In our dreams, the flow of inspiration is seemingly endless. But the reality is that we're often looking for new ways to draw in our creative spark and to give life to our dances. Here are six different ways to discover inspiration for your choreography:

Study your favorite choreographers & icons

Every type of dance has it’s origins, and all the greats were once inspired by teachers, mentors and icons they adored.  Study videos of pieces by choreographers that you love.  Ask yourself what you love about it and what draws you in. You can begin with emulating them (but remember that direct copying is bad form). The idea is to take inspiration from your favorites to help develop your signature flair.

choose a piece of music at random 

Scroll through your spotify or youtube and choose a piece of music at random.  Whichever song you land on, force yourself to create 3-4 8 counts of choreography to it.  This will take out the pressure for it to be anything grand or specific.  It’s simply a game and an exercise to experiment with!

Play with friends and other dancers

Speaking of games, it can be dynamic to work with other dancers and choreograph together.  Often, two minds and hearts are better than one.  You may just find the perfect person to work with, and bouncing ideas off one another may be what you need to make your magic.

Start with an 8 count and then experiment with variation in levels, timing and direction changes

Create a simple 8 count of choreography to any song that you choose.  From there, start to variate with level changes, ripples or contagions and variations in timing, and then how the choreography or dancers can change directions.  You’ll be surprised how dynamically this can enhance your choreography.

Draw inspiration from nature

This is what all of the true artists do.  They observe how water moves, the falling of snow, the ignition of a flame, the way a tumbleweed rolls across the plain.  How does the movement of nature inspire you- how can you emulate and embody how it moves?

Tell a story

If you’re searching for inspiration for your choreography, look no further than the art of storytelling.  You can look to books, tv shows, movies, and theatre to create pieces that recreate the stories you love.  Maybe you take the stories in another direction and add your own twist?  That is what creating choreography is all about.