, was that ALOT of work! But, it was fun & we're super proud of it. As Basha said, how other people like it, I don't know.

      Anywhoos, I would suggest making sure you both only "bite off" as much as you can chew. For me, 10min practice sessions each day are no problem. For my partner, it's harder because of her kids.

      We're not the same body size but we have the same energy level when we dance, which I think is a key component. If one person is always a little higher up on the energy level, it can lead to the audience only looking at that one person. Just a thought...

      We're doing lots of movements where we dance around each other. Also, we're doing lots of moves that make us interact with each other (such as picking each other up or supporting one another, holding hands briefly, i.e.)

      It's lots of fun, though! I highly recommend it especially if you're pairing with a good friend. We had SO much fun bouncing ideas off of each other and celebrating the moves & stylizations that we love best in each other!
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      • Svenja
        Svenja
        offline 36

        Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

        Mon, June 30, 2008 - 2:09 PM
        that's it: the same energy level.
        my friend and me are different in height and hair colour, but when we dance we are using the energy in the roo,...and we are "in contact" (that's how we used to call it)
        and we viedo our trainig to see if we are as synchronical as possible and try to work it out better.
        I think it is nor necessary to look like twins if your energy and dancing level is nearly the same. :-)
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  • S
    S
    offline 22

    Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

    Tue, July 1, 2008 - 10:06 PM
    One of the most fun things I've seen in duets is playing off of each other's zills! The two girls looked like they were having so much fun! I think that is what the audience enjoys most is the dancers having FUN together!
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  • cera
    cera
    offline 278

    Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

    Wed, July 2, 2008 - 5:06 PM
    your dancers dong have to be matched on height and type. Kassar does that, and it's really beautiful, but! If you have really noticeable diversity between your dancers - you use it!
    For example, I did a private partnering workshop for SuperKate & Nikki of Subee Djinn, teaching them how to lift and support eachother, since they're so different in height, and they used the results for their "Sleepwalker" duet, here:
    www.youtube.com/watch

    I always like seeing contrasting movements in duets, with one dancer low and the other high, one dancer reaching while the other's pulling, etc.
    also - i like seeing dancers touch, if they are similar in height and type. frequently dancers will get close, but not body to body, and that's always really cool with dancers who are similarly proportioned.

    good luck!
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    • Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

      Wed, July 2, 2008 - 8:39 PM
      "your dancers dong have to be matched on height and type"

      I know what you were saying...but that's just about the funniest typo I have seen in a while. Though I must agree...if they are visible, it makes for a veritable feast for the eyes when they are matched in height and type. *wicked grin*
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      • Marg...
        Margaret
        offline 21

        Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

        Thu, July 3, 2008 - 7:02 AM
        Now I have to figure out who pairs in energy to another....any suggestions on that? Maybe we need to try and dance as duets, switch them around, so everyone gets a chance with everyone else....I know that the two sisters work well together but as for me, and the other two, I'm honestly not sure, we all dance so differently! We've got choreographies up on youtube but I don't know if you could match pairs from them. Does anyone want to make recommendations? Just look up OhMaya Bellydance on youtube --maybe people that are not in the troupe might see how I can make pairs, and maybe a trio as well. Any help at all will be appreciated.
        Margaret
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        • Fariha
          Fariha
          offline 17

          Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

          Sun, July 6, 2008 - 6:52 PM
          i have NO experience pairing people, or even choreographing, so feel free to ignore this, but i remember watching a tap dance once at school, i think there were 4 dancers in a line, and one of the girls was "out dancing" all the others with her energy. i really stood out and i liked her best, but it really messed with the cohesion of the line.
          anyway, thinking about the difference between how she was moving and the others, maybe a way to pick out similar energy would be watching them dance some of the same moves however they want to and see what kind of variations they do, or what kind of "frills"/"ornamenting" they add, and match based on that?
          it was just a thought, i'm sure you will be able to tell whether it would work or not. ^_^
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        • Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

          Thu, July 17, 2008 - 5:52 PM
          Well... I don't think it's necessarily "energy level" ... but more like ... "same vibe" or "on the same plane" or something... a "link" between the dancers

          I frequently dance duets with another dancer from my troupe. I'm bigger than her, our individual styles are different, but.. somehow.. when we dance, we "click". People always comment on our duets.

          Neither one of us is great at choreography, but we're both pretty good at improv. So our dances are often a mix of choreo and improv.

          For the improv, we often play off each other. For example, in our sword routine, we each go to one side of the stage, and balance the sword in whatever way feels right at the moment == just not on our heads, because when the music changes at a certain point, we come together in the middle of the stage, put the swords on our heads together. Then she drops to her knees, cuz she's good at that, I stay up, and sort of follow whatever she does.

          That said, I must say one of the coolest duet pieces I ever saw was Bellyqueen. These two gals are close in size and both wore red/black costumes. They did a lot of mirror image stuff and it was awesome.
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  • Rebecca
    Rebecca
    offline 4

    Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

    Tue, July 8, 2008 - 11:44 AM
    Hi Margaret,

    I performed on the weekend and came out from the chorus line as part of a trio and we are sorta the same body weight and all the same height - it's really effective when we do sheeva goddess arms (did I spell that right) - we got a lot of positive comments about it. That's not to say that different shapes and sizes shouldn't perform together - I'm sure they would look very effective too.

    Beci x
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  • Minya
    Minya
    offline 134

    Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

    Thu, July 10, 2008 - 10:56 PM
    My pet peeve is I don't like when both members of a duet are improvising at the same time (excluding a call and response section). I don't necessarily think they need to be little robotic mirror images of each other but do something that is together. To me it looks like two people met up in the hall and said, "Hey let's go dance on stage together!" And then top it off with two completely different costumes in two different colors (not complimentary) and it makes for some Minya teeth gnashing.
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    • Nuria
      Nuria
      offline 77

      Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

      Fri, July 11, 2008 - 2:03 AM
      Synchrony is always amazing. It's double the power. Few duos manage to synchronize so perfectly, it's a challenge so I wouldn't be critical of people trying. Yes and if each dances unrelated to the other, I think that makes a duet fall apart. They can take turns when improvising, playing that they try to impress each other or make it look like a little competition, that can be entertaining. Then again they can return to synchrony, that would be a strong statement of a powerful friendship that can tolerate individuality.
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      • Fariha
        Fariha
        offline 17

        Re: What to consider in choreographing a duet?

        Fri, July 11, 2008 - 8:58 AM
        like this? www.youtube.com/watch (it doesn't happen until 7:58, right before the end)
        i love these guys ^_^ esp. this performance.
        OH! on the energy thing, i noticed that when these two do shoulder shimmies, their bras, which are decorated differently, react to the movement very differently, and make their energy seem very different on that move. it's not strictly about the choreography, but probably something you'd want to consider (along with not having only one spot light.....) as the show gets closer.
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