Planning Rehearsals

Careful planning is an essential part of professional dance practice and supports the successful creation, rehearsal and performance of choreography. Professional choreographers, rehearsal directors and dance companies rarely begin rehearsing without a clear plan. Instead, they organise rehearsal schedules, establish creative goals and work backwards from the performance date to ensure sufficient time for choreography, rehearsal, refinement and performance preparation.

Try to view planning as a creative process rather than simply organising dates and times. Effective rehearsal planning enables dancers to develop choreography progressively, respond to feedback, solve creative problems and refine technical and expressive performance skills while working collaboratively towards a shared performance goal.

Planning around availability

Before rehearsals begin, dancers should appreciate the importance of understanding the availability of all performers before confirming rehearsal dates.  Collect rehearsal availability using simple planning grids or shared calendars before producing a rehearsal schedule.

Effective rehearsal planning demonstrates respect for performers' time and supports positive collaboration. Rehearsal calls should only involve dancers who are required this allows rehearsals to remain purposeful and productive.

Working backwards from the performance

Professional choreographers often begin by identifying the performance date before planning the rehearsal process. Try to work backwards from the final performance, identifying how much time is available for movement exploration, choreography, rehearsal, refinement, technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals and performance.

Where possible, build flexibility into the rehearsal schedule to allow for unforeseen changes, creative developments or cancelled rehearsals. Review rehearsal plans regularly, adapting them where necessary while ensuring sufficient preparation time before the performance.

Planning rehearsal goals

Every rehearsal should have a clear purpose. Rather than simply running the dance repeatedly, learners should identify specific rehearsal objectives before each session. Try to set achievable goals, such as creating a motif, learning a new section, refining partnering work, cleaning formations, improving transitions, rehearsing expressive performance or completing a full run-through.

At the end of each rehearsal, review whether the objectives have been achieved and identify priorities for the following rehearsal.

Monitoring progress

Review rehearsal progress regularly throughout the creative process. This may involve maintaining rehearsal journals, recording rehearsal notes, filming rehearsals, reviewing attendance or discussing progress during production meetings.

Remember effective planning is flexible rather than fixed. Professional choreographers continually evaluate progress, adjust rehearsal schedules where necessary and respond to creative or practical challenges while maintaining focus on the final performance deadline.

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Structuring rehearsal phases

Note that rehearsals naturally progress through different stages rather than attempting to achieve everything in every rehearsal. You could organise rehearsals into clear phases.

For example:

Phase 1 Creating: exploring stimuli, generating movement, developing motifs and creating choreography.

Phase 2 Developing: learning movement material, refining choreography, experimenting with formations and relationships, and incorporating feedback.

Phase 3 Refining: cleaning choreography, improving timing, spacing, musicality, stylistic accuracy and expressive communication through run throughs and detailed rehearsal.

Phase 4 Performance preparation: costume rehearsals, technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, spacing rehearsals and final performances.