Staging a Dance Number
The world of collegiate a cappella is quirky, fun, and a little out there. In the celebration of these qualities, we take a look at ways of making a cappella even unique, outlandish, and—well—absurd. We claim no responsibility for the results of actually trying anything we suggest here.
This time we discuss staging a dance number.
Setting the Stage: In our discussion of staving off coordinating a performance in a day or less, we mentioned the fact that choreography impresses the everyman—that as long as you’re approximately in tune and on the beat, the casual observer won’t notice more subtle musical failings, and you’ll look like pros for your well-developed choreography. The natural extension of this is to expand your choreography to full on dance numbers.
Song Selection: The selection of songs for your dance number is as diverse as the styles of dance there are out there. Want to stage a hip-hop dance off? Insert it into Usher’s “Yeah" or Boyz II Men’s “Thank You.” Want to go show off your line dancing skills? How about a little “Devil Went Down To Georgia?” Want to make it all look free form despite the meticulous preparation? Pick an anthem like “Dancing in the Streets.”
Setting: While the most natural place for your full on dance number is the stage where spectators can properly see everything you’re doing, this is can also be a good choice for your weekly arch sing, or for a spontaneous performance on campus, taking a page out of the Improv Everywhere book by springing your singing and dancing upon an unsuspecting audience.
Choreography: This one is all about the choreography. Be sure to focus and perhaps even extend the instrumental portions of a given song to make sure the focus rests in its proper place—on the visuals, rather than the sound.
Other Notes: Because these pieces emphasizes dance, you may want to consider subbing out your normal a cappella group who can’t move so well and replacing them with members of a serious dance team who can lip synch syllables well enough to pass as members of an a cappella group for the duration of that song.