How to write down choreography

Memory fades fast, and videos are slow to search. A written sheet lets you teach from one page, hand a class to a substitute, check a competition routine count by count, and change one section without learning the whole dance again.

Write one row for each 8-count of the song, with the time it starts. Then every move has an address: "set 12, count 5". If you are not sure where count 1 is, read how to count music for dance first.

Put the move on the count where it starts, not where it ends. Most moves start on 1, 3, 5 or 7, so it helps to make those counts bold on your sheet. Fast moves between counts go on the &.

There is no single standard. Pick a few short words and use them the same way every time. Here are common ones:

Write a key at the top of the page if someone else will read your notes.

Four 8-counts of a made-up routine at 120 BPM, with count 1 at 0:02:

Short, on the count, and the same words each time. Anyone who knows the steps can pick it up from here.

For a group, add where each dancer stands. A quick sketch of the stage with a letter or number for each dancer works, one sketch per formation, with the set number where it starts. Write travel as a direction and a count: "B and D cross to DS L on 5-8".

There are full systems for writing movement, such as Labanotation and Benesh Movement Notation. They can record almost any movement in detail, and they are used to keep ballet and modern works exactly as the choreographer made them. They take a long time to learn and to write, so most teachers, coaches and choreographers use counts and shorthand instead.

The same method works for group fitness classes. Write each track as rows of 8-counts, with the move, the number of reps and your cue for the next move. Put the cue on the 8-count before the change, so you call it in time.

Print our free blank 8-count sheet. It has a box for each count, bold 1, 3, 5 and 7, and space for notes. Or let Choreosheet count the song for you, then type your notes next to each 8-count.